bigrovar:


Thanks alot for the advise bro. That is exactly my plan. Yet even for renting out. I just wanted to know if laying 6 inch blocks on 9 would have any structural effect whatsoever in future.

Even if u are renting it out, human beings will still rent it, not animals. So if a building is bad for u structurally or anyone, one should rectify it as we are living in structures built by others where ever we are...
But the truth is there is absolutely nothing wrong with your building, any architect will agree with me that 6" blocks are use for buildings of your size, u even have money for using 9 inches blocks. As long as it is a bungalow, structurally your building is absolutely sound. Nothing to fear.
As regards the head beam, if u have money, it is good, it will help to reduce the roof load & also help chain your building, since your lintel wasn't a chained one. But if u don't have enough money, u can still roof, roofing for two bedroom bungalow isn't much, your building can withstand it.
In all, your building is perfectly okay, it is a bungalow & a small one.

bigrovar:
Hi guys. This is a bit of a long one:

So I have been away (hustling and stuff) and decided to build a low budget functional house for my family and stop the house rent which is becoming a drain. I decided to build on a 50 by 50 plot of land. A basic 2 bedroom bungalow.

I did very basic floor plan (see attached) to allow for enough space for rooms and a packing space which can take 2 cars. I used this tool http://www.sweethome3d.com/ for my floor plan.

Due to my busy schedule, I left the supervision with my brother since he had experience in construction. He hired the technicians and hands for the project while I provided money.

They took the project to lintel level when I came back to inspect it. Unfortunately I was very unhappy with what I saw. Here are my concerns


1) Against my instruction, my brother still went on to mix 9 inches with 6 inches for the outter walls. I told him to use 9 inches for the outter walls of the house all through and reserve the 6inches for the house. This was not done instead 9 inches blocks was used up to window level and 6 inches used to lintel level. I fear that this might affect the structural integrity of the house in future, since the house was designed not to have pillers and DPC was not used in the 3 course foundation.

2) I halted the roofing of the house because the carpenter recommended I use head course which is a casting done round the house 2 courses after the lintel. Is this really necessary?


My brother said the style of laying 6inch blocks on 9inch was fine since I wont be doing parapet and the soil was dry and good and " people do it alot without issues" but am not sold.

Is they any remedy to this before roofing? please gurus in the house. I would appreciate your take. I have attached pictures of the property in its current state.

This is my humble view concerning this sir.
It's already done but for future's sake, it's better to use 9'' blck for external walls y all the internal walls will be 6".
I hope it's helpful.
We use the method in some cases for some certain clients.

Timtol:

This is my humble view concerning this sir.
It's already done but for future's sake, it's better to use 9'' blck for external walls y all the internal walls will be 6".
I hope it's helpful.
We use the method in some cases for some certain clients.

Who made this standard of using 9" blocks for external walls?
Can u refer me to any textbook?
The op is only building a two bedroom bungalow & u all are screaming 9" blocks!!!
As long as the blocks are of good quality, there is nothing wrong with that building.
There would have been problem, if only the builder had place 9" blocks ontop of 6"blocks.

People build duplex with 6" solid blocks, not hollow, here u people are screaming 9" blocks for a two bedroom bungalow.

johnson232:

Even if u are renting it out, human beings will still rent it, not animals. So if a building is bad for u structurally or anyone, one should rectify it as we are living in structures built by others where ever we are...
But the truth is there is absolutely nothing wrong with your building, any architect will agree with me that 6" blocks are use for buildings of your size, u even have money for using 9 inches blocks. As long as it is a bungalow, structurally your building is absolutely sound. Nothing to fear.
As regards the head beam, if u have money, it is good, it will help to reduce the roof load & also help chain your building, since your lintel wasn't a chained one. But if u don't have enough money, u can still roof, roofing for two bedroom bungalow isn't much, your building can withstand it.
In all, your building is perfectly okay, it is a bungalow & a small one.

I concur with you sir.
if you have a relatively stable ground and a small structure, if you can ensure a quality 6" blocks you are good to go. I have supervised an estate of 16 No's of 3 bedroom semidetached bungalow about 11 years ago, and all the building has been fully occupied since completion 2006, up till date there is no single structural defect. it is a notable estate if I mention the name some of us may know the estate. Though extra caution were put in place. 1. Foundation was also 6" special block filled solid with concrete, good German floor, chained lintel beam. Then we have a massive roofing.

bigrovar:


Thanks alot for the advise bro. That is exactly my plan. Yet even for renting out. I just wanted to know if laying 6 inch blocks on 9 would have any structural effect whatsoever in future.

