₦airaland Forum

There won't be any activity on site today. Work should resume on site by Monday.
Spending QUALITY time with my wife and son at home.

In one my blog about Nigeria and system of governance, I titled a post "Is Corruption the problem or just an excuse? Every Nigerian wants to become a President, Builder, Contractor, Mechanic, Engineer, Supplier before they can fix things, sacrificing the need for a professional. Madness, I call it! What will the story be if this guys is saying I paid XYZ building consultant to build me house and what I'm getting I'd crap sh*t. By now, we will be advising him to press charges! A simple contractual agreement is off no importance to most people. They feel there's no need for lawyers, agents, contractors, consultants - Stupidity! Why do we have to blame ourselves for another persons stupidity. No need to waste my precious time on this!

Let the guy show us the pic of the land, the breakdown of the N6m and level of work done so far! But if I you ask me, what is it that makes a man pay N6m without anything to show for it - I'll tell you its STUPIDITY!  and NOT TRUST!

dudubody:
i suggest we delete all the irrelevant post , sure we will have up to 40 pages left

That's a good idea! I also suggest that we create posting rules to keep the thread clean and focused.

@Spyder880, word! Ordinarily, if I told anyone on Nairaland that I lost my N97 phone bought at almost N100k while trying to satisfy a client and had used his money to buy a replacement. Would anyone have believed me? That I lost 2 tires while looking for lands and had to use his money to buy new ones. Won't you see me as a 419?

Everybody wants it FREE and yet some people are still not satisfied. They want you to give updates every day and night on the internet and mobile phone as if your service provider give such. That's my problem with Nigerians especially those away because you think everything you heard from your folks are lie. The fact that you are building a house does not change the world and if you're not mean - you'll agree that people got ill, die, buy fuel everyday, loose their jobs, and all sorts of bad and terrible things happen.

For instance, while trying to satisfy my client, I decided not build a shed, sink a borehole and do some other things to the detriment of the labourer - a fellow Nigerian. Until you pass through the same experience - you'll always think life is a bed of rose.

That's the reason why I say builders cheat owners and owners cheat builders.

Going forward my service will now be charged accordingly. Take it or leave it.

Its like a case of you sending a man to buy you a cow, if its too small - people will complain! If it is too big, they will say, for him to come up with something like this, he must have made a lot of money. Why nah? I HATE people who can't trust themselves or other people with passion. DIY as if that will stop shits from happening.

Must read:

In Nigeria, people basically purchase based on feelings, impulse to purchase, peer pressure, ego reasons. When all of this is applied, then VALUE for money is lost. I have seen a lot of uncompleted projects just as our friends' and in most cases it occurs as a result of lack of knowledge.

Such individual becomes a prey and the builder/supplier/agent/contractor is not at fault for duping because our guy thinks quality means paying more.

Why you apply self protection, you will not easily walk into a wrong transaction.

Let this man give breakdown of the first N3m, then we'll know if he's being duped or he duped himself. Once beaten,

olubuffett:
spyder

I have to agree with am alone on this one, i read the other thread about the guy who gave money to his family and was done a one chance.

@Olubuffet, little wonder he's sending money into drain. He sent the money to his family (sister & brother) - a trader, banker, civil servant I guess. Hope you've read the post very well, how do you conclude he was duped when you have not seen the picture of his building, the size, the location or the level of work done so far.

The fact that a man got drown in water does not mean we wont eat fish, drink water or swim in water again.

I see this a lot happening in Nigeria. Builder dupe people and people dupe builders. My advice is entrust your building to the Professionals. It may cost you more in the long run but its the best.

If I dont trust anybody, I will need to go and sit down in the mechanic workshop to make sure he using the right part for my vehicle.

Spyder, you need to read the pathetic story of a fellow nairalander on my thread who's spent N6m on foundation alone and had not reach the German Floor stage.

Unedited post by Euromillion on Building a Luxury Block of Flats

My brother,

Thank you for your quick responds, I think I was duped,
I do not reside in naija. before the land was Purchased
I was assured that the land was on a dried land,after the
purchased,storry changed to the ground not being level
to the land being swamppy.

Being very trusting to people which I was,I sent 3mil to them to start work,few weeks
later the money was finished,I sent my sister to see what they were
doing on the site,on returning back to tell me that nothing was done,

I decided to move the handling of the job from my brother to my sister
after all her sweet mouth about how I was duped by my brother,I then trusted
her and sent another 3mil to her,within 2 months I was called that the money
is finished,so they need more money,

Then I decided to send a friend of my from dublin togo and video the site of which
I took care of his travel expencis,on his returning back to see that all was done was
foundation and filling of sand,I was dumbfounded to the whole situation,I then decided
to call it a quit until now.I have some of the pictures which I will endeavour to post here
but i will have to see if I can block out the face of the people working there then.
Thanks again.

