₦airaland Forum

joshua112:
nice thread opalu .Although im an architect and a contractor this tread is also useful to me too nice job keep up the good job we are following.

Thanks sir

Adewunmismith:
Pls sir,do you have idea on pile foundation?

Yes I have done thousands of piles for different buildings.
What aspect of piling do you wish to know about?

Eragablessen:
Bless you op for a demanding thread like this. I've bought a land but plans to start my building by Feb. 2016.
The structures i hope should include 3 bedrooms, 2bathrooms and toilet each, 1 living room/kitchen, 1 dining room, small utility room and a gym room. I also want a "p.o.p" bent on the living room. Please do you have any idea on how i should go with the plans so as not to avoid architectural errors Thanks.
Modified, its going to be a flat pls...

Give it to an experienced architect. If you don't have I can give it to someone reliable to do it for you.
But why wait till 2016 when you can finish the building before 2016? Best of luck any ways

manwonder:
OP, God bless you for creating this thread. I had just created a thread on foundation and structural issues 3 days ago, wherein I was seeking professional advice on my building project as I didn't just want to rely on my bricklayer's information.

I'm about constructing a 3-bedroom flat en-suite on a half-plot of land located in an area where plaster sand (called Dagbolu) had been excavated. However, my concern is how to go about the foundation, as I noticed that the the area that my bricklayer had dug became water-logged and almost got washed off as soon as it rained, which gives me the impression that the foundation would need more reinforcement than normal.

Therefore, I need to know the following:

a.) How to go about laying the foundation

b.) What materials would be needed in laying the foundation

c.) How much it would cost to lay the foundation according the method(s) suggested in (a) above and considering the materials suggested in (b) above

d.) How much the whole construction from foundation to roofing would cost considering the nature of the land and the building plan

Please find below pictures of the little work done on the land, as well as the building plan. The land is located in Oluodo area in Ikorodu, Lagos.

A. The foundation for bungalow is not as critical as that for a storey building. In as much as I don't know the sub soil situation, I will also be interested in determining the suitable compound level for the site. There was this Joint Venture our company wanted to embark upon at Osapa. The owner had developed two luxury blocks of flats with good foundations but without caring to find the good datum level. Therefore when Lagos state constructed the road, the road level was at the ground floor widow level of the 2 multistory buildings. Therefore just a single rainfall fills the compound like a swimming pool. It doesn't get dry before the next rainfall.
So back to your question, you can use Reinforced Wide strip foundation of short raft. The reason is to tie the entire foundation so that they act as a single unit.
I have used smaller pad foundation for bungalow due to the nature of the soil. There are things an Engineer can see by site visitation that pictures may not cover.

b. The materials are granite, Sharp sand, Cement and Water. You are add some reinforcement depending on what your Structural Engineer on Site advises.

C. & D. Send me your email

by semitunde:10:52am



You didn't state your own design depth and the no of storeys of the building or type of building. This would have helped more in forming a discussion.

Why didn't you reduce to 750mm as the client wanted? Is it because the building cannot be designed with such depth? Or because you need the building to be above the flood level as you say?

What parameters did you use to design the foundation to take care of the flood? Can you take us through the process?

Thanks

I used 225x900mm deep raft
The reason why I didn't use 225x750mm raft was because the Geotechnical report I worked with for that site showed me the subsoil strata. Besides 75mm depth was inadequate based on my structural analysis

In terms of the flooding, water flows to the compound that has the lowest level. It gets worse if a compound is lower than the connecting road.
So what I did was simply to raise my site level above the road level to a point that cost won't be outrageous.

Tjhamman:
Opalu
I have a bungalow in the the village which I intend to convert to Duplex. My question is, is it cheaper to demolish the Bungalow and erect a Duplex or erect 15 -20 concrete pillars and build the first floor on top of the Bangalow. I really like the design of the Bungalow and will not mind to have top floor to accommodate my family. The second question is will it better solid enough and not to pose a danger.
Tj

You can convert any building into any building of your choice. Simply use the right professionals who know their onions.l
All that a Structural Engr will need is the architectural of the existing structure and that of the proposed structure. Infact if a good architect does the architectural, the new upper floor will not be too complex in the circumstance.

erico2k2:
what has happened to you is as a result of no damp proof b4 the concrete was poured on the floor. After the compacting of the filling sand there sold be rolls of plastic sheets on top the sand b4 concrete .Hope this helps.

