₦airaland Forum

Project Update: Frame Stage Inspection Completed

'Frame stage' means the stage when a home's frame is completed and approved by a building consultant.

The Inspection took place yesterday and everything went well. The inspector said that he was impressed with the quality of the construction and there were a few things he identified in his report to the client though. He said that they were things that needed to be fixed, but weren't too serious.


Here are the checks carried out by the consultant:

1. The height of all ceilings and room sizes are thoroughly checked against the relevant building plan. Of course, there were few modifications which were reflected in the change order request document.
2. The integrity of the concrete slab (e.g. cracks in the slab and chips out of the slab).
3. All plumbing service pipes are firmly and correctly secured to the frame and the structural integrity of the frame has not been undermined in any way.
4. The electrical tubing for correct location of light switches, sockets, etc
5. The correct location of plumbing waste outlets.
6. Roof Leakage

The Pre-plastering works commences tomorrow with the Mechanical and Electrical works (water feeds to toilet, baths, kitchen etc, and all external plumbing works; and all other electrical tubing works, wiring, installation of the distribution boards, camera etc

We're Building Again!

If you've been following this thread closely, you're likely aware of our progress at Diamond Estate, off NTDA road, Sangotedo, Lagos - New CONSTRUCTION signs keep popping up and we are under construction again! Now, it is bigger - a massive duplex in the heart of Ile Oluji, Ondo state.

Keep up with our progresses on this project. Follow us here.

We're Building Again!

If you've been following this thread closely, you're likely aware of our progress at Diamond Estate, off NTDA road, Sangotedo, Lagos - New CONSTRUCTION signs keep popping up and we are under construction again! Now, it is bigger - a massive duplex in the heart of Ile Oluji, Ondo state.

Keep up with our progresses on this project. Follow us here.

Before and After Pics of Diamond Multi-Dwell Apartment (Mar - May 2013)

8 DAYS UNTIL CONSTRUCTION BEGINS!

The NextHome team has been working the past weeks on preparing for our first home construction project in Ile Oluji. There are a lot of preliminary planning works to be completed by the team while we await the ground breaking day: topographic surveying, obtaining permits, purchasing materials, familiarization tour, securing accommodation for the full-time crew, earth road, site store construction and build site preparation. With the beginning of construction only 1 week away, the pre-works has officially begun!

We’ll be updating this thread regularly with new photos as the project takes shape.

Pictures fom The Chateau

Pic 3: The Plot (We will be clearing the trees and brush to make room for the house and a decent sized work area, but will be leaving the majority of the land wooded)

Pictures from The Chateau

Pic 1: Earth road sand-filled about 6 months ago.
Pic 2: The long driveway now covered with bushes.

After tons of planning and going through about 8 months worth of design and revisions we have finally come up with a design which meets most of our requirements – the building footprint is about 320sqm.

I can't wait to get started. However, we still have a number of things to do before we start construction, including trenching in utilities, establishing the long driveway, and clearing the future house site. We also need to identify a whole slew of subcontractors and material suppliers since we are the general contractor on this project.

Pic: Site Plan

Chateau in Ile Oluji: Project Description

The Chateau is NextHome’s newest project and will consist of 2 floors and 4 luxurious bedrooms, featuring balcony terraces with panoramic hillside views.

Completion Date: December 2013
Ground breaking: July 2013
Main Contractor: NEXTHOME BUILDERS
Architect: MASTERS' TOUCH STUDIO
Interiors/Finishes: NEXTHOME BUILDERS

Nestling in the hillside at the foot of a historic hilltop village in Ile-Oluji, The Chateau lies on a hand-picked plot perfectly situated close to a stream.


BUILDING SPECIFICATION

The concept was designed by Bosun Davies of NextHome Builders. It is a four bedroom, five bathroom house with three large living areas. The entry level; from the front door through the hall is a large living room of 28sqm and a dining area of 25sqm. The front dining room wall consists of 3.5 meters of windows opening onto a deep terrace. Also on the entry level is a kitchen with French doors opening to a terrace, one guest bedroom with en-suite bathroom and a separate powder room.
The upper first floor level features the master bedroom suite with a bedroom of 32sqm with a double walk-in robe and a spectacular en-suite bathroom. The master suite leads to an enormous terrace of 16sqm.
The upper floor also features a large third living area of 25sqm opening through to a covered terrace and a further two bedrooms with en-suite bathroom. The lower level also features a utility/laundry room and a double volume main lounge of nearly 40sqm which will double as the home cinema and entertainment space for the kinsmen and a spiral staircase leading to the upstairs living area and the dining on the lower level.