Like Johnson has said, what is not good for you, is not good enough for anyone, tenant inclusive but l am sure that was not your intention.

Now, there isnothing that bad in mixing those blocks but it would have been better if they did it the way you instructed - 9" Blocks forr the Perimeter and 6" Blocks as internal dividing walls.

Since the house is already Up to Roof level, l will suggest that you ask Masons to knock down some areas (Angles, corners, and areas that are prone to weight-bearing) and insert Columns in those places.
Personally, l think l would never condone a house, Bungalow or not, not having Concrete Pillars at the Four Corners, as a minimum.
The ground can heave, underground seismic effects are unpredictable and while it may start somewhere far from us, deep underground, its effect can befelt at the ground level in areas we are certain are "solid grounds" because such fractures arising deep within the Earth's crust can split right across state boundaries sef!

With Columns in the right places, you are sure that cracks will not suddenly show-up, on small seismic heaves.
keep the house to serve its purpose, do small adjustment here and there and you are good to go.

Regarding the Headbeams, it is a good thing BUT in your current state, it will only worsen the situation because you will be putting a Concrete Beams (so to say) on just blocks!
Such Concrete Beams are supposed to rest on Concrete Columns so that the weight/Pressure is transmitted right to the groun, from roof to Beams to Columns and then Foundation.

Next time, do like Egunmogaji, do your build only when you are around otherwise, you can never be too sure of what the "Nigerian Engineer will do"! They will remind you that "this is how we do it here, Oga.

That is my own opinion.

johnson232:

Who made this standard of using 9" blocks for external walls?
Can u refer me to any textbook?
The op is only building a two bedroom bungalow & u all are screaming 9" blocks!!!
As long as the blocks are of good quality, there is nothing wrong with that building.
There would have been problem, if only the builder had place 9" blocks ontop of 6"blocks.

People build duplex with 6" solid blocks, not hollow, here u people are screaming 9" blocks for a two bedroom bungalow.

Sorry,just sharing my opinion

johnson232:

Even if u are renting it out, human beings will still rent it, not animals. So if a building is bad for u structurally or anyone, one should rectify it as we are living in structures built by others where ever we are...
But the truth is there is absolutely nothing wrong with your building, any architect will agree with me that 6" blocks are use for buildings of your size, u even have money for using 9 inches blocks. As long as it is a bungalow, structurally your building is absolutely sound. Nothing to fear.
As regards the head beam, if u have money, it is good, it will help to reduce the roof load & also help chain your building, since your lintel wasn't a chained one. But if u don't have enough money, u can still roof, roofing for two bedroom bungalow isn't much, your building can withstand it.
In all, your building is perfectly okay, it is a bungalow & a small one.

Thanks brother Johnson. I think you misread the first part of my question. I was actually asking about the building integrity so as to determine its fit for human habitation be it myself, family or a tenant. I did not mean to infer renting it out once the response is to the negative. Thanks for the advise.

EgunMogaji:


I was lambasted on here for being a "1 brick a year" builder because I was taking my time and ensuring that things were done my way thus only working on site when I was physically in the country to oversee.

If I were you I would finish this structure with minimal fanfare as in finishing, etc and then sell it off. Or better yet rent it off. I don't think the house is unsafe, for a bungalow, but it's not what you want. You'll always second guess your self.

Then start off a new build but this time with you as the General Contractor.

Good luck.

@BigRovar

Please note the bolded.

I never suggested that your house was only safe for a renter.

I suggested to rent or sell so that you don't second guess what you want for your personal build in terms of esthetics.

johnson232:

Who made this standard of using 9" blocks for external walls?
Can u refer me to any textbook?
The op is only building a two bedroom bungalow & u all are screaming 9" blocks!!!
As long as the blocks are of good quality, there is nothing wrong with that building.
There would have been problem, if only the builder had place 9" blocks ontop of 6"blocks.

People build duplex with 6" solid blocks, not hollow, here u people are screaming 9" blocks for a two bedroom bungalow.

Everything does not necessarily have to originate from a Textbook!
there is what we call "good practice" in cosntruction and these are time-tested practises that have yielded good results over time and hence, they become what we call "Rule of thumb".

Using 9" Blocks for External (load-bearing) walls and 6" blocks for internal (non-load bearing) partion walls is one of such.

Daboomb:


Everything does not necessarily have to originate from a Textbook!
there is what we call "good practice" in cosntruction and these are time-tested practises that have yielded good results over time and hence, they become what we call "Rule of thumb".

