₦airaland Forum

Not at all. The design can be done on both sides.

bolu1986:
I think only front always carry design… all the iron doors I have been seen around are been made same way, including iron gate too… I might be wrong

@ Michlin, could you please respond?

Enyinne:
Please i need input . I paid michlin 60k for 5 pieces of iron door amounting total of 300k and advance of 250k given already. He showed me the door before starting but never told me is one sided design that i will be spending my 60k on .Now he said he has finished making the door and the door is attached below . The back of the door is unfinished as i hv not seen this type of door before where the back side looks blank and front is designed . 60k for iron door must be super door with a good finish.
Attached is the picture of the door as even 30k iron door is back and front designed . Why this ?

Pls i need this sorted as am not putting this low quality job on my building. He need to be called to order.

I want to reiterate again that construction business is fraught with risks on all concerned parties - Clients, Consultants, Contractors and even suppliers. As players in the industry, it's behest of us to keep ourselves knowledgeable about best practices to protect ourselves, interest, money and businesses from suffering severest risks that could jeopardize our abilities.

Like it's popularly said in common parlance, trust is earned. Even at that, trust is never enough to run a business successfully, abilities count too. Trust can earn you the job, but abilities will keep you on the job and longer in the business.

I'm a professional Quantity Surveyor that has considerable experience in the industry and has also enjoyed considerable patronage from reputable members of this forum. My duty mostly is serving as Clients' Quantity Surveyor or Contractors' Quantity Surveyor. So, I understand the views from these two seemingly alternate worlds. Contractors are in the business of maximizing profit from secured jobs while delivering within agreed terms and conditions of the contract while Clients are out there to ensure that evey kobo spent is justified while bringing the projects to reality.

There are standard practices that protect the contractors from negligence of the clients and there are also time tested practices that protects the clients from the liability of the contractors. Truth is most of these practices are brushed aside especially during the commencement phase of a project until issues arise during the course of the contract.

For instance, a contractor that wittingly underquoted for a job except for an unforeseeable increase in market price of materials, in order to win a job among competitors, should be liable if such job is not fully executed according to terms of the contract.

Well said.

spyder880:
TRUST!

If only we know how strong these five letters are in this world. Those five letter are the foundation on which most successful businesses are formed, and retained. Everyone needs trust, trust builds goodwill, which is one of the essential ingredients for success in every business transaction. The contractors and workmen needs trust, the clients needs trust, the suppliers needs trust also.

The big question is; how do we know who to trust?

Trust is such a tricky trait that many people fake it, suppliers of materials can be supplying you with genuine products until one day, Blam! Out of the blues, they hit you with a severe fake product, or run away with your money entirely. Happens with contractors and clients too.

Many of us are products of the trust people reposed in us, I have been working for many years as a contractor, there have been good clients we worked for. In fact, excellent will be a better description. I was lured out of my full time well paying work at a popular multinational company by a client from this forum. The client convinced me to come and build his house in 2013, he paid me even before I started the work, and when I failed with the quotation going against me, he saw it as my inexperience in working in riverine areas, and promptly asked me to redraw a budget, then he paid me again to complete the work.

This same client was there to help me with every bit of information and advice, even technical skills as he was also in the engineering industry. My second and third major projects here were in that same estate, connected by the same client. I remember the day he convinced his colleague to transfer a huge amount of money to me for another new project, the client was afraid, but he told the client that if I defaulted, he will pay back the money. Such trust was rare, and I know it was God's love working. I just resigned from my then employment and went full time, building houses. I am eternally grateful to this young man, and have called him in the past to always express my appreciation for his helping me to start strong.

I have also trusted in my subordinates, the young professionals I brought into the industry, the young graduates I hired to work with me, the skilled workers who did every bit of work. Some turned out good while some, well, did what they wanted. Some old workers of mine walked away with my money in a site this year, but it's his own loss, not mine. I have brought and guided the ones that I can trust here online and many of them are actively building houses and practicing here and elsewhere, some very successful already.

I won't deceive myself to think it's just luck, or hardwork. I think its because of the help of the almighty God, the author and finisher of our faith. He is all able, almighty and the all and all.

Clients could be very difficult, but like I was taught in a Super-management training course in my former company, the customer is always right. We should only be careful not to lose money while observing their rights, we should try to please them in every way, and when we fall short of pleasing our clients, we should be open and ready to amend the situation. We are all humans and although its difficult, we can at least get a pass mark for our services.