Brabus on 100. Greatest thread on Nairaland

Am Alone:
Bros, just keep your money!!!
Anytime you come to Nigeria
come and build!!!! Don't trust anybody my friend
even if they give u a quotation of 50k
they will still eat the money without doing anything!!!!
For the above quotation

30ton of granite
Labour 80k
3tipper load of 10ton sharp sand(will still have little remaining)
132bags of cement is okay!!!(will give you a standar/solid house)
But the problem is if they will use that much. They may use 40bags gon self.
Bros keep your money!!!! that is all I can say!!!!

Sounds like best of advice but very unpatrotic. What you are saying in other words is that Nigerians including yourself are dubious and that he should trust only himself. We should not preclude the option that his relatives, sister and friends might be inexperienced in the trade and are just wasting money on the site. They may not be dubious as we may think.

Mistakes are the usual bridge between inexperience and wisdom. Will his coming down to Nigeria replace Professionalism?

My client had no idea what my colour is, where I live, not even my background and I've received and paid N10m on his behalf without any fear - all within 1 MONTH!!!

spyder880:
well to provide water

My wife just asked me "Wetin be dis one". How do I get the guys digging this well? This is totally different from what we are used to,

Reference:
Yeah, copy that. Then consider that the FRL and the base of the drain (whenever that is done) will probably rise another 1 to 2 feet (depending on the gradient of the surrounding terrain). The closed gate (dunno whether its yours) will be below the street level in due course. Your compound FFL should be at least 6 inches above the anticipated FRL and a minimum of 12 inches at the farthest extreme (back fence) to ensure rain water flows to the road (if you do not intend to instal compound drainage. Then the FFL of the building can be anything 1 foot above that.

So all in all your german floor should to be a minimum of three and a half to four feet above the existing road way level. Sounds crazy now but believe me water pumping machines is much more expensive. Consider diligently. Good luck.

The following pic should give you more idea of what was done. We took that into consideration as well, our german floor will be at almost 1m above road level. That's more than OK
Pic 1: A man standing at almost foundation level with his head above the fence (If you add 4in german floor, his head will be way above the 9 coach fence)
Pic 2: The same man standing on road level
Pic 3: My Entrance Gate (space under it is around 10in)

Pic 1. The porch stair under construction.
Pic 2. Filling has commenced

Today in picture

We've completed block setting, casting of foundation pillars and we are now ready for the filling of the foundation. Hopefully filling starts from tomorrow - if all goes well.

@euromillion, I feel very sorry for you pathetic story.
First thing, your attached doc is not opening on my system. Don't know why? But if you dont mind, you can take the pain to type it out.

200k sounds outrageous but I think we need to see your floorplan and possibly the pic of the site to give advice and rough estimates.

You can PM me for more advice that I cannot freely share on this thread.

If I may ask what did you spend the N6m on. That's more interesting to me. Using my mobile phone now, I'll have more time to attend to yr question when I'm on my system.
That's gonna be pretty soon.

^^^? Help me understand yr question. I'm not waiting though.

Am Alone:
Man, thank you very much jorray!!!!
You are just too much!!!!
Now look at the work you are showing us!!!!
I am very certain, Mr. Tosin wont be disappointed at this one for sure!!!!

Bros brabus, [b]I notice is like you will be mixing the soft sand to the sharp sand for the chalking of
the blocks right? This is one thing I am come to learn. That is helps saves money!!!! right?
Please clarify!!! [/b]Thanks - You Too Much Jorray!!!! - Gud Job!

I think it has to do with workability: soft sand has many grades of rounded particles, right down to clay. This makes it handle well and you can adjust bricks easily, the mortar made with soft sand supports the bricks but allows plenty of movement if you need it. Good and pretty easy to use in wet condition.

Sharp sand has angular grains, less gradation, and I believe makes a stronger mortar, but it won't handle well or have the range of adjustment that soft-sand mortar does.
But the reason really is not to save cost. A sound mortar can be obtained if there is some silt and clay in the aggregate. You can guess what the result will be when you use both.

PS: I defer to anyone else who's had years of experience in the trade and knows better!

Today, block setting is completed and casting of foundation pillars has commenced. We hope to finish casting by tomorrow and start filling immediately. We did a little backfill today but I was too busy sourcing for Laterite that I was unable to take pics. Hoping to post pic update by tomorrow.

Cost Update to follow soon

Reference:
Good progress sir, but one very, very, very important thing I have not seen is survey levels. If this building is anywhere south of the Niger drainage is very important. I would have expected that you establish level before commencing works. I can observe that the road outside the compound is not asphalted and I'm sure there are no established drains anywhere around so you are vulnerable to future development but public and private. Consider this very critically. Its not about materials alone.

The land is higher than the road and it wasn't too difficult for us to establish the level since there was an existing foundation on the lot. I think the pic below should explain it better.
Also, there are drains and the particular lot is not in any way vulnerable to anything. I can bet that! The land is uphill. But I must say thank you for the observation. One point to note here is that there's filling sand on the land which makes it look as if we are on the road level. Look more closely and you'll see.