Using 9" Blocks for External (load-bearing) walls and 6" blocks for internal (non-load bearing) partion walls is one of such.

Awon engineer to m'oye ,,

Daboomb:


Everything does not necessarily have to originate from a Textbook!
there is what we call "good practice" in cosntruction and these are time-tested practises that have yielded good results over time and hence, they become what we call "Rule of thumb".

Using 9" Blocks for External (load-bearing) walls and 6" blocks for internal (non-load bearing) partion walls is one of such.

Thanks for ur backup!
That fact is really a strong one.
Thanks.

johnson232:
When we were debating pressing political issues, some members here were busy reporting our comments & deleting them. What is the construction industry of a nation without a sound economy? Na who no chop go build house?

How can we get a sound economy without addressing issues affecting the political landscape? This conutry is heading towards only God what direction.

Our last hope is restructuring, because the divide is too much to curb at this level & instead of the president to address it, he is busy makng mockery of those that protested in London, which warranted his return, because he doesn't want to devolve power.

Make 2019 come abeg, Nigerian can never move forward with a president with such a high level of conservative mindset.

It all boils down to how well informed one is, in General topics and current affairs.
Its not everyone that is interested in Politics and General Affairs thus they may be short on "input", when such discussions are raised.
But instead of staying on the sidelines and reading so as to improve their knowledge, they prefer to shutdown those who posses the ability for such discuss, by pressing report Button over and over again.

That is the Nigerian syndrome in us, "If l cant have it, then no one must have it" .

Now, we have always disagre on where the problem lies (you like to see as witch-huntig of the previous administartion headed by your kinsman, when we say they laid the foundation, to a large extent, for the economic woes we have suffered in the last two years) but l agree with you that the polity needs to be restructured.

Restructuring itself should be based on Equity, fairness and Justice for every Nigerian.
But if you look closely, you will observe that noone wants to bell the cat and tell ourselves the truth.
What people call Restructuring right now is nothing more than a display of Selfish Greed.

Some people look at Nigeria and like members of a family, think that they should be the "family purse" so they can spend as much as they want, whileother members ofthe family go struggling and trying to meet up.

The TRUTH is that Resource Control is what most people (especially those from the East and ND) selfishly and greedily construe as restructuring! Its never going to happen, at least not in the next ten years.

Some others see retsructuring as Regionalism whereby Each region has and operates its onw Confedral Systemof Govt.
Like Resource Control, it will also put some "members of the family" in jeopardy and as such, they wont just keep quiet.

What l see as Restructuring is:
1) tackling Corruption in a way that ensures that Politicians are not attracted to Politics for the sake of the amount of money they can make from it. Make Public office financially unattractive so that only those who have real love to lead (and are even ready to spend their own money to make things work) are coming forward. Put the structures in place and dont let it be about a "strong man or personality"

2.) Have sero-tolerance for corruption such that like it is done in China, stealing Public funds should attract the death penalty.

3.) Remove "state of orgin" from any form Nigerians are filling. let every Nigerian be a Nigerian despite the fact that we all know where we come from but that should not be a ticket/barrier to any publci offering. Remove Quota system and all sorts of "educationally disadvantaged" excuses from admission toour insitutions. Let any area put forward their best persons and let there be open competition.

4.) Most importantly, let us return to REGIONALISM but in a way that it does not cause chaos.
The Crude Oil is th emain problem because over soem decades now, the whole nation has come to depend on it and take it as the only source of immense wealth. No Region can or must be allowed to pay claim to it FOR NOW.

Fed Govt should set a 20yr period under which ALL the proceeds from Crude oil is shared EQUALLY by all states, while the time is used to develop alternative source of income for all other non-oil producing states.
This is the only way to prevent war breaking out when some Region try secede with the Crude Oil

With time, every region will find its own source of income and stop depending on Crude Oil.
Once you remove the Crude Oil income from the equation, to restructure will be very easy and no one will even want to run Politics at the centre.
5.) purge the Nigerian Police of all these drunk, mentally unhinged criminals in its rank and recruit "medically and psychologically evaluated" Graduates into the Force. Have stiff penalty for bribery in the Police and Judiciary. Set-up sting officers that can catch and summarly dismiss such bribe takers.

6.) First, educate nigerian on hate Speeches and then pass into law, stiff penalty/jail terms for those that spew hate speeches in the name of freedom of speech.
7.) Make Recalling of Politicians very easy, by their constituents. Cut-off all alowances and excessive perks

8.) Deal decisively with all those challenging the authority of our nationhood, be they Odua, IPOB, AREWA or Creek Militants

I will even suggest we operate a quasi-military-presidential system for fixed 3years, to set things right as full democracy, as practiced in Nigeria today, creates too many loopholes for criminality.

The above is my own vision of restructuring.

Timtol:

Thanks for ur backup!
That fact is really a strong one.
Thanks.

Haaa! Backup ke?
I was just expressing my own opinion ni o!
I dont do backups with one against another.
But we may share the same position and that is fine.

Flaghouse1:


Awon engineer to m'oye ,,

Na una teach us naa.

Daboomb:


It all boils down to how well informed one is, in General topics and current affairs.
Its not everyone that is interested in Politics and General Affairs thus they may be short on "input", when such discussions are raised.
But instead of staying on the sidelines and reading so as to improve their knowledge, they prefer to shutdown those who posses the ability for such discuss, by pressing report Button over and over again.

That is the Nigerian syndrome in us, "If l cant have it, then no one must have it" .

Now, we have always disagre on where the problem lies (you like to see as witch-huntig of the previous administartion headed by your kinsman, when we say they laid the foundation, to a large extent, for the economic woes we have suffered in the last two years) but l agree with you that the polity needs to be restructured.

Restructuring itself should be based on Equity, fairness and Justice for every Nigerian.
But if you look closely, you will observe that noone wants to bell the cat and tell ourselves the truth.
What people call Restructuring right now is nothing more than a display of Selfish Greed.

Some people look at Nigeria and like members of a family, think that they should be the "family purse" so they can spend as much as they want, whileother members ofthe family go struggling and trying to meet up.

The TRUTH is that Resource Control is what most people (especially those from the East and ND) selfishly and greedily construe as restructuring! Its never going to happen, at least not in the next ten years.

Some others see retsructuring as Regionalism whereby Each region has and operates its onw Confedral Systemof Govt.
Like Resource Control, it will also put some "members of the family" in jeopardy and as such, they wont just keep quiet.

What l see as Restructuring is:
1) tackling Corruption in a way that ensures that Politicians are not attracted to Politics for the sake of the amount of money they can make from it. Make Public office financially unattractive so that only those who have real love to lead (and are even ready to spend their own money to make things work) are coming forward. Put the structures in place and dont let it be about a "strong man or personality"

2.) Have sero-tolerance for corruption such that like it is done in China, stealing Public funds should attract the death penalty.

3.) Remove "state of orgin" from any form Nigerians are filling. let every Nigerian be a Nigerian despite the fact that we all know where we come from but that should not be a ticket/barrier to any publci offering. Remove Quota system and all sorts of "educationally disadvantaged" excuses from admission toour insitutions. Let any area put forward their best persons and let there be open competition.

4.) Most importantly, let us return to REGIONALISM but in a way that it does not cause chaos.
The Crude Oil is th emain problem because over soem decades now, the whole nation has come to depend on it and take it as the only source of immense wealth. No Region can or must be allowed to pay claim to it FOR NOW.

Fed Govt should set a 20yr period under which ALL the proceeds from Crude oil is shared EQUALLY by all states, while the time is used to develop alternative source of income for all other non-oil producing states.
This is the only way to prevent war breaking out when some Region try secede with the Crude Oil

With time, every region will find its own source of income and stop depending on Crude Oil.
Once you remove the Crude Oil income from the equation, to restructure will be very easy and no one will even want to run Politics at the centre.
5.) purge the Nigerian Police of all these drunk, mentally unhinged criminals in its rank and recruit "medically and psychologically evaluated" Graduates into the Force. Have stiff penalty for bribery in the Police and Judiciary. Set-up sting officers that can catch and summarly dismiss such bribe takers.

6.) First, educate nigerian on hate Speeches and then pass into law, stiff penalty/jail terms for those that spew hate speeches in the name of freedom of speech.
7.) Make Recalling of Politicians very easy, by their constituents. Cut-off all alowances and excessive perks

8.) Deal decisively with all those challenging the authority of our nationhood, be they Odua, IPOB, AREWA or Creek Militants

I will even suggest we operate a quasi-military-presidential system for fixed 3years, to set things right as full democracy, as practiced in Nigeria today, creates too many loopholes for criminality.

The above is my own vision of restructuring.

How can the people agitating for restructuring be greedy?

How can a state like Lagos that generate the buck or non-oil revenue (0ver 60%) receives lesser money than a state like Kano state that contributes close to zero and with anti investment policy( they don't allow alcohol, they don't allow gambling and these are the major contributors to the supposed money they come to Abuja to collect on monthly basis)?