We should also be honest, and upfront with the services we intend to render, if I am painting a house for a client for instance, I will ask for details of who goes home with the empty drums after painting, or what happens with the used planks and wood after the project is finished. These details will help in sorting out issues in the future. And when all else fails, if taking some small loss in the project won't kill us, let's take it and walk away far, to avoid problems. Such small losses will pay our tuition fees for the next few jobs, teaching us in vivid terms, how to avoid more losses.

I have taken a fair amount of losses in this field, sometimes big, sometimes small, but I always try to stay within the budget. My family will never forget April - July 2011, when I used my 4 months salary from my day job to be doing a clients work because I under quoted, and I wanted to complete the work. We went hungry and didn't have food in the house. I have also been saved from taking serious beatings when costs go against me. God bless all my clients, they have sometimes come to my rescue, paying up hundreds of thousands when it's clear I misquoted, or the market turned against our agreed budgets. God will bless you all.

I also remember paying back hundreds of thousands of naira, even millions in some cases, when I am overpaid by mistake. The client I completed his 6 flats this year in Enugu East, overpaid me by over N740,000 for some groups of jobs in the finish of the house, I called him and asked how much he paid, my Oga was sounding annoyed and insisting that he has completed the payments, I called him again to please check the amount he paid, because he paid for everything in the list, even when two of the items on the list are options to the others, when he realised he has overpaid me, he was very happy that I pointed it out, because a lot of people will just pretend they didn't see it, and go ahead and spend the money on themselves. This happened again this year, on the tall bungalow I am building now, this one is an overpayment of N366,900. I pointed it out and the client just added it in the next payment and deducted his money, with thanks. Honesty is a very good policy. The best policy in fact.

I urge all the young people in our midst, and indeed all of us, to approach business with honesty, both contractors, suppliers and clients, the most enduring businesses I have seen while growing up, were the ones where people can trust the dealer, and leave a lot of money in their business till when they need it. And the businesses use the money wisely, returning value to the investors and customers whenever they need the goods, or their money back. I want to leave a business name that my children will grow up and inherit, I want my children to stand up and say with pride, "I am the child of Spyder880".

May God grant us health and happiness while we work to achieve all these, may we get more clients and customers that will understand us, and work with us like we are their blood relatives. Amen.

Yes. 4 bedroom duplex can conveniently sit on a half plot of land. As for cost, it depends on the design, location and when you intend to build.

isijyde:
Good morning engr. please i want to know if one can build a 4bedroom duplex on a half plot of land and how much will it cost. using a simple but attractive design. location is akwa ibom state.

Post the floor plan, roof plan and section drawings if available in order to get a fair advice.

bayo2018:
Good day Bosses in the house
Please is this quotation fair for the woodwork of a two bedroom and one self contain (Main Building) and 4 self contain (renting )

Hire a Quantity Surveyor today and you will be glad you did.

As a prospective client or building owner, quantity surveyor should be your financial adviser on all aspect of your proposed build.

During a preconstruction stage, a Quantity Surveyor will advise your Architect on how to design within the client's budget. Most projects are abandoned because the architect's design is far above the clients budget. Most clients have a prior budget before embarking on construction of their building. It's saddening to see their projects abandoned due to a design that couldn't accommodate their budget. Be smart. Be proactive. Hire a quantity surveyor during the briefing and subsequent design stage.

After detailed design by the Architect, Quantity Surveyors will help prepare a firm Bill of Quantities that will establish the estimated cost of construction. This is a very useful and important document that will serve as the financial compass of the project. As a client, hiring a Quantity Surveyor independently will ensure that you get value for your money.

Is it only bricklayer that can give you the quotation?

Enigmatic0426:
Is there bricklayer in d building to give me a 3bedroom bungalow quotation from foundation? Asap!

This is a good suggestion.

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dongc:
I offered my help with my own money...are you now going to spend 35k to track him ?...why not add that money to the 50k balance, then oga micra can add maybe 15k....that around 100k....that should get that guy to finish the work....

Kudos on how far you've come, sir.

We're still waiting or our next clients.