The outside area will feature landscaped gardens, terraces and a spectacular swimming pool with a diving board. There is also secure off street parking area for two cars and a two-bedroom bungalow which doubles as servant's quarters and the home office.

Welcome to the blog. This blog chronicles the entire design and construction process, from picking out granite and watching the building go up. And when the house is finished, this blog follows us as we begin to furnish it, decorate it and make it home.

This is an unbiased account of the build process, the Good, Bad and Ugly. We hope that others will learn something through our experience and be able to use the information to make their home building dreams come true. Please enjoy our Blog and feel free to provide us your feedback and comments.

Pics: The Chateau as built by NextHome

Well done bro! Wishing you the very best in your new project.

Remember the 13th commandment: Be in charge.

Wishing you the best.

New Project & NextHome iPhone and iPad app

I'm excited to introduce our new project, the Chateau in Ile-Oluji, a ground-up build of a massive luxury duplex on 3 acres of land. Its a very ambitious project. We will post pictures and weekly updates for the project. We hope you will enjoy watching the process as much as we will!

Also introducing NextHome™ mobile app, powered by NextHome Builders. This free app allows iPhone and iPad users to browse a history of our work and search “ongoing projects” on our blog to see our more recent projects. It also allows you to comment, like and share our construction pictures from your mobile.
It's a work in progress and we shall notify you as soon as its ready to go live.

diordaves: Brabus/Nexthomes, can you please confirm the authenticity or otherwise of the posted phone conversation.

Ahonohai, its so sad that you need to go through this. My take on this, pending Brabus's reaction, is for you to exploit ways to cut and limit your loses. From earlier missive from Brabus, we came about the knowledge that Brabus bought some items which were not to specification and subsequently rejected, and that he (Brabus) is having trouble getting a refund from the sellers, hence his inability to pay you. Ahonohai, is that still the situation?

Now Brabus, is this still the situation? Have you returned items to sellers and still waiting for refund? If yes, did you inform your client (Ahonohai) of the current state of play? If you have not returned the items, where are they? Were the items rejected by the sellers? If yes, did you inform your client of your effort to get a refund? What have you done parallel to the refund saga to whole or part pay your client? Did you inform your client of any personal or contractual issues working against any sincere(?) wish to pay him. If you are having issues, did you plead for a payment arrangement (instalmental) with your client? "Switching off" and thinking this issue will go away seems a wishful thinking short of burying your head in the sand because your client is really set on getting back his money.Who will blame him. Its strictly business.

Ahonohai, am asking this so much question just to establish if those items have been returned or still somewhere. Can you take possession, do a fire sale on them and cut your loses?. If the rejected items have been returned, refund collected and no payment was made to you, it appears you may struggle some time more to get your money. Its about half a year now.

Respected sir, the conversation is authentic and as at the time of the recording the situation is as was stated in the telephone conversation. I couldn't get a refund for items which were purchased and installed 3 months before they were rejected. Of course, I still have them in my store.

UPDATE

The client has been paid since.

Pic Update

[quote
author=amarilo]Please those woods u use to support the planks are they
going to be used for the roofing? How much is the cost of this
roofing(Wood, roofing sheet and labour). There is some thing i noticed,
the pictures at lintel level it seems you did not cast all the walls
expecially the inner once, is that ok?[/quote]Roofing Cost

Woodwork (Materials and Labour) - N650k

Roof Covering and installation (Wichtech product @ N3,200 per m) - N2.2m

Project
Update: Luxury block of flats

Ornamental works and plastering of the fence ongoing at the site. I'll
discuss with the client to update the project cost for learning purpose.

Current pictures of the project can also be obtained from the client.

Which of the following statement is more realistic?

1. The pillar of sport, Chief MKO Abiola rise again.

2. Nigeria defeated Spain 3 goals to nil.

3. Tahiti beat Uruguay by a lone goal.

I say Goodbye Eagles

Thanking God for journey mercies. I'm now in Lagos.

Experience has shaped us.

The last time I found myself in similar situation (Brabus vs Ahonohia), I was emotionally charged and keep focusing on less substantive issue (the criticism). The more I try to address the issue the worse it became, and my critics takes the high ground until a respected fellow on Nairaland asked me to change tack. And yes I discovered "Easy does it"

The Truth, The Problem, The Source

It may be shocking to reveal that the problem ain't with the online community neither is it the client as many believed. The client wasn't trying to save a kobo on the project at all. He wanted the best. How can we say that a man who paid for almost 100 tons of granite at N220,000 per 30 tons for SUBSTRUCTURE ONLY is trying to save on cost? The problem is from internal - the enemy within. The man I gave mantle of power to supervise the project while I was away did more damage than help while he was in charge to the extent that I nearly became a pawn in the project. He became so powerful that I couldn't have access to the building plans. All I could do is damage limitation by playing along while keeping tab on things as we progress.