How can oil producing states that financed over 80% of our budget be greedy for demanding to have more controls or total control of the resources available in their land, a supposed resources that pollute their water, rendered their air contaminated, areas with more challenging terrains to build infrastructures? They deserve to have a 100% control of the resources in their land. I am from South west and from a state with no oil resources but restructuring is the only way we can put more people to work.

The 'status quo' needs to be changed, the era of inflated population by a section of the country to gain political power and more money from the federal government need to be stop, the era of do or die politics to become a president and occupy other federal political positions in other to loot needs to be stop and the only way we can achieve this is through 'true federalism'

People agitating for resources control or restructuring are not mostly from the so called south eastern and Niger deltas, but rather they are concerned young Nigerians that has grown delusional of lack of opportunities due to poor governors resulting from a flaw central system of government where a section of the country do all the work while the other part lord over, promote primitive ideology and always want to dictate the pace for the nation.

I am a Yoruba and a Muslim but I want a restructured Nigeria where every section can grow at their own pace, where the central government wouldn't be too attractive for criminals so that every elections year Nigeria will not always be at the edge of disintegration, where the ethnicity or the religion ones follows will not be a yardstick for selecting one for elected position at the federal level

bigrovar:
Hi guys. This is a bit of a long one:

So I have been away (hustling and stuff) and decided to build a low budget functional house for my family and stop the house rent which is becoming a drain. I decided to build on a 50 by 50 plot of land. A basic 2 bedroom bungalow.

I did very basic floor plan (see attached) to allow for enough space for rooms and a packing space which can take 2 cars. I used this tool http://www.sweethome3d.com/ for my floor plan.

Due to my busy schedule, I left the supervision with my brother since he had experience in construction. He hired the technicians and hands for the project while I provided money.

They took the project to lintel level when I came back to inspect it. Unfortunately I was very unhappy with what I saw. Here are my concerns


1) Against my instruction, my brother still went on to mix 9 inches with 6 inches for the outter walls. I told him to use 9 inches for the outter walls of the house all through and reserve the 6inches for the house. This was not done instead 9 inches blocks was used up to window level and 6 inches used to lintel level. I fear that this might affect the structural integrity of the house in future, since the house was designed not to have pillers and DPC was not used in the 3 course foundation.

2) I halted the roofing of the house because the carpenter recommended I use head course which is a casting done round the house 2 courses after the lintel. Is this really necessary?


My brother said the style of laying 6inch blocks on 9inch was fine since I wont be doing parapet and the soil was dry and good and " people do it alot without issues" but am not sold.

Is they any remedy to this before roofing? please gurus in the house. I would appreciate your take. I have attached pictures of the property in its current state.

From the pictures above, I don't think you have anything to worry about the structural integrity of the house since you are building a bungalow. You may have to worry about the aesthetics like moisture rising through the Foundation later since you don't have 'DPM and DPC' but structurally you don't have to worry yourself since you are not building a parapet and your building is simply a[b] bungalow[/b]

I would advise you to go ahead with the roof since from experienced I believe a 6'' wall will be able to carry the load coming from the roof conveniently without any problem

abdulwastecx:


How can the people agitating for restructuring be greedy?

How can a state like Lagos that generate the buck or non-oil revenue (0ver 60%) receives lesser money than a state like Kano state that contributes close to zero and with anti investment policy( they don't allow alcohol, they don't allow gambling and these are the major contributors to the supposed money they come to Abuja to collect on monthly basis)?

How can oil producing states that financed over 80% of our budget be greedy for demanding to have more controls or total control of the resources available in their land, a supposed resources that pollute their water, rendered their air contaminated, areas with more challenging terrains to build infrastructures? They deserve to have a 100% control of the resources in their land. I am from South west and from a state with no oil resources but restructuring is the only way we can put more people to work.

The 'status quo' needs to be changed, the era of inflated population by a section of the country to gain political power and more money from the federal government need to be stop, the era of do or die politics to become a president and occupy other federal political positions in other to loot needs to be stop and the only way we can achieve this is through 'true federalism'

People agitating for resources control or restructuring are not mostly from the so called south eastern and Niger deltas, but rather they are consigned young Nigerians that as grown delusional of lack of opportunities due to poor governors resulting from a flaw central system of government where a section of the country do all the work while the other part lord over, promote primitive ideology and always want to dictate the pace for the nation.

I am a Yoruba and a Muslim but I want a restructured Nigeria where every section can grow at their own pace, where the central government wouldn't be too attractive for criminals so that every elections year Nigeria will not always be at the edge of disintegration, where the ethnicity or the religion ones follows will not be a yardstick for selecting one for elected position at the federal leve l

I gave reasons why l said they are greedy and selfish.
You need to tell me why you think they are not, stating your own reasons.

You probably have difficulty with understanding the meaning of Resource Control: I want to be in charge of all resources mined or sourced from my area. (That is not the 80% figure you are peddling around).


You also probably did not read where l said my own definition of restructuring is defined based on EQUITY, FAIRNESS and JUSTICE for ALL.

Where you are from, should be irrelevant in this discussion as it is not about who you are as a person.
You can be from anywhere and still support or oppose restructuring, the important thing is to define what you are saying succinctly and get your view across.
What l bolded in your post above is called Regionalism, not Resource Control.

Daboomb:


I gave reasons why l said they are greedy and selfish.
You need to tell me why you think they are not, stating your own reasons.

You probably have difficulty with understanding the meaning of Resource Control: I want to be in charge of all resources mined or sourced from my area. (That is not the 80% figure you are peddling around).

What is your own definiton of Restructuring?
You also probably did not read where l said my own definition of restructuring is defined based on EQUITY, FAIRNESS and JUSTICE for ALL.

Where you are from, should be irrelevant in this discussion as it is not about who you are as a person.
You can be from anywhere and still support or oppose restructuring, the important thing is to define what you are saying succinctly and get your view across.

You have to go back to my comment, there you see that I have a good understanding of what resources control means. They have the right to control 100% of the resources they mined, tax, farmed or produce in their land and locality. They have a right to that, we all have right to have our future in our hands

Equity and fairness are not by robbing Peters to pay Paul, it is not by building a rail line to link Daura to Kano ( when a more busy route like Anambra to Lagos, Lagos to Ibadan, Kano to Abuja etc have not been built). Fairness is not by laying over 1000km pipeline to Kaduna in other to build a refinery can easily be sited closer to a source of crude in the deltas or Lagos closer to the biggest market (Lagos alone consume over 40% of our refined petrol per day). Equity is not by giving a state like Kano and Katsina more allocation than Oyo state etc.

Where I am from is important because it helps to clear a lot of misunderstanding and the motives behind the restructuring because in your comment above you insinuate that most people supporting restructuring are greedy south easterner and niger deltas that want to have 100% control of the oil wealth

abdulwastecx:


You have to go back to my comment, there you see that I have a good understanding of what resources control means. They have the right to control 100% of the resources they mined, tax, farmed or produce in their land and locality. They have a right to that, we all have right to have our future in our hands

Equity and fairness are not by robbing Peters to pay Paul, it is not by building a rail line to link Daura to Kano ( when a more busy route like Anambra to Lagos, Lagos to Ibadan, Kano to Abuja etc have not been built). Fairness is not by laying over 1000km pipeline to Kaduna in other to build a refinery can easily be sited closer to a source of crude in the deltas or Lagos closer to the biggest market (Lagos alone consume over 40% of our refined petrol per day). Equity is not by giving a state like Kano and Katsina more allocation than Oyo state etc.

Where I am from is important because it helps to clear a lot of misunderstanding and the motives behind the restructuring because in your comment above you insinuate that most people supporting restructuring are greedy south easterner and niger deltas that want to have 100% control of the oil wealth

You made a valid point , Daboomb also is in line with his comments to some extent ,what I will advise him to do is to take a trip to the locations where this oil is being extracted from ,the level of poverty, degradation and lack of concern by state and federal government will make him weep and if he has the power will automatically approve 100% resource control for the inhabitants of such locale .
Forget the hype about NDDC and the other agencies put in place to bolster development, employment opportunities in these area ,it's all a charade -Conduit for siphoning funds to individual pockets.
Greed is basically our problem in this part of the world,one man wants to own more than 10 houses in choices areas of the country, have fleets of expensive cars, take family for holiday trips more than 5 times a year ,millions of Naira and dollars starched in pits without yielding any interest .

Daboomb:

Haaa! Backup ke? I was just expressing my own opinion ni o! I dont do backups with one against another. But we may share the same position and that is fine.

Daboomb:

Haaa! Backup ke? I was just expressing my own opinion ni o! I dont do backups with one against another. But we may share the same position and that is fine.

Daboomb:


Everything does not necessarily have to originate from a Textbook!
there is what we call "good practice" in cosntruction and these are time-tested practises that have yielded good results over time and hence, they become what we call "Rule of thumb".

Using 9" Blocks for External (load-bearing) walls and 6" blocks for internal (non-load bearing) partion walls is one of such.

I am glad u said rule of thumb, meaning not strictly accurate or reliable for every situation.
Who told u internal walls don't serve as load bearing walls?
U think for bungalows, only external walls serve as loadbearing walls?

Daboomb:


The TRUTH is that Resource Control is what most people (especially those from the East and ND) selfishly and greedily construe as restructuring! Its never going to happen, at least not in the next ten years.

Some others see retsructuring as Regionalism whereby Each region has and operates its onw Confedral Systemof Govt.
Like Resource Control, it will also put some "members of the family" in jeopardy and as such, they wont just keep quiet.

What l see as Restructuring is:
1) tackling Corruption in a way that ensures that Politicians are not attracted to Politics for the sake of the amount of money they can make from it. Make Public office financially unattractive so that only those who have real love to lead (and are even ready to spend their own money to make things work) are coming forward. Put the structures in place and dont let it be about a "strong man or personality"

2.) Have sero-tolerance for corruption such that like it is done in China, stealing Public funds should attract the death penalty.

3.) Remove "state of orgin" from any form Nigerians are filling. let every Nigerian be a Nigerian despite the fact that we all know where we come from but that should not be a ticket/barrier to any publci offering. Remove Quota system and all sorts of "educationally disadvantaged" excuses from admission toour insitutions. Let any area put forward their best persons and let there be open competition.

4.) Most importantly, let us return to REGIONALISM but in a way that it does not cause chaos.
The Crude Oil is th emain problem because over soem decades now, the whole nation has come to depend on it and take it as the only source of immense wealth. No Region can or must be allowed to pay claim to it FOR NOW.

Fed Govt should set a 20yr period under which ALL the proceeds from Crude oil is shared EQUALLY by all states, while the time is used to develop alternative source of income for all other non-oil producing states.
This is the only way to prevent war breaking out when some Region try secede with the Crude Oil

With time, every region will find its own source of income and stop depending on Crude Oil.
Once you remove the Crude Oil income from the equation, to restructure will be very easy and no one will even want to run Politics at the centre.
5.) purge the Nigerian Police of all these drunk, mentally unhinged criminals in its rank and recruit "medically and psychologically evaluated" Graduates into the Force. Have stiff penalty for bribery in the Police and Judiciary. Set-up sting officers that can catch and summarly dismiss such bribe takers.

6.) First, educate nigerian on hate Speeches and then pass into law, stiff penalty/jail terms for those that spew hate speeches in the name of freedom of speech.
7.) Make Recalling of Politicians very easy, by their constituents. Cut-off all alowances and excessive perks

8.) Deal decisively with all those challenging the authority of our nationhood, be they Odua, IPOB, AREWA or Creek Militants

I will even suggest we operate a quasi-military-presidential system for fixed 3years, to set things right as full democracy, as practiced in Nigeria today, creates too many loopholes for criminality.

The above is my own vision of restructuring.

You made mention of REGIONALISM, what is the difference btw federalism, regionalism and decentralisation?
Those kicking against restructuring are the greedy ones, not those agitating for it.
We all know why they don't want it, because they all have oil blocks in the south

If there was no crude in the south, nobody would have kicked against restructuring...Therein lies the greed.

This your military system of government, do u mean the normal military system dat ruled before?

Flaghouse1:


You made a valid point , Daboomb also is in line with his comments to some extent ,what I will advise him to do is to take a trip to the locations where this oil is being extracted from ,the level of poverty, degradation and lack of concern by state and federal government will make him weep and if he has the power will automatically approve 100% resource control for the inhabitants of such locale .
Forget the hype about NDDC and the other agencies put in place to bolster development, employment opportunities in these area ,it's all a charade -Conduit for siphoning funds to individual pockets.
Greed is basically our problem in this part of the world,one man wants to own more than 10 houses in choices areas of the country, have fleets of expensive cars, take family for holiday trips more than 5 times a year ,millions of Naira and dollars starched in pits without yielding any interest .

Who are even really the greedy ones here...
Those whose resources are taken to develop another land, while their lands are left in a total state of degredation....Or those who think presidency is their birthright, when they offer nothing but war, all because of their ridiculous beliefs....

bigrovar:


Thanks brother Johnson. I think you misread the first part of my question. I was actually asking about the building integrity so as to determine its fit for human habitation be it myself, family or a tenant. I did not mean to infer renting it out once the response is to the negative. Thanks for the advise.