Contact CHOICE COST CONSULT for for quantity surveying services, viz-a-viz

1) Bill of Quantities (Projected estimated cost of construction).
2) Materials and Labour Schedule (breakdown of cost of materials and labour respectively for your construction projects).
3) Valuation of ongoing construction works (know the cost of already existing or ongoing construction).
4) Bidding and Tendering for construction jobs (As a contractor bidding for jobs, you need competitive tender to win the job. Nobody can help you out except a quantity surveyor.
5) Pricing of blank/unpriced bill of quantities for tendering purposes.
6) Invitation, pre-qualification and selection of contractor based on suitable tendering procedure. Don't award your jobs to the least bidder bit the least responsive bidder. Be smart. Don't let contractors fool you.
7) Contract administration from inception to completion of your projects. (interpretation of conditions of contract is one of the duties of a smart quantity surveyor).
cool Preparation of both feasibility and viability studies (if you're engaging in a commercial construction works, know the payback period and rate of investment of your projects. Nobody does it better than a quantity surveyor.
9) Life cycle costing
10) Cost control
11) Cash flow forecasting
Etc

Contact us today.
Mobile no: 09012800750

Still selling.

QSFemi:
Still Available.

Land for sale.

450 square metres of land for sale at Ovboigie, Benin city, Edo state. It's located just 2km from the popular University of Benin, Benin City, Edo state.

Price: #1.5m

Call now while offer lasts.

Number to call: 09012800750.

Find attached the plot in the attached layout.

We're still waiting or our next clients.

Contact CHOICE COST CONSULT for for quantity surveying services, viz-a-viz

1) Bill of Quantities (Projected estimated cost of construction).
2) Materials and Labour Schedule (breakdown of cost of materials and labour respectively for your construction projects).
3) Valuation of ongoing construction works (know the cost of already existing or ongoing construction).
4) Bidding and Tendering for construction jobs (As a contractor bidding for jobs, you need competitive tender to win the job. Nobody can help you out except a quantity surveyor.
5) Pricing of blank/unpriced bill of quantities for tendering purposes.
6) Invitation, pre-qualification and selection of contractor based on suitable tendering procedure. Don't award your jobs to the least bidder bit the least responsive bidder. Be smart. Don't let contractors fool you.
7) Contract administration from inception to completion of your projects. (interpretation of conditions of contract is one of the duties of a smart quantity surveyor).
cool Preparation of both feasibility and viability studies (if you're engaging in a commercial construction works, know the payback period and rate of investment of your projects. Nobody does it better than a quantity surveyor.
9) Life cycle costing
10) Cost control
11) Cash flow forecasting
Etc

Contact us today.
Mobile no: 09012800750

The heart of a man is desperately wicked, who can know it? Says the holy book.

diordaves:
This is a sad and unfortunate incidence. I hope they are/have been caught.

I don't think the design of the house would have helped on this occasion as the senior from the goodness of her heart let them in to pass the night. I think Nigerians at the lower end of societal ladder are increasingly getting wicked and jealous of people they perceive in their warped mind as successful and rich. They have seemingly successful folks as target.

A member of my landlord association was kidnapped by her driver of 12 years assigned to her by the bank they're both employed. 20 million Naira ransom was demanded and paid. Do you know what? After the driver and his gang were rumbled, it was discovered the driver is building the exact same house as his madam from the proceed of kidnapping. The same design down to the type of fence. He continued working at the bank before he was caught in another kidnap operation.

So no matter the design of our homes, the people we have around us and sometimes even the family members we have around us are the weakest link in any security set up.

May her soul rest in peace.

What's your budget please?

Flakky26:
need an office/shop space around banex , wuse 2 axis, Abuja . 25sqm above. Send me a chat and picture to zero8093one8374three

Send me the drawings. I'll help you to prepare a reliable estimate that the 7m can cover.

ollykay619:
.. Location is ibadan
I don't know the condition of the soil, but it is a bungalow. Approx. 150sqm

Where is the location of the site?
What are the soil conditions because this will inform the choice of foundation to be used?
What's the area of the proposed building?

If you can answer these questions, then an approximate estimate can be made for you.

ollykay619:
Please house, how far will 7m go in building 2 units of 3 bedroom flat. No parapet

I agree with this informed position.

diordaves:
It MAY not be a good idea to put up the balance to finish the work. This MAY be a classical artisan trap.

Twinskenny said that the contractor said they should be paid the balance arguably to fix a piece of broken equipment to complete the work. Why can't they fix the equipment with the advance payment or from reserve (saved) funds?. This fit be artisan story. The client also said that the contractor demobilized from the site as a result of a broken piece of equipment. This fit be another artisan story.