Thanks bro. That is the answer.
DPM is Damp Proof Membrane which is locally called Nylon. It has to be laid on the floor area before blinding before reinforcement work. Some persons prefer to lay the nylon on top of the blinding while some lay it directly on the hardcore.
The main essence is to lap the nylon rolls so that moist doesn't rise to the floor and spoil your tiles and wardrobe

austin2all:
Good job bros, pls my question is this: how much will it cost to build a block (2 storey) of 4 flats of 2 rooms and parlor, kitchen, on a dry land. Putting into consideration the current prices of building materials in the Nigerian markets.
Thanks for your anticipated reply.

If you have the architectural drawing, I will give you a near perfect quote

elvis07:
OP pls wat can be done to a building without without capping b4 the top block work was done. The building is already above lintel level. Its a 4bedroom bungalow on a very solid ground, the capping issue was a mistakke on d part of d engineer bcus he was told to cap d foundation b4 raising d block work. WHAT CAN IDO TO HAVE A SoLID FOUNDATION BCUS I INTEND CASTING D FOuNDATION FLOOR B4 ANY FURTHER WoRK goes on

Please show me picture to be able to give you a more suitable answer.

Gifted4all:
Must we use hard core on a pile foundation

It is not a must if you are doing the ground floor as a suspended floor. But if you are not doing that, it is advisable. The hardcore achieves higher compaction and stability than filling sand.
Many contractors and owners do not like to use hardcore due to cost.

desunit:
Op! A four storey building with a sound foundation about 20 years old now, recently had a problem with the drainage system. Each time it rained it gets flooded (water will fill the whole compound) am curious if the flooding will have any negative effect on the foundation.

I think the best way to tackle the issue is to put in place a good drainage system in place. WE can't eliminate underground water at close proximity to foundations but having preventable flood around the foundation.

The best way is to fill the compound to the a level that flood doesn't flow into the building.

TYTAN:
@ Opalu: good work. i have just plastered my 3bedroom twin duplex and after a while i stated noticing tiny cracks here and there on the walls. i inquired from the structural engineer what could have caused the cracks, he said the house have just began to settle. can you please give a candid opinion on this. Thank you

There are different reasons for buildings to settle.
One is the answer the Engineer gave you. Every building settles even if it was built on pile foundation. However settlement must be uniform (monolithic) and must be within acceptable limits. That is it should be very very small and not noticeable. If the building settles differentially you get 'non-uniform' cracks.

Another reason for cracks is plaster cracks. When poor quality plaster sand is used, there will be thread -like cracks on the walls.

The 3rd reason for cracks is the breakage of blocks done by plumbers and electrical conduits. If these long breakages are not filled with strong mortar or weak concrete, then you get major cracks that make it look as if the building is failing at foundation

There is a vital aspect of using inadequate foundation. The determination of the type of foundation a building requires is done by the Structural designs matched with the Soil Investigation/tests. The Structural Engineer through his Analysis estimates the entire loads that is coming on the foundation at various points. Where the foundation required is raft, he determines the depth that will be both SAFE and COST EFFECTIVE. But in a conflict between safety and Cost, the safety takes precedence or else the architect is called in to redesign the building to make it smaller/lighter.
Last year, I did an entire structural designs for an estate at Elegushi in lekki. And the Owner insisted I reduce the raft to 750mm depth. But based on my designs, 750 depth will fail. So I didn't. By the time they the foundations were done to my standard, as soon as the ground floor slabs were completed, heavy rain fell and the ground floor of many estates around the site were submerged, all the ground floor of all his own estate were not flooded.
That was when he knew I did a good job for him.
Apart from flooding, the ability of the foundation to carry the dead and imposed loads for at least 100 years is what is critical.