I became a pawn and had to turn to the online community for help as my opinion seem less important. My appointed supervisor claimed he cannot ascertain the integrity of the job he was paid for and actually supervised and instructed that we should break off column base and do a rework.

On May 30, I wrote

@all experts in the house,

Do I need to destroy my 1000 x 1000 by 300mm thick column base to fortify this house?

This is not the time to apportion blames but to save a bad situation.

In order not to make it look as if I had skeleton in my cupboard, I agreed that the foundation should be dug up but shouldn't be damaged until we check the thickness of the blinding and the base. Before one could say Jack Robinson, some of his able-bodied men have already unload 2 columns only to found out that the base were solid.

I'm leaving PH in 45 mins and I'll keep this thread updated on how things got wrong, the construction method and my challenges.

And then there's Jacketing (ie: increasing the concrete cover on the existing column), filling the hollow block with slurry concrete while pouring the DPC and more. More pic update on the remedial works later on this thread.

** Just few columns that cannot be unloaded. I'll do a rough drawing to show their position on the grid.

SUPPLEMENTAL COLUMN

WHILE at it and also minding the integrity of the foundation especially when and where we are sure that the column base is rock solid, we decided to introduce supplemental columns (230 x 230mm) to provide an alternative method of support in combination with the repair of the existing column.

COLUMN ENLARGEMENT

We also enlarged the ring size of 19 (150 x 150mm) columns which has not been poured before the break to 230 x 230mm

[size=16pt]Foundation Repair: What we did different[/size]

While trying to effect repairs on the foundation, we took consideration of important things in the house (the dead load, live load, horizontal load and its associated moments) and changes were made as deemed fit by a structural engineer. However, I need to mention that different remedial methods were used in this structure.

STRATEGIC COLUMNS UNLOADED

About 4 columns (150 x 150mm) in strategic areas within the building were unloaded so that the entire cross section of the column can carry the reintroduced design load (230 x230mm).

Jamesqu: Kudos to Brabus.....if na me, I will not near this thread again.....kudos to u fa and best of luck!

Bros, I've seen worse in life. Best friends could be worst enemy. I'm sure my client would understand what I mean. Everyone on this thread has been a true friend. You won't know what you've done until you hear me out.

[quote
author=kopell]@Brabus I appreciate your maturity in the way you response
to criticize of people. This is one of the challenges one will go thru
if they're to succeed in business world. Your competitors will do
anything in there power to derail you in the field. Be careful in the
way you execute you contract.
Good luck[/quote]I've never seen the criticism as the subject matter and I'm not Sir Rueben Abati.
I'm posting from my Nokia 206 and typing ain't easy at all.

As a culture on this forum (a learning thread), I'll share my experience on this project (the good, the bad, the misconception, the mistakes and the corrective measures). Who knows, someone might gain one or two lessons from it.

[quote
author=Aventures]I have just found out that we have just wasted our time and megabytes on
this tread as i am sure that the client has accepted whatever comes his
way. We do not see the progress of correction work done,only for us to
see the Oversite concrete. It was evident that all our advises and
recommendation were thrown to the trash as i can still see that the
columns still remain 6" x 6" (150mm x 150mm). Of course they will now
increase the columns to 230 x 230 after the German floor. I don not want
to waste my megabytes any more i sign out of this tread right
away.[/quote]Sir, you haven't wasted your Megabytes. ALL suggestions and professional advices given on this thread were implemented. Worthy to mention that we've only poured 15 columns before the break, the remaining 19 columns were increased to 230 x 230mm right from the ground up. BRB

ongoing

Update

@Brabus, I have been calling your two lines but none is connecting. Be
cool and keep doing it, it shall be well.

Oga Spyder, Thanks for your contribution. All points well noted.
I was robbed 2 days ago and my phones were taken away so the lines are
temporarily inactive. You can reach me via email or 07084319051
_____
Sir Aventures, I'm so grateful.

@all experts in the house,

Do I need to destroy my 1000 x 1000 by 300mm thick column base to fortify this house?

This is not the time to apportion blames but to save a bad situation.

jaydacorsair: @Brabus I am back to this thread. Please what can be done to fortify this house....... and make it last the taste of time.

Thanking everyone for your wonderful contributions. I really appreciate them and they are all useful.

I'll like to appeal to the client to allow us do a new drawing that will reflect all the proposed changes we are about to make to the house. I want to believe we need a new drawing more than anything else in this project at the moment.

That way, we all have a valid document guiding us. There's no point working off plan