₦airaland Forum

spyder880:
The only way I guarantee that my works pass integrity tests is to keep doing things the right way every time. Each building has a building plan and it should be studied and all the specifications followed. Building is a science, and there are processes to be followed to get things right.

I usually have very knowledgeable persons around each of my building sites at the critical stages of the construction, to avoid any oversize on my part. There are times we run into difficult plans, and new methods or new styles of construction, the best thing to do is to ensure that someone who is an expert with that type of work comes around to supervise that part of the project.

Forget governments building control task force or staff, they may never visit your site after you pay them, the onus then lies on you to use the best building methods and observe every good building process in making sure the building comes out perfect.

Every builder is only as good as their last job, so I will love to be remembered for a well built, beautiful house, that's the only way I can guarantee myself of more projects.

You can measure your builder by hiring another professional to appear on site at intervals to monitor the processes and report the results to you.

sethtsadopp:
??

Successbay:
Yours is better sir..

I paid someone on this thread #820,000 to do a job based on previous work relationship and on trust...since August...

Till today he has not done 10% of the job, he is nowhere to be found and he keeps promising today, tomorrow etc.. Just cos I never knew his office..met him here on NL

You can try his number again to go check on him at the hospital if he picks..or try him with a different number..

All will be fine.

I respectfully disagree with you, Ericko2K2 and Mavverick.

Regardless of situation (garages and generators), there should be a working smoke detector at the entrance of each sleeping area.

Carbon Monoxide sensors should be located at an approved diameter.

In my city it's the law, for a purpose, and I actually have a detached garage.

Combining both detectors to me is the benefit of technology, which I cuddle.

There's a reason why we have one of the shortest life expectancy in the world.

Oh I'm also adding a radon detector but that might just push you guys off the ledge so I'll STFU about that

GloriousGbola:
i advise you buy as much as you can, because i dont think the new owners of shoprite plan on continuing with hardware supplies.
once the stock is gone, i think it will be gone forever

FEGEITOK:
There is an update on the above.

If you want to prevent off-gassing, you need to use low VOC wood glue when doing woodwork.

Here is an article from an architectural website that goes into detail about the problem.

It is important for service providers to also play the role of trusted advisors, when they do this, telling the client the pros and cons of certain buying decisions, a bond of trust is formed that allows the client to have no objection to paying more for the service provider and trusted advisor roles.

But the client doesn't get this from the service provider and has to do the kind of work that I have done to guarantee health and safety, such a service provider becomes disposable/dispensable.

I hope this helps someone else commissioning woodwork in the office or the home.

Thank God for Shoprite, I am now using a low VOC wood glue known as Alcolin wood glue. I am saying thank God because our wood markets don't source for this type of glue, and the next best option would have been to import it from Amazon which would take time.

Once again this illustrates how important proper ventilation is for the home and the office.

Sapiosexuality:
Guys, say I'm trying to do a 24hr solar source for about 600W or 1000w, would that be possible with a budget of 350k?

The total load is actually about 515 but I'm trying to raise it to 600 or 1000w (depending on cost). Is the budget enough for 600w and 24hr? If not, what can I can with that budget? Thanks.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
So Morningstar had Modbus TCP support, embedded webserver, email and triggered alert functionality and so on bundled into their CCs at least 10 years ago.

It is just that their target market was more of industrial and engineering and dealing with the complexity needed to use those features was normal for those environments - the users had the required technical background and rigor to use the tools without trouble.

Victron appears better because they open sourced their own development and thereby made it easy for hard core technical people and normal users and DIYers to collaborate and leverage on each other's work.

olopan:
Good morning Guys, i will be hosting a Twitter space on saturday, it is basically a how to guide/education on what to expect, what frame of mind is needed before shelling out some cash to avoid mistakes of having an improperly designed solar system.

I hope to see some of us that may be chanced to grace the event and share their thoughts so that everybody pick a few newer ideas to take away.

I will be joined by Sintolord, trippledot and bigbrovar on the space.