One of the golden rules of the trade is: if you paid an artisan more than 90% of the fee charged and they come back for the 5% balance BEFORE they can complete the job, alarm bells should start ringing. This is a symptom (sign) of under-quoting. At this stage, the project is already frustrated. Throwing in more money without proper investigation as to the circumstances for the further demand may just be throwing good more after bad.

The dynamics of the borehole trade is this:
Borehole drillers (just like oil prospectors) have CAPACITY. So a borehole driller may have a capacity (for example) to drill up to 2meters, or 3mtrs or 100mtrs as the case may be. If you engaged a borehole driller with a capacity (for example) of 5 meters and they drilled at your site to their maximum capacity of 5 meters without hitting water, story don start. Na their way. This is because they quote blindly for jobs without a geological survey to determine the depth of the aquifer at the site. They just assume. Clients also just blindly believe.

So the client and twinskenny should first get hold of the contractor (they said they are in hiding), sit them down to properly investigate the circumstances surrounding their demobilizing from site BEFORE further payment if satisfied that the issue is truly a broken piece of equipment and not a case of under-quoting. They need to establish what equipment was broken, how much to fix it (what if it needs way more than the balance to fix it?). They should be careful not to fall into this trap. Story plenty with artisans. Engage all artisans with your eyes wide open.

We're still waiting or our next clients.

Contact CHOICE COST CONSULT for for quantity surveying services, vis-à-vis

1) Bill of Quantities (Projected estimated cost of construction)
2) Materials and Labour Schedule (breakdown of cost of materials and labour respectively for your construction projects)
3) Valuation of ongoing construction works (know the cost of already existing or ongoing construction)
4) Bidding and Tendering for construction jobs (As a contractor bidding for jobs, you need competitive tender to win the job. Nobody can help you out except a quantity surveyor.
5) Pricing of blank/unpriced bill of quantities for tendering purposes.
6) Invitation, pre-qualification and selection of contractor based on suitable tendering procedure. Don't award your jobs to the least bidder bit the least responsive bidder. Be smart. Don't let contractors fool you.
7) Contract administration from inception to completion of your projects. (interpretation of conditions of contract is one of the duties of a smart quantity surveyor)
cool Preparation of both feasibility and viability studies (if you're engaging in a commercial construction works, know the payback period and rate of investment of your projects. Nobody does it better than a quantity surveyor.
9) Life cycle costing
10) Cost control
11) Cash flow forecasting
Etc

Contact us today.
Mobile no: 09012800750

Still available.

QSFemi:
Still Available.

Land for sale.

450 square metres of land for sale at Ovboigie, Benin city, Edo state. It's located just 2km from the popular University of Benin, Benin City, Edo state.

Price: #1.5m

Call now while offer lasts.

Number to call: 09012800750.

Find attached the plot in the attached layout.

Is the QS working for the contractor or working for you independently?

Folorunsho15:
Yeah it was the QS of the coy that came up with that but yeah you have valid points and I'll take those onboard. Thank you my man, I appreciate your opinion

I'll advise you to appoint a Quantity Surveyor for this scale of project you're embarking on. Let him or her be your financial and contract adviser.

You will be glad you did.

Folorunsho15:
Guys egbami o. My contractor just gave me a bill of 4.8m for the foundation stage of a 4 bedroom duplex here in Ibadan. Just foundation stage alone. Does this make sense guys? Is this how expensive things have really become ni? Omo I shock no be small

Hello. You should have attached the architectural and structural drawings along with the contractor's quote for perusal. That would have formed the basis of the opinions here.

For many saying the quotation is too much without having a glimpse of the said quotation and drawings is tantamount to groping in darkness for one's way.

The construction cost of a project is the total cost of achieving the designs which include cost of materials, labour, equipment or tools, overheads, profit and equally important preliminaries.

Preliminaries on site include but not limited to the following:
1) Temporary storage on site
2) Worker's shed
3) Temporary fencing or hoarding
4) Provision of water either digging of borehole or supply to site.
5) Storage of water
6) Scaffolding
7) Propping (like bamboos or steel shutters)
Access to site
9) Security (in some cases)
9) Safety of workers
10) Site offices and conveniences

And a host of others.