I have been involved in the structural corrections of more than 1,250 buildings that were wrongly built in the past 10 years.
In all, I have discovered the major reasons why buildings fail structurally are
1. Lack of professionals on the project. The some sub reasons that owners give are that they don't have money to pay them since their charges are avoidable. And also that they themselves have ideas about buildings etc. When there are no professionals on the project, such project will not have the necessary CORRECT designs/drawings. Such projects won't have the right professionals Supervising the Construction Process.
2. Another major reason for Structural failure and foundation issues is the use of substandard materials. These include reinforcements, Sharp sands, Granites, Cement even Water etc. So many Rebars being used can easily cut or rust. Water that contains impurities is not safe for concrete a since those impurities attack the concrete. (Chemistry 101). A Man wanted quote one day and I gave him. But he went for one desperate Contractor who used filling sand to cast concrete! After 6 months, the suspended slab (decking) started vibrating like water bed. I was also called upon and i corrected it at a cost 3 times the cost to build a solid slab. In addition, using the same size of granite (coarse aggregate ) can weaken the concrete.
3. Another reason for failure in buildings is the use of wrong methodology in construction. For instance there is a method whereby wet concrete is vibrated in order to expel voids and holes inside. If you are using pole vibrator, it has to be poked into it left in there for brief interval and removed and poked somewhere else. Some quack roadside casters just use stick to shook here and there or hit here and there. Even if the vibrating machine is used wrongly, it will trap voids. Every construction work has best practice that if not followed, the result will be bad. Another example is that when a carpenter lays the 1x12 for first floor slab, every hole between the planks must be covered with well sliced cement bags nailed with tiny nails. This should be done before laying of reinforcement. Reason being that when casting is done, the wet concrete usually slip through those holes thereby weakening the lower part of the slab which is subjected to tensile stress. But due to the leakage of the concrete at that bottom, what plasterers usually do is to fill it with mortar before plastering suffix of slab. But don't forget that the reinforcement were exposed before. So structurally, the bottom reinforcement is nonexistent. So when there are tensile forces, the slab cannot withstand them and what do you get? CRACKS!!! Then your fine POP starts cracking, blocks starts detaching at first floor and even crack etc.

Let me stop and await your questions.

Terrible

Daystar Shelter Ltd is a construction company geared towards delivering high - quality large - quantity housing projects across Africa.

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I just did this today.
An event centre only on ground floor.
We fixed columns with pads and also ran reinforcement on the wide strip foundation

This is wonderful. How I wish I can support this.

This is a useless as saying that you statement as a church member is an official statement of your church leadership

He needs rest. Very busy men of God should take time off to rest from the public eyes from time to time since they are also MEN (humans)

I like this thread. I need to make our Facebook page www.facebook.com/DaystarShelterltd very popular and our twitter handle @DaystarShelter to trend endlessly. Because we are a Global Housing Giant that needs to publicise our projects

1 hectare = 2.471 acres.
100 Hectares = 247.1 acres

1 acre = 6 plots so 247.1 acres = 1482.6 plots

olaniyi2000:
100 Hectares of land (i.e. 2,500 acres or 15,000 plots) for sale as a whole to a single buyer at directly on the expressway after Coscharis, Awoyaya, Ibeju lekki Land size: 100 Hectares or 2,500 Acres or 15,000 plots Title: C of O Price: 7 Billion Naira (Slightly Negotiable) Agency: 5% of Purchase Price (Negotiable)For Inspection CONTACT: 07026274551,08189720316

Please recheck your conversion from hectares to plots and to acres.

The NASS seem to me to be on track based on the facts in this article.
However they should all just open up what is in this amendment that is causing all these issues.

OP I feel your pain and shock.
GEJ is suddenly understanding what it is to be out of govt after being at the corridors of power since the return to democracy.
So its usual for him to take irrational decisions now especially after his wife of many years suddenly disappeared into thin air

Yes

A

Please give more details to be able to get precise answer

kolocat:
Ya you will remember but you will still say it cos you always do

Wetin be your own?

Columella:
@Opalu........I'm sorry your price offer isn't good enough for me. in fact I have increased the price of my land to N55million.
the new ShopRite, Christ embassy and the incoming new Estate would totally change the view of Osapa London. as you know, my property is just close to the expressway.

Okay. You have increased above market Price. Fine.
I don't know why you think location of christ embassy there should increase your land value. It's funny though. As a developer I have seen that most would be buyers would rather stay at a distance from whatever will give lifetime. Noise and hell of traffic.
When it was 47 you didn't. See buyers now you made it 55. How much is elegushi and ikate?

Bros, I will advise you to work with us to buy that land off the market. Hot deals shouldn't stay in the market for four months plus!