Don't miss out! See you this weekend, Don't forget to set your reminder.

Link to Join Below

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1dRJZMovewgGB

bewildered:
Bad idea. Instead fill them up with stones or broken bricks.

Laterite could accommodate moisture and weaken the block in the long run.

Charisdesigns:
It is a wrong practice

when it comes in contact with ground water through seepage it causes damp walls, hence growth of algae on your walls.


Because of it geological composition, it is prone to swell hence causes your wall to crack, which is a ripple effect of expansion within the block wall.

It also contains organic materials that deteriorate, which in turn causes shrinkage thus weakening the block walls, still resulting to crack walls


Recommendation, If you most fill your foundation hollow block, please do so with weak concrete.

Nauttyprof:
No Sir, it is bad.

It will aid capillary rise in water or moisture and also weaken the block in the long run.

Mass concrete is preferable to fill the block holes in foundation.

danduchi:
From a geologist point of view, laterite contains mineral like montmorillonite, illite or smectite.

Laterite with montmorillonite tends to swell when in contact with water or moisture and shrinks back when dry. So to avoid cracks on your buildings, do not fill in with laterite, rather use granite or broken blocks

blaise26abj:
It is wrong .

Lean or weak concrete mixed with water seal additives should be used to fill instead of laterite.

This is recommended for areas with high tendency for capillary movement of water .


It is the reason lower parts of both internal and external walls have serious water damages and people tend to use tiles to cover up .

lonesome501:
It's practically something everyone ((bricklayer or laborer)) does when filling the building foundation,,and the reason for that is because it's the cheapest way...

the best and costly way is to fill the blocks holes with concrete ((cement,sand, granite)),,so as to prevent the water that would be filling the blocks holes when rain falls from traveling down to damage the foundation blocks

,,JUST MY OWN OPINION

HOLAROCKDAY:
The picture you attached didn't explained your question instead you are only showing us A pad footing foundation base with it starter bar.

The reason why hollow block are been fill is to prevent upright movement of water into our foundation "Capillary water" which reduced the strength of the foundation. In many cases, it caused dampness on the building wall.

Has you have said earlier if a chain beam can't be provided, the best to do is fill in the hollow block with weak concrete.

And it is always best you provide DPC with good Damp proof membrane on your foundation to avoid story that touch later in the future.

My own 2 Kobo

ArchyDesmond:
...
There is a reason why the block is a hollow block.

Filling the block with laterite will always make your internal wall damp.....weaken ur foundation and eventually collapse the wall.


You can only fill with a solid concrete not laterite

agent01:
It is wrong to fill foundation hollow blockwork with Laterite.

Lean mix concrete should be used because it adds to the structural strength of your foundation and also a measure to prevent horizontal dampness.

It will be a bad practice to use Laterite. It cannot replace the use of lean mix concrete to fill solid in hollow blockwork.

enambobo:
The aim of grouting the block walls is to strengthen the foundation walls and offer better stability to the structure.

Hence preventing the percolation of water from the site area into the the foundation itself. Laterite offers negligible strength and zero restraints to the percolation of water. It is therefore not a suitable material for that purpose.

Also, using laterite increases the susceptibility to termite attack which in no distant time will affect the integrity of the structure. It is therefore best practice to use light concrete as a grouting material.

Reference:
They should not be filled with anything. The reason why hollow blocks are sometimes used in foundations is to present a moisture barrier between the soil surrounding the building which can get very moist under rainfall and the materials used in filling to grade which should remain stable.

Laterite which is a derivative of clay compounds has distinctive properties of water affinity. It attracts and bonds to water easiily and thus will cause two undesirable effects.


First, it will increase in volume and place tensile stresses within hollow block structure degrading its lifespan.


Secondly, it will act as a capillary to transmit moisture into the foundation leading to the degredation of the fill material.


Where foundations have to be reinforced to provide retention concrete is the best material for that purpose however alternative waterproofing regimes should be provided to protect the fill.