Pricing construction works without pricing the preliminaries is calling for trouble at a later stage of the project.

Folorunsho15:
Guys egbami o. My contractor just gave me a bill of 4.8m for the foundation stage of a 4 bedroom duplex here in Ibadan. Just foundation stage alone. Does this make sense guys? Is this how expensive things have really become ni? Omo I shock no be small

25k should be a good bargain if it's a bungalow.

This is because this is not more than a 3-day work for a gang of worker - Mason and unskilled worker (the person serving the mason).

So, if you're paying the Mason 5k per day and the unskilled worked 3k per day, that means the daily rate is 8k. For 3 days that it's expected for the job to be completed, that means 24k is the required cost. Hence my approximation to 25k.

Oflaylay:
Please my good people, who has an idea of how much they charge for plastering parapet. The parapet size is about 69 meters. I will appreciate your response. Abeg someone should help. Thanks

Yes. Tiles are packed and measured in square metres boldly written on the carton.

For instance, 600mm x 600mm vitrified floor tiles, has 4 PCs in a carton. That means a carton is 1.44sqm. This goes for other types of tiles. I always advise my clients to buy their tiles per carton rather than per square metres. Lots of unscrupulous sellers can cheat the buyer if you're not conversant with measurements.

africaflozy:
Good evening sirs.
Please, do they pack tiles per square meter?

Engage a Quantity Surveyor for your project today and you'll be glad you did.

To prospective homeowners, the value Quantity Surveyors can bring to your projects cannot be overemphasized. In fact, research has shown that engaging Quantity Surveyors on your project can lead to 25% reduction in the overall cost of construction.

Most clients do not have the knowledge or experience to determine the cost of construction of their planned building and majority of them rely solely on the estimate of the builder or contractor to arrive at a cost for which the project will be executed. This is a very big gamble to the clients who do not have the requisite knowledge and competence to assess the adequacy and fairness of the builder's or contractor's estimate as regards the proposed project. In most cases, the clients may ask for reduction of the estimate or discount without any informed basis of doing such. Quantity Surveyors are specially trained in this regard. Do not gamble with your hard earned money, engage the right person - a quantity surveyor, to advise you on everything relating to cost of every item, scope, change orders, variations, fluctuations and consequently, overall cost of the construction. As a client, you will be happier, more satisfied and more fulfilled knowing fully that you've achieved value for your money.

In synopsis, Quantity Surveyors can do the following for you as a client:

1) Estimate the construction cost of the project before commencing work on site. This will form a scientific budget to you, on the basis of which you can assess your financial preparedness for the project (Read Luke 14:28). This is very important.

2) Oversee the successful bid selection process in a very competitive and transparent fashion. In other words, a Quantity Surveyor will help you award the project to the contractor or builder that has the best quote or estimate after considering the submissions or quotes of 3 or more contractors or builders to get the most responsive. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized given that some unscrupulous contractors can deliberately lower their quote in order to win a contract and subsequently coming for more more on flimsy bases.

3) Establish the quantity of materials needed for every item in the construction process. This is useful to clients that want to buy their materials themselves. Thus will be helpful in ordering materials thereby minimizing wastes and shortages.

4) Establish the cost of labour. As a client, how do you negotiate cost of workmanship on site? Quantity Surveyors can help you.

5) Advise on preliminary cost of the project.

There are many more valuable roles quantity surveyors can offer on a project. However, let's draw the curtain here for now.

Engage and Quantity Surveyor and you will be glad you did.

Cheers.

By the way, I'm a professional Quantity Surveyor with many satisfied clients here on this thread.

Clients should never get the blame for building collapse except in a very rare case where it can be established beyond reasonable doubt that his or her actions or inactions directly or indirectly contribute or expressly lead to the building collapse.

Apart from force majeure (environmental factors and the likes) the contractor and consultants should be solely responsible especially in an ongoing construction project. Other kinds of collapse in existing old structures could be attributed to age of the building that could result in depreciation of integrity of the structure or even environmental factors.

Great.

We're many here apparently.

Pleased to meet you all.

Thenext:
Great Futarian!!!! I rep Mechanical Engineering here

Oga mi sir, make every ECOWAS member state patronise their respective state sir.

EgunMogaji2:
ECOWAS nko?

"Architects do it in style" That's FUTA Architecture's mantra.

By the way, that's my alma mata too.

ArcToyin:
Mine is Architecture.