@fidelo726, thanks for the observation. But I'd already mentioned that we are planning to see how we can convert the existing foundation for our benefit. If you study the picture very well, you'll notice the column foundations. Unfortunately, I did not took pic of the other part that we did by ourself. There are existing starter bars and there are new ones we made that were not updated in pic. I'm sorry about that.

Am Alone:
You Need God Bro!!!!
You Need Lots of Prayers
Like I Said, Its Not To Him That Labour
But to him that THE GOOD LORD SHOWETH MERCY!!!
For Me That Is The Biggest Key To Your Success!!!
OLUWA CHAMPION!!!

Seconded!

Thank you all, I'll revert when I gain time later tonight. I'm on transit right now.

diordaves:
Tidy, Neat, Professional, Transparent, Bold. This is what we are used to in the western world. This is what the building industry needs. More grease to your elbow Love-tosin and even more grease, blocks and mortar to your elbow brabus. Keep it up. But one small question: why 16mm rods? The pictured rods; are they 16mm? Stay blessed.

Thank you, I do appreciate it.

Question begin for an answer

Column and beam construction must be done with properly sized beams to support a load bearing wall. Columns must be properly located and the choice/size of iron rods to be used should be left to the PROS!
As a matter of fact I always get calls from owner builders who is in the midst of or contemplating a structural modification to their abode. They want me to size a beam for them or know why 16mm is better than 12mm. My answer is ALWAYS the same,  Call a structural engineer!

The reason for this is simple. For one thing, each situation is different. The loads above the beam location can be significant or there may be very little load. Columns carry the beam loads and these loads must rest on solid materials. A rookie often forgets this vital aspect of beam construction. Again, this is not a one-size-fit-all or what-I-think-is-right projet!

Back to your question, that's what my structural drawing specify! The pictured rods are 16mm

Sunday 12 June - Bush clearing was done for N8,000
Tuesday 14 June- 30 tons Granite was bought for N125,000 (extra N2,500 was paid as dev levy to the estate and settlement of suppliers association)
Tuesday 14 June- 20 ton Sharp sand was bought for N48,000
Tuesday 14 June- 30 ton Soft sand was bought for N36,000
Wednesday 15 June- Peg/Tie-rod/Nail (7,200)
Wednesday 15 June- 1000 blocks was bought @ N130 = N130,000
Wednesday 15 June- 50 bags of cement was bought @ N1,850 = N92,500
Wednesday 15 June- 2,000 litres GeePee tank was bought for N27,000
Wednesday 15 June- N1,000 was paid to transport (Tank, Tie-rod)

Total Amount spent on materials as at Wednesday 15 June stood at N477,000

Thursday 16 June - Bricklayer was paid the sum of N70,000 to start the work (Pegging/Setting out/Excavation)
Thursday 16 June - I paid Aboki N1,500 to level the soil for delivery of blocks
Friday 17 June - Bought 2 bag of pure water for the workmen. N200
Friday 17 June - WASTED N4,500 on an effort to get water to the site. (Rent Generator N3,500, bought fuel N300, Paid Plumber N700). The effort was thwarted as the borehole machine is discovered to be faulty
Saturday 18 June - Paid N1,500 to hire another 2,000 litres tank in preparation for foundation laying on Monday 20th
Saturday 18 June - Paid N3,500 to buy water
Saturday 18 June - Paid N1,500 to carry to and fro the tank

Additional N81,700 was spent, so our total expenditure stood at N551,700

And the wall is going up,  Next is the foundation pillars. We are having 38 pillars, all 16mm

While awaiting the breakdown of expenses so far. Here are pic updates of the journey so far,

Today, we didn't do much because it drizzle all day. We were only able to use 12 bags of cement. We've raised some area to level. Pic update to follow soon.

Am Alone, what's the current cost of land in yr area? I have some orders to fill.

I'll be updating the cost associated to the building once I get to my system. I'm using my mobile phone now

Thank you spyder880 and many thanks to caseymoney for the pic updates. I cannot imagine what life will be without internet and you guys.

Today, block setting continues, I think we'll continue to do it like this till my link is restored.

Another goodnews is that I've gotten approval to share the cost of building with the house. Many thanks to my client for affording us the opportunity.

Cost updates to follow soon

Thanks Fhemmy.

One obvious thing I want us to see in the pic above is that my client will spend less on filling. When you want to buy a land, do get an expert. You may be surprised at what you'll save in the long run.

We can use this project to do a side-by-side comparison with mine showcased on page 5 of the thread "The real cost of building a six bedroom duplex" as we are following the same standard.

Today, we used 20 bags of cement for the blinding and 465 blocks were consumed.

All things being equal, we should do the german flooring by Wednesday next week. What about filling, ramming and watering, you may want to ask?

There's a borehole in the neighbouring compound and we've already contracted the job to six mallam who were just awaiting the bricklayers to finish their work. And according to metrological information obtained, there would be 2 rain next week (precisely sunday and monday)

Special thanks to Caseymoney for assisting in posting pic update to the thread.
More pic to follow as soon as my internet service is restored.