₦airaland Forum

In the plan, I have placed the guest toilet by the front entrance outside from the living room. The concept was copied from a friend’s rented apartment and I like it.

I am aware there might be some design requirements that I am not aware of yet, but I am definitely open to my architects (or any other experienced person’s) suggestion.

As I get closer to the commencement of the project, I felt the need to start coming up with ideas of my own.

I want to have a general idea of what I want in drawing before my meeting with my architect. That way, there would be no challenge in expression.

Below is a sketch of what I want, with the rough plan of the ground floor.

omio4real:
Hello the professional in the house, I ve half plot of land I want to build 3bedroom house on it with all en suit , how muchtwill cist to build it to final level

First of all @omio4real, I am not a professional. The quote I provide is just a guide.

Since your plan has no dimension, I have made some assumptions.
Based on my experience, fast foward to current trends of things, firstly, I would like to tell you that you might be looking in the neighbourhood of N6million to N10million.

Factors that would affect the cost are a lot, i.e. the land's soil structure, topography, pillars/no pillars, tastes, etc.

The quote below is just a rough breakdown that can guide you.

About 8200 sancrete blocks = N 1,800,000 (Save cost here by casting on site)
About 175 bags of cement = N 380,000 (Go for the cheaper one, they are all equally good. Understand the different types will help you a lot)
About 75 tonnes of Sharp Sand = N 150,000 (This should be substantial to complete the foundation and block work - provided you are not cheated by volume.
About 50 tonnes of Granite = N 280,000 (Mostly for foundation. Extra depends on if you plan on creating pillars, most Structural Enginners will recommend)
About 50 tonnes of plaster sand = N 70,000

Irod Rods = N 132,000 (You will need to buy in pieces. You might require more if you plan on building concrete fascia [parapet])
Roofing = N 1,400,000 (Depends on what you want, really)
Plumbing & Electrical = 500,000.00 (Does not include the fittings. Electrical items are now very expensive in the market)
POP = N 600,000
Doors, Windows and Buglaries = N 850,000 (As mentioned, taste will determine price here
Labor 800,000.00 = (Budget more for this. You will also consider getting a site supervisor)
Painting and fittings - depens on your taste

There are still quite a few other items not included here that will impact your sum total.

Having said all that, I will strongly recommend you get a quantity surveyor to do a proper quote for you. You will save a lot doing so in the long run, trust me!

marumaru:
Hello People,

Please, I need borehole to be drilled at Ikorodu. I had drilled borehole earlier but it wasn't properly done because the color of the water is still brown after over a year of usage.

I will be glad to receive response in this forum.

I had same problem as well with my borehole (95 ft deep). The first one I dug was infested with iron bacteria giving it the brown metallic color. I was told by my neighbors that it was not possible to obtain cleaner water unless I dig a well instead, which has to be shallow. The problem with that is that there are a lot of surface contaminant.

I eventually got someone to do the work for me. The guy dug as deep as 210 ft before they were able to get to the second aquifer.

If you want, I can send you the person's number. They are neat with their jobs too.

DE-MYSTIFYING TONNAGE
When I order for items from a building material supplier – say sharp sand, laterite, granite or even iron rods – these items are mostly quoted in tonne. You hear things like “25 tonnes of sharp sand”, etc. For me, the first thing that crosses my mind is “why quote in tonnage when volume is much easier to visualize?” It is a bit confusing to be honest, especially for novice like me.
First, tonne is a measure of mass, not of volume. Secondly, there are several variant of tonne – metric tons, US tons and imperial tons. Until I find a fellow Nairalander to give me a better insight into which one is used in Nigeria construction clime, I will go ahead and assume it is Metric Tons.
1 Metric Ton is equal to 1,000kg.
If my secondary school physics still serves me right, to obtain the volume of each item quoted in tonnes, I need to know what the density of the material is. For example, the density of Portland cement is 1,500kg per cubic meter, sharp sand is 1,700 kg per cubic meter and granite is 1,650 kg per cubic meter (I believe).
In essence, a 25 tonnes sharp sand would be about 15.5 cubic meters (25,000kg / 1,600kg/m3) while a 30 tonnes granite would be about 19.7 cubic meters.
Subject to correction, most tipper trailers (double axles) have a haulage capacity of 30 tonnes with an 18 cubic meters volume capacity. It means that when fully loaded, a tipper trailer of this size will deliver 18 cubic meters in volume of the material it carries (I am presuming here).