Okay, u're welcome sir

bigrovar:
Hi guys. This is a bit of a long one:

So I have been away (hustling and stuff) and decided to build a low budget functional house for my family and stop the house rent which is becoming a drain. I decided to build on a 50 by 50 plot of land. A basic 2 bedroom bungalow.

I did very basic floor plan (see attached) to allow for enough space for rooms and a packing space which can take 2 cars. I used this tool http://www.sweethome3d.com/ for my floor plan.

Due to my busy schedule, I left the supervision with my brother since he had experience in construction. He hired the technicians and hands for the project while I provided money.

They took the project to lintel level when I came back to inspect it. Unfortunately I was very unhappy with what I saw. Here are my concerns


1) Against my instruction, my brother still went on to mix 9 inches with 6 inches for the outter walls. I told him to use 9 inches for the outter walls of the house all through and reserve the 6inches for the house. This was not done instead 9 inches blocks was used up to window level and 6 inches used to lintel level. I fear that this might affect the structural integrity of the house in future, since the house was designed not to have pillers and DPC was not used in the 3 course foundation.

2) I halted the roofing of the house because the carpenter recommended I use head course which is a casting done round the house 2 courses after the lintel. Is this really necessary?


My brother said the style of laying 6inch blocks on 9inch was fine since I wont be doing parapet and the soil was dry and good and " people do it alot without issues" but am not sold.

Is they any remedy to this before roofing? please gurus in the house. I would appreciate your take. I have attached pictures of the property in its current state.

This might not be an exact science but you just have to be sure. Its your money and at the end of the day you house. If i find my self in your shoes, with my wealth of experience, I would neatly crack of some coners in the house and simply erect columns for the sake of reducing the load bearing on the Blocks. At least 10 to 14 column points will solve the problem. Because with the way it is, blocks are the one bearing the load.

johnson232:

So true....
Was just discussing this with a friend, construction has drastically reduced.
This recession really dealt with d construction industry...

Bros, I don't think you are correct on this. Buildings are starting up everywhere I turn in the east. Up to 3 multi floor buildings in the street I am building in Enugu. More in Onitsha.

spyder880:


Bros, I don't think you are correct on this. Buildings are starting up everywhere I turn in the east. Up to 3 multi floor buildings in the street I am building in Enugu. More in Onitsha.

The State and locality will determine this factor.
My view!

spyder880:


Bros, I don't think you are correct on this. Buildings are starting up everywhere I turn in the east. Up to 3 multi floor buildings in the street I am building in Enugu. More in Onitsha.

Sir on a general scale....Construction has reduced all over the country...But that doesn't mean we won't see one or two buildings going up...

johnson232:

Who are even really the greedy ones here...
Those whose resources are taken to develop another land, while their lands are left in a total state of degredation....Or those who think presidency is their birthright, when they offer nothing but war, all because of their ridiculous beliefs....

o

My brother the politicians, government officials, me and you are really the culprit here, have you observed that when you have a friend and you both are on same pedestal in life he seems to have good rapport with you , the moment he is entrusted with a higher position,political appointment he then locks up,

Once we re in a position instead of us to make a diffrence to better the lives of our people ,we do worse than our predecessors

johnson232:

You made mention of REGIONALISM, what is the difference btw federalism, regionalism and decentralisation?
Those kicking against restructuring are the greedy ones, not those agitating for it.
We all know why they don't want it, because they all have oil blocks in the south

If there was no crude in the south, nobody would have kicked against restructuring...Therein lies the greed.

This your military system of government, do u mean the normal military system dat ruled before?

Have you seen the template for "restructuring" and what exactly does "restructuring" mean by those who are clamouring for it?

Flaghouse1:
o

My brother the politicians, government officials, me and you are really the culprit here, have you observed that when you have a friend and you both are on same pedestal in life he seems to have good rapport with you , the moment he is entrusted with a higher position,political appointment he then locks up,

Once we re in a position instead of us to make a diffrence to better the lives of our people ,we do worse than our predecessors

@bold So true

bixton:


Have you seen the template for "restructuring" and what exactly does "restructuring" mean by those who are clamouring for it?

Restructuring is simple
There are no complications to it
All they want is for us to go back to our root.
How were we living before 1966?
The oil producing regions will still be paying the highest tax to federal government, which will still booster the nation's defence & currency.
But let us go & develop our seperate regions...Since the Igbo man is no longer safe in the north, as a result, he is afraid to make any tangible development....

Just like a man with three wives, getting an apartment for each wife & children within the same premises & that which insist all must live under one roof, when he has obviously lost control & siding his favourite one when issues arise...Which do u think is more peaceful?

That is the state of Nigeria presently....