Aforxzy:
Laterite is a very fine soil material that contains alot of clay. It is not permeable and has very high water retaining capacity.

Most foundation with sancrete blocks are filled with lean concrete to make the foundation wall stronger, resist water seeping into the foundation and also counter the effect of the earth pressure on the wall.




Is there anything wrong in filling the holes of the foundation block-works with the laterite soil while the filling of the foundation was going on.??
..
In fact, what exactly is the main reason why the holes in the foundation block-works are being blocked-off during the filling of foundation with Laterite??
..
I really need to know the reason.
I need to learn this.

highoctane:
What prevents you from using solid blocks, it depends on the type of building, for a building not more than 1 floor 9inchs solid blocks is appropriate, bungalows can accommodate 6inhs solid block


Your foundation concrete Insitu should be allowed 21 days to harden or cure before laying any blocks.

In water log area or any other earth situation, the 1st to 4th foundation block coaches will be laid flat, convince the owner why it necessary to do this instead of standing.

This will prevent cracking as the building took the full weight of the roof.

Most importantly the foundation concrete must be allowed to cure, cake or harden for 21 days or more during raining periods.

But you didn't state the kind of structure you erecting

randomme:
The idea of filling block holes is to give the foundation stability, and reduce moisture in the block while water capillary is high.

However, this should only be done using weak concrete of ratio 1:4:8.

Using laterite to fill the hole is a bad practice because the laterite will cause your wall to damp and your finishing (plaster, painting, tiles) will start falling off within a short time.

GodsOwn2004:
It is a very bad practice, the ideal thing to do is to fill the hollow blocks with lean concrete.

Foundations are critical element of any building structure.

Capillary action and algae growth, damping, etc poses negative impact on structural stability, serviceability, strength and aesthetics of a building structure.

adanny01:
As a Civil Engr, there is one reason i have deduced for this norm in our building industry.

Structurally, its just to increase compressive strength of the foundation wall.

Usually, any building which has no columns transmits its entire load through the walls. It is also expected that the load increases from the top to the bottom of the wall. Therefore, the foundation walls bear the entire dead and live loads of the building's superstructure. Note that the foundation walls carries more load than the superstructure walls. Also, the foundation walls experience more deterioration due to dampness, wetting, drying and even chemical contents of the soil it is constantly in contact with.

In a bid to make the blocks of the foundation stronger, it is filled with lean concrete. Concrete is good in compression so by filling the block holes, the foundation walls will bear more load and the likely hood of failure is greatly reduced.

However, in practice, most builders don't actually fill the block holes as recommended. Some put broken blocks, boulders and like you said soil. These actions completely defeats the purpose of block hole filling. Putting laterite in block holes is worse than leaving it empty. Soil or laterite will encourage damping due to capillary action.

Block hole filling becomes very important in blockwork drainage where an access slab is placed for vehicle access. Sometimes you find these blockwork reinforced. Imagine the weight of a 30ton dumper truck over block work, if no concrete filling in the blocks, if the slab doesn't fail, the blocks under the slab will crush due to excessive compression.

Nauttyprof:
There is a great wrong in this. You are[b] giving these block high moisture content as the block will now be faced with external moisture content from surrounding soil and internal capillary rise in moisture as a result of the laterite used in filling the blocks.[/b] This is a high risk for the block and its strength.

FEGEITOK:
The first time I fought damp walls, I took down the old plaster from the floor to the midway point between the floor and the ceiling in all the rooms of the house. Then personally supervised a cement mix in the following formula

1 part cement to 3 parts stone dust to 2 parts sharp sand and 1 part plaster sand.

Five years later there is no evidence that the house was not properly built, the paint no longer pealed, and anyone workman who has worked on that part of the house said, the plasterwork is like concrete.

I also added a water proofing powder whose name I cannot remember since it is more than 5 years ago.

By the way this was internal not external walls.

I must admit the walls were not smooth. But screeding or another layer of plaster with a different mix can easily resolve that. I later screeded it to make them smooth.