DE-MYSTIFYING VOLUME
Now that we see how they relate, why is volume important?
When talking in terms of concrete mixture for example, my guess is that the ratios are quoted in volume. Or is there more to it? I am hoping someone can help out here!
Going further, a standard wheelbarrow mostly used in construction work is about 0.09 cu. meter by volume.
Now, let’s do some basic mathematics…
A bag of Portland cement is 50kg by mass. That means that the volume occupied by that bag of cement is 50kg / 1500 kg per cu. meter = 0.033 cu. meters. In essence, about 3 bags of cement is expected to fill a wheelbarrow.
Now it gets a bit more complicated! The volume we get when calculating from mass in kg (or tonnes) and density is called ABSOLUTE VOLUME. The actual volume occupied by materials in their container (e.g. cement in a wheelbarrow) is called APPARENT VOLUME.
I have wondered why so much complications myself! Volume should be volume! Which one is absolute and apparent volume again!
Well, apparent volume is the volume of a material including spaces between its particles. This is what we can see and make sense to in real terms. I like to believe that to make up for the voids, most suppliers (and workers) heap the materials – I hope I am right at this junction because heap is as vague as it can be measured.

APPLICATION #1
So, why all this? Well… at the end of the day, it all boils down to how much of material we need for what we want to do. Let’s take the first example: Concrete slab.
Suppose we want to construct a concrete slab without re-enforcement, just to make it easy for novices like me, we first need to calculate the total surface area of the slab – call it A.
The next item is the thickness of the slab – call it d.
Ok, with A and d, we can calculate the absolute volume V (let’s just say volume, to Keep It Simply Simple K.I.S.S.). That is, V = A x d.
From the volume of the concrete and the mixture ratio, we can now estimate the volume of each constituent.
For example, for a slab of 3.5 meters width by 1 meter length, with a thickness of 4 inches (0.1 meters), we can calculate the volume as:
3.5 x 1 x 0.1 = 0.35 cubic meters
Then, breaking that to its constituent, we have:
Cement = 1 / 7 x 0.35 = 0.05 cubic meters
Sand = 2 / 7 x 0.35 = 0.10 cubic meters
Granite = 4 / 7 x 0.35 = 0.20 cubic meters
Remember that one bag of cement (50kg) will occupy 0.033 cubic meter and a wheelbarrow is approximately cubic meters by volume:
We can conclude that approximately 2 bags of cement, 1.5 wheelbarrow of sand and 2.5 wheelbarrow of granite is what is expected to be used for the mixture.

TO BE CONTINUED…


Disclaimer:
I am not an expert in the field of quantity surveying neither am I a civil engineer or architect. I am a just an ordinary nairalander trying to learn, and all that is contained within this thread are plainly my opinion and should not be used as a basis for making outright decisions. I have tried doing a bit of googling to answer some persistent questions and this is the result I have come up with on my own and by myself.
However, I believe it might come in handy for someone like me to have a basic idea and help in personal budgeting and material management.
I however welcome any contribution or constructive criticism (including grammar and spelling corrections) that may crop up.

With my first building project done - well, almost done, with very minor finishing touches left, I have started looking forward to getting another started. I have not only come to realize that I derive a great deal of joy and fulfillment in getting involved in my own building, I have also come to realize that it is perhaps the best pension I can offer myself.

While my first project is a storey building with two three bedroom flats adjoining building (I don't know the name they call this kind of structure -duplex?!), my look-ahead is now to have a 6 bedroom tastefully finished block of flats.

In my head, I am thinking a building covering a total of 245 sq. mtrs, 6 flats - 2 per floor, 3 bedrooms - all ensuite, and a guest toilet to go with it. All is still in my head, all is still ideas. But that's the starting point, right?

I have started conceptualizing a three years plan to get the house erected and fully functional at the best rate without compromising on quality.

First thing first, I need to raise funds for land .

Parlor, Kitchen, Family lounge and Tenant's living room POP designs.

Exterior views... sorry for the poor quality.

DrWise:
Sorry please, must we do the DpK or German floor for all stores buildings?

Can't one just start building a storey building without German floor?

Dr Wise, I am not exactly a professional. I can ask my Engineer - but you are better off asking other nairalanders... like spyder880.

Anion:
Edshaf well done, it's not easy.
Pls what's the roof dimension in square metres?

460 sqmtrs.

Engineermbugame:
Remain plumbing installation,quess is surface installation.cause u already completed de building

No... the plumbing has already been done and it is buried (superficial). The issue was that I got too carried away to take record and report same on this thread.

WebSurfer:
that was a smart one sir. But hope it didnt interfere with the smooth/orderliness in the job ?

That's the cost. Overall, it was marginally alright. That's what I did anyways.

Silumi:
Tnks for this inventory of ur building activity i just aquired a land to and i wud also like to start up a project, mine being a student accommodation but d price of ur foundation is scary pls tell me will it b d same for a simple repeating foundation for a student lodge. Tnks

The cost of foundation is dependent on several factors sir. Soil type, the intended structure, taste/quality, the level of the German floor compared to the environment. I have seen foundation costing less than #1.5m for the same size and another costing almost double what I spent.

Wish you the best.

WebSurfer:
i noticed the cost/quantity of woods used at the decking process was not included, but anyway, was that included in the total decking cost ?

I negotiated with the Carpenter. He reused planks from another site. To answer your question, yes, all inclusive.

emmanuelajayi:
Hope you know you will fill the compound to the height of the building before doing your flooring. Just telling you so u don't freak out when u think u r done with the project.

Oh yes... I have actually been doing that slowly. At the moment, I have enough filling to meet the need of my site. As you might know, I still have to fill about 4 inch. thick granite dust before laying the interlock.

Thanks anyways

At the moment, waiting on POP to finish work and inner screedings before mounting burglaries and doors. Below are pictures of POP workers at work.

Electrical wiring was completed in time for windows mounting and plastering.

While waiting to continue, I engaged interlock molders to mold 320 sq. meters of interlocking tiles for me. I made use of the remaining granite and sand for the purpose. Fabrication of the windows was also underway.

mufutau55:
Oga Edshaf, doing good. Looks like you meet your December deadline o.

Hajji M.

Oga mi,
Thanks. I only wished it could be earlier... but money is hard to get by these days.

The roofing was completed on the 7th December. Some final adjustments to the design currently in progress.
Next in line (based on financial capacity) are electrical and plumbing.

Roofing sheet. Using De-United Roof tiles (classic). Quality wise, the stone coated roofing tiles matches Gerrard quality.

Roof wood carcasses (completed in October, 2015). Road construction made site inaccessible yet again.

Hello boss,
Can you please give a quotation for PVC windows (white profile finish), glazed with 5mm thick blue tinted glass and with a folding net.

The expected quantity is as follows:

Casement:
1.8m x 1.2m - 3pcs
1.2m x 1.2m - 10pcs
0.9m x 1.2m - 5pcs
0.75m x 1.2m - 2pcs (Close)
0.75m x 0.75m - 5pcs

Sliding:
1.8m x 1.2m - 2pcs
1.2m x 1.2m - 15pcs
0.9m x 1.2m - 2pcs
0.75m x 1.2m - 2pcs (Closed)
0.75m x 0.75m - 4pcs

Please include transportation cost to Ejigbo, Lagos as well as installation cost.

fashdee@yahoo.com

Thanks.

Form work for parapet fascia

Form work for concrete parapet fascia

Block laying work

Work resumed on the 7th of September with the next course, and progressed slowly... so sorry for not updating this whole time. I forgot.

The delay in continuation was mainly due to Lagos State extending her good hands on our street.

At the moment, the team is working on the form work for the concrete parapet fascia.

spyder880:
The average is 50 blocks. Thanks.

Many thanks oga mi. What of the number of trips... roughly how many blocks will 1 trip cover?

Hello,

Going by the quality of work you are known for, can you please advice on the number of trips of sharp sand and cement that would be required for brick laying of say 5000 standard 9" bricks?

I have heard different opinions with cement: Some saying 1 bag of cement for 100 bricks, while other opinions, it is about 1 bag for about 50 bricks. Whats your advice please?

Regards.

FADEO:
Is the building still on or it is completed already?
am also starting a project before the end of the month. so I might need your input as things unfolds.

It is still very much a work in progress. I will glad to share knowledge and wish you the very best on your pending project.

FADEO:
the building is like a duplex in front and 3 bedroom behind? am I right

Correct.

mufutau55:
What is the dimensions of the building in Length and Width. Thanks.

Hajji M.

12.6m x 26m

nameoh:
pls how much did the decking cost you.

Based on the structural drawing, below is the list of materials used:

1.5 tons of 16mm iron rods
3.0 tons of 12mm iron rods + extra 12 pieces
1.5 tons of 10mm iron rods
6 trailers (10 tyres) of sharp sand
4 trailers (10 tyres) of granite (true 30 tons)
265 bags of cements

In total, I spent #2,782,250

Off course, I didn't include #400,000 omo onile's money and #40,000 cost of feeding the decking labourers...