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Next, it's time for some wood works( roofing) .

Let there be wood.

We Begin work on the shoot out or verandah.tho the shoot out is not too perfect but it's ok nonetheless

I will attach cost of things in the front page when I am done with the photos upload

More pics

The only constant thing in life is change.dont ever stop improving as you move in life

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More photos

And we get to the lintel stage

Tammynator:
Wow! How many days did it take to get to this level? God bless the works of your hand.

Due to the slowness of the work it took us 7 days to get to this level .the bricklayers dragged the work on purpose because they were working on another project simultaneously

More pics coming soon

more progress

see progress

Gabrokpara001:
From the pictures you posted i can see you didn't locate any column/pillars at the corners even tho the building may stand, it is usually best practice to position pillars at critical positions as they will carry the roof and concrete fascia(if you intend to do one), as well as enabling you to make use of chain lintel instead of single lintels which most people use in other to cut cost but ask any professional he/she will advice you to go for chain lintel.
Well good job so far God speed

Thanks for your words of encouragement.

The reason we left out the pillars and columns altogether was beacaue we had no plan to do any concrete fascia, parapet ,the house is just a bungalow and won't be carrying any heavy load ,and the land is really rocky serving as additional support for the building

Tammynator:
OP, God will surely help u finish your project. Firstly, I don't think it is a must to use 9" blocks for foundation. Here in Akwaibom, they even use 5" blind to build from foundation to roofing level for bungalows. Secondly, how did u know the 500 blocks will be enough for your foundation? And, did you buy the 2500 blocks needed for the main building all at once? Keep it up and always ask questions.

Actually , from experience of the bricklayer he suggested we buy 400 blocks .buy as we progressed on the project we discovered we needed 100 more. due to the sloppiness of the land some part of the foundation was 3 coaches high, other were 2 coaches high...


And about the 2500 blocks, we didn't buy them all at once.we bought 500 blocks first then when they were exhausted, we bought another 1000 blocks and so on.

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Hum2020:
Op what a nice work you are doing there but must say that you are managing this work because I don't see the reason why it is taking you time to filled the foundation knowing that by filling up this foundation it will give a level results before you start setting the block to linte thanksh

Well let me surmarise why I didn't fill it before raising the main building blocks in two points.
1.lack of experience
2.the workers were really lazy and seems I was even forcing them to get the job done

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Let the photos do the talking

mufutau55:
You should jave fill the foundation and levelled it before progressing with upper block laying. This will help you to get good levelling gauge for all rooms and areas.

Hajji M.

Well , first experience and nobody to ask how ist been done.we learn from experience.will try that in my next project ,God willing

mufutau55:
Why didnt you move away this palm tree before starting the foundation block laying?

Hajji M.

The bricklayer and his boys were lazy and kept talking me out of removing the palm tree.they promise to remove it by cutting it into small pieces when they were done with the foundation.it was part of the reason I chased them away after they completed the foundation stage.
I later paid some hausa men to help me roll away the palm tree trunk

More photos

Photos speak a thousand words

Estimated blocks for the building

2500 blocks.

Building proper on the way

I negotiated with another bricklayer to help with the construction from foundation to roof stage of the building because the bricklayer that constructed the foundation was trying to extort me . Imagine he gave me a quotation of 200k just to raise the building from foundation level to roofing stage.

Anyways I got a good bargain of 85,000 naira from another bricklayer for the same job.

It's always good to take quotations from two or three workman before deciding on embarking on a project.but remember , cheap price doesn't mean it's the best.justt know how to negotiate and pick quality

Still on the foundation .

To save cost, we didn't do German flooring.it was nt needed anyways since the land was dry land and very rocky

More from different angles.


Due to lack of experience , I used 6 inch blocks for setting of the foundation instead of 9 inches block.i later found out from the bricklayer that 9 inch was the standard block used in setting foundation of a house even if it's just a bungalow house

More photos

Photos of the foundation

Foundation completed.

Cost of foundation.

12 bags of cement used @ 2400 each 28,800
1 trip of sharp sand @ 15000 15000
1 trip of gravel @ 18000 18000
500 blocks 6 inches @130 65000
Sticks for setting the foundation 1000
Labour 42000
Total spent at this stage 169,000

I think i have lost the photos of the bush clearing and foundation setting I took.but i will upload the photos of the foundation after they were completed


Cost of clearing the bushes .3000 naira.