Filling:

see pics (3)

I did a follow up post but NL bot banned me.

I'll make that update in picture format.. To avoid being banned again.

See next post

Joyful365:


Great update...

So far you've mentioned the quantity of materials needed to execute up to the foundation stage... My question is what about the labour costs? Aside from cost of moulding/buying blocks, how many labourers should be used for digging and pouring the foundation and what is the ongoing wage rate? What about the building engineer managing the project how much should he be paid? What about setting the 4 courses of the foundation, how much labour will it cost and the payment?

Lastly, is it ok to use 5 inches solid blocks for this kind of building project?

1. Labour cost changes, so I deliberately don't want to go there; because I have part2,3 and 4 that already talked about this cost.... even if I had cost to this; it wld be irrelevant in maybe 3 months

2. Number of labourers depends on how fast you want the work done eg. You can dig your foundation with 2, 3 or 4 people (it would still cost you the same, it would only take them more time). Note 2 bricklayers and 2 helpers can mould all your blocks and give you perfect work - but if you need it in 2 days, you might need to request more hands.

3. What you pay your supervisor depends largely on the person and your relationship with him/her - No one, not even me can advice on that. Mr A can charge you N10 and give you better value than Mr B, who's charging N30.

4. Have you read this article >> https://www.nairaland.com/3523256/how-build-comfortable-house-earning
(because all these 4 questions were answered there and I'm seriously avoiding repeating them here)

5. 5 inches; I'll advice 9 inches hollow block or 6 inches solid blocks.

BUT, on the workmanship, what I can do to help is - get a quote from the workers, send it to me via Whatsapp or email and I'll advice (its still free).

Joyful365:


Great update...

So far you've mentioned the quantity of materials needed to execute up to the foundation stage... My question is what about the labour costs? Aside from cost of moulding/buying blocks, how many labourers should be used for digging and pouring the foundation and what is the ongoing wage rate? What about the building engineer managing the project how much should he be paid? What about setting the 4 courses of the foundation, how much labour will it cost and the payment?

Lastly, is it ok to use 5 inches solid blocks for this kind of building project?

I'm on phone, but I prefer to answer your question from PC..

I'll reply you in due course pretty soon, maybe tomorrow.

Hatesin:
What is the exact dimension of 9 inches block after removing the holes in the middle?

Moulds varies remember.. But if you're not using 9 inches hollow blocks, then use 6 inches solid blocks

IF YOU'RE BUILDING SAME STRUCTURE ON WATERLOGGED LAND, THIS IS FOR YOU.
All we need is our Girth = 104.065m

> Blinding
> Rebar to foundation
> Formwork to foundation
> Concrete to foundation
> Rebar to German floor

The type of foundation you'll be using is the raft foundation - this is a ground beam of rebar and concrete, hence there is not need for the foundation concrete we did for the previous land type but we need a 50mm thick blinding, so we have a level and dry surface to work on.

BLINDING
A blinding of 450mm wide is sufficient, this usually made of weak concrete or lower grade concrete.
>> 104.065m (girth) x 0.45m (width of blinding) x 0.05m (thickness of blinding)
>> 104.065m x 0.45m x 0.05m = 2.34m3 of concrete.
but because its weak concrete; using 4.5bags of cement per m3 is a waste, so we would use 3 bags.

Cement needed = 2.34 x 3 = 7 bags.
Offcourse, Granite and Sand are minimal as we expect you'll have brought more than required at this stage.

After the blinding - The iron benders begins to tie the reinforcement; so how much rebar you need also depends on the design.

but I'll assume a design for the purpose of this tutorial (see attached pics 1)

The labels below tells you everything about the reinforcement, that you need to work or calculate quantities.
? Y10 02 - 250 refers > ? = total number of rings (we would calculate that soon); Y10 = size of rebar to use i.e. 10mm; 02 = Bar mark; 250 = spacing of rings
6 Y16 03 refers > Main runners; and there are 6 numbers of Y16 = 16mm rebars; 03 = Bar mark.

12mm in Ground beam.
we have a ring in the beam of 1.2m by 0.25 (notice my ring is 25mm + 25mm less in width) so my active ring is about 1200mm + 200mm + 1200mm + 200mm lomg, I'll add 150mm to the length for overlap/closing of the ring.
Hence 1 ring = 2950mm long = 2.95m (approx. 3m)

but how many of this rings would complete the total length of our girth ?
from ? Y10 02 - 250 we're told the spacing is at 250mm centre to centre i.e. 0.25m c/c

therefore number of rings in our foundation is >> 104.065m / 0.25m = 417 pcs. but we need rebar length of 2.95m for 1ring.
hence >> 417 pcs x 2.95m = 1,230.15m of rebars.

(NOTE: This means our ? in the label attached is 417 i.e. 417 Y10 02 - 250)

if 1 length of rebar is 12m long, how many rebar length do we need?
1230.15m / 12m = 103 length of 12mm usually there's waste but minimal for this; hence 105 lengths of 12mm would do.

Now, Lets calculate for 16mm rebars
we have 6Y16 - each of the 16mm would run the entire length of our girth i.e. each 16mm would run 104.065m but we need to consider the lapping distance between as many 16mm rebars usually 600mm - 750mm.

length of one 16mm = 12m (minus the overlap distance of 0.6m) = 11.4m
we therefore need 104.065m / 11.4m = 9 lengths but there are 6 in the ground beam
= 9 x 6 = 54 lengths of 16mm bars

The other material you need is the binding wire (needs no calculation) - buy a bundle.

NEXT IS 1x12 SOFT (somi or white) WOOD (below)

If you've been following the calculation, you shoud have an idea of how the calculations go.

we're going to arrange planks on both side of the foundation (inside and outside of the girth)
1 plank is 300mm (i.e. 0.3m) wide and 3.3m long.

height of ground beam is 1.2m; hence we need 1.2m / 0.3m = 4 numbers to make up the height.

we also need 104.065m / 3.3m = 32 pcs to make up the total length of the girth.
multiply the above by 2 (because the plank is on both side)
= 32 x 2 = 64 pcs of plank per roll (multiply by numbers of rolls, which is 4)
= 64 x 4 = 256 planks needed for the formwork to raft foundation.

CONCRETE TO FOUNDATION:

GIRTH = 104.065m
WIDTH OF FORMWORK = 250mm = 0.25m (see diagram)
HEIGHT OF FORMWORK = 1.2m (see diagram)

Quantity of Concrete needed therefore is > 104.065 x 0.25 x 1.2 = 31.2m3 of concrete
This also means we need (using 1:3:6) > 31.2m3 x 4.5bags/m3 = 140 bags of cement

The last item on the list; Rebar to slab would be treated when we get to German Floor.


Diagram explained.
Blinding is in colour yellow
Formwork, concrete is in colour magenta
Rebar is in colour white
German floor/slab is in colour cyan

Thank You.

Akerewe:


Nice job u r doing chief,

Pls currently like how much can one estimate for erecting slab on a 50*20 building with 2 staircase using local iron or TMT iron?

Thanks for the kind words.

I believe you meant decking (suspended slab) ? and is 50 x 20 in feet? but above all; the cost wld depend on the design; can u share it?

Rubyjade:
Joel resigned from his job as a Branch manager and relocated. #japa

The early days abroad were quite tough; he faced the typical challenge of acclamatizing with a new environment-the weather, and issues of job-searching and finding one's way around town. Being that he traveled alone, he eventually managed to settle down on time and got over some of the initial issues. But he remained jobless.

After a few months of not finding a job and running out of cash, he started facing threats of eviction as he was unable to meet up with the payment for his rent.

Now desperate, he called up a friend back in Nigeria who gave him the contact of his (friend's) cousin who happened to be doing quite well in the same area where Joel was staying.

With a huge sense of relief, he contacted his friend's cousin, Dami, who invited him over to stay temporarily with him pending when he is able to sort out a new accommodation.

Joel arrived at the address and knocked on the door. When it was opened, he stood face to face with the last person he would have ever imagined - Kenneth!!!!

In his shock, he managed to say hello and asked to see Dami. Kenneth smiled, "I am Dami. My family prefers to call my native name Damilare instead of my English name, Kenneth.....', he said.

At that point, Joel dropped his head as the memories of how he ill-treated, frustrated, insulted and bullied Kenneth as a junior banking officer 7 years back in the same organisation they had worked together flooded his mind. He felt so ashamed of himself; he knew he had been a toxic leader.

What should Joel do?

If you were Kenneth what would you do? Let him into your apartment and retaliate? Tell him, "sorry, can't accept you into my apartment" and let him suffer with no money & a place to stay?

If you were in Kenneth's shoes, will you treat him back the way he had treated you in Naija or will you simply let him in with your #churchmind?

I believe people's responses to this story will help send a lesson to LEADERS on "Who knows tomorrow"..... Let's treat people RIGHT always..... The table might turn tomorrow, who knows.

Let's show LOVE in LEADING.....

Looking forward to reading your responses .....

Being a while...... Happy New Month

we all make mistakes - he shd apologise and kenneth shd not treat him in same coin.
Its an opportunity to let Joel know, the importance of treating people well.

case closed

BEFORE I CONTINUE; WHAT IF SOMEONE FOLLOWING IS HOPING TO BUILD SAME STRUCTURE ON A WATERLOGGED LAND?

It's only fair to consider estimating for those group of persons.

so, we would repeat the process after setting-out but this time, we assume the structure is to be built on a waterlogged land.

> Blinding
> Rebar to foundation
> Formwork to foundation
> Concrete to foundation
> Rebar to German floor

The process above is equivalent to the stage we are at for those building on a solid / firm land.

Watch Out.

Our next task is to determine the quantity of Granite and Sand needed for the project.

The goal of this tutorial is to estimate majorly materials without attaching cost to it, so the best practice is to buy enough granite and sand that would be most economical.

I have several writeups on how to calculate quantities of granite and sand already, you can refer to any of the link below (rather than repeat the process again.)

>> https://www.nairaland.com/5818635/estimating-cost-fencing-6-plots
>> https://www.nairaland.com/6808100/part-3-building-comfortable-housing

At this stage; I'll advice that we purchase a minimum of 15 tonnes of granite and 20 tonnes of sharp sand. This should take us to the German floor level of the project. (i.e. Foundation, block setting and German floor) SINCE the structure is being built on a firm land.

The next step is to determine how many blocks are needed for the foundation.

1.04 - Blockworks.

Block to foundation are those blocks that are beneath the German floor i.e. from the Foundation to the German floor level, each roll of block is called a course, when you lay another roll on that one, it becomes 2 courses etc.

Best practice subject to the land slope, is to have a minimum of 4 courses of block in the foundation - and where you must have more than 4, then you'll need to introduce structural elements like columns and beams etc. but we only need 4 courses here.

So, how many blocks do we need for this design? (Foundation blocks are expected to be 9 inches)

RECALL OUR GIRTH > 104.065m

what's the length of the block you're using? here it is 450mm (long) by 225mm (wide) and 225mm (high) = 0.45 x 0.225 x 0.225 in meters.

How many numbers of blocks is needed to make up the distance of our girth? = 104.065m / 0.45m

Therefore number of blocks needed for 1 course is = 230 pcs and since we are building 4 courses in our foundation;

we have: 230 pcs x 4 courses = 920 blocks (there would be a few breakage; so we can estimate for 950 numbers of blocks)

CEMENT needed to lay 950 nos of 9 inches blocks

Remember we already advised to buy 20 tonnes of sand, that can take the project to German floor level, so we would only calculate for cement needed now.

Normally:

1bag of cement would set about 40pcs for 9" blocks
1 bag of cement would set about 60pcs for 6" blocks

OR

0.0250 bag of cement would set 1 number of 9" block
0.0167 bags of cement would set 1 number of 6" block

if you apply the formula above; we have 920 blocks / 40 (since its 9" we're using) = 23 bags - (I used 920, not 950 because the actual needed is 920, the 30 nos added was for waste and incase any block was broken before use)

Lets use the other method.
if 0.025 bag = 1 block
then 920 blocks is:

920 x 0.025 = 23 bags of cement

which ever method you remember is ok.

GloriousGbola:
good morning - is there any particular recommendation with regards to water for concrete, and also cement

i am referring to water quality.

what kind of water is a no-no for concrete work?

in some areas with bad ground water, this becomes a issue as wtaer then has be be imported to site at higher cost that may not have been estimated.

YES - The water should be free from impurities (iron, mud, dirt etc), and salt content etc. There is an acceptable PH level for water.

Question 1: The standard is 675mm but for this type of structure, you are permitted to use 450mm considering the size and type of land.

Question 2: The advantage of setting-out is, you'll get a well squared and well dimensioned building. WHILE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SKIP SETTING OUT ON SOME BUILDING TYPE; most people who skip this can do so because its a small structure.

I'll continue with the lecture soon.

Before I continue here's a question.

if my foundation width was 450mm and the height of my concrete was 250mm; how many bags of cement is needed for the foundation?

Answer:
Girth = 104.065m
width converted to meters = 0.45m
Height converted to meters = 0.25m

Volume of concrete = 104.065m x 0.45m x 0.25m = 11.7m3

Cement per m3 of 1:3:6 mix = 4.5bags
Cement needed for 11.7m3 of concrete = 11.7 x 4.5 = 53 bags

If you understand this principle; you've solved 70% of all your cement need on site....

1.02

Now whether its a land on land ( ) or land on water ( ) - there is always a concrete footing, this concrete footing is referred to in many ways; it could be called Foundation, Ground Beam, Blinding, Footing etc depending on it's composition or use.

So; for the purpose of the design we're using, lets calculate materials needed for the foundation work but first we must calculate what is referred to as GIRTH.

Girth is defined as; the measurement around the middle of something - in this case our 'something' is the foundation wall or the walls shown on the plan. (If you look at pics 1 below, you'll notice i've added more dimensions) - all we need to do is add up all the linear dimension of the walls / foundation to get our girth.

EXAMPLE: if I have a rectangle of 2m by 4m; my girth is = (2+4+2+4) = 12m
if I have an equilateral triangle with 1 side as 3m, then my girth is = (3+3+3) = 9m

so; to get my girth in the plan below, I simply add all the dimensions of each wall in the design.... (lo ba tan i.e. and that's all)

if you're done adding, you should get = 104065mm = 104.065m as your girth. (save the value somewhere, we would recall it later).

The foundation is made up of 4 major materials (Cement, Granite, Sand and Water) - so, let's calculate quantity of each material needed.

Cement - There are standard cement mix (1:2:4, 1:3:6 etc) i.e. Cement:Sand:Granite mix and the major different in all these mix is the number of cement used per cubic meter of concrete (i.e. if I want to pour concrete into a box of 1m length, 1m breath and 1m height).

Let me share cement bag/m3 ratio for your knowledge.
1:2:4 mix has 6.25bags per m3
1:3:6 mix has 4.5bags per m3
1:1.5:3 mix has 7.5bags per m3

for the purpose of this tutorial/type of structure, we would be using 4.5bags per m3 of concrete.

so; lets calculate how many bags of cement is needed for our foundation.

FORMULA FOR VOLUME = (L x B x H) where L = our girth, B = width of the foundation we dug and H = Height of the concrete foundation.

Now, measure the wideness (breath) of your physical foundation; the standard is 675mm (0.675m) and that's what I would use.

Volume of concrete (in the attached plan therefore is) = 104.065m x 0.675m x 0.2m (0.2m means that I want to cast my foundation to 200mm high; it could be 150mm, 200mm, 250mm or even 300mm depending on structure/design.

Volume of concrete (m3) = 14.05m3 - it means, 14.05m3 of concrete is needed for my foundation. (if I was ordering ready mix concrete from a company, this is the volume I'll order, but since I'm mixing it on site, I need to know how many Cement, sand and granite would make this volume possible).

Remember, I adopted the 1:3:6 for this type of building, and that's 4.5bags / m3 of concrete.

HENCE: Number of cement needed = 14.05m3 x 4.5bags = 64 bags of 50kg cement.

In the next post, we would calculate Granite and Sand needed to achieve 14.05m3 of concrete.

This is planned to be an interactive lecture, so I'll take questions anytime during the thread life.

Evening All,

Happy New Year

If you're a follower of my thread and tutorial.... be my guest as I take on Part 4 of the Building Estimate.

Thank You as you link up >> https://www.nairaland.com/7690775/diy-practical-class-estimating-comfortable#123197360

(my 'friend' that has been stealing my thread and posting it on his blog and claiming ownership, you're invited too)

The day I decide to sue - I go become billionaire that day. lol

Good day.
Over time, I've developed an excel sheet to help me estimate faster.... for the purpose of this tutorial, I'll treat items as they appear on the list.
we'll treat Item 1.01 and 1.02 (see attached pics) before taking a break.

1.01
Excavate oversite - This basically refer to clearing of the site from debris, bushes, tree etc especially in area where the building would be located. eg if I have a 2 plot of land and I want to build a self-contain on at the extreme right, there's no need to clear the entire 2 plot, the important part is the area where my structure would be sited. How much you spend here depends on how much debris, area of space and type/location of land etc. No calculation is required here for the purpose of this tutorial only

Setting Out - A lot of people overlook its importance and most bricklayers use blocks to set out, but the right method is setting out a profile and doing it the right way. Profiles are set round the building and used to transfer wall/grids across the land.

ALL CALCULATIONS WOULD BE IN METERS (m) OR MILIMETERS (mm)

Calculating number of profiles needed (1by12 wood & Pegs) using our picked design (see pics 2)
1by12 - all we need here is the overall length and breath of the structure; from our design (pics 2) it is 11,000mm (11m) and 12850mm (12.85m)

Add 1.2m to both sides of the each side (this is because the setting out profile needs to be at a distance of about 1m - 1.2m from the structure we're trying to build. After adding 1.2m to both sides, add all 4 sides together. (SEE MY EXPLANATION BELOW).

11m + 1.2m + 1.2m (ie 1.2m to both sides of 11m) = 13.4m

remember the building has 4 sides, do this for the other 3 sides
11m + 2.4m = 13.4m
12.85m + 2.4m = 15.25m
12.85m + 2.4m = 15.25m

total length therefore = 57.3m (what this means is that you need a profile of 57.3m to go round the building.

but 1by12 wood is about 3.3m long. hence we need 57.3m / 3.3m (to get how many profile makes up 57.3m) = 17 numbers of profile.
However, because 1by12 wood is also too wide, we can divide one (1) into four (4) pcs

But, we don't need 17 numbers of wood, what we need is 17 / 4 (since we get 4 parts from 1) = 5 numbers of 1by12 wood
(find out how much 1 plank is in your area and multiply by 5 to know how much you need. other cost here would be cost of slicing 1 plank into 4 parts.

Pegs - This are arranged along the line of the profiles; and each profiles needs 3 pegs (1 in the middle and 1 at both ends).

remember we needed 17 nos of profile above and if each profiles requires 3 pegs, we have 17 x 3 = 51 numbers,
Pegs are sold in dozens, so always approximate to the higher dozens needed.

i.e 51 / 12 = 4.25 dozens; you must buy 5 dozens

Nails (3 & 2 inches) - What is needed is very minimal, so instead of spending time calculating the exact number, just buy a small quantity of each.

Ropes - This are cheap needs, and 3 - 4 is OK for the job. The bricklayers even come with this item at times and might not cost you much.

Excavation - Excavation is the actual digging of the ground (after the setting out is complete) -although we can calculate this cost, I'm careful not to attach any rate to this tutorial, so it's still valid years from now unlike the Part2 where must cost used are no longer valid.

Excavation also depends on the type of land, location, labour force used and size of building.... hence I'll leave everyone to their negotiation power for this item.

If you noticed; the pics 1 (excel sheet) does not have this item - this is because the sample I used was an estimate for a building on a waterlogged land - hence there is no need for excavation there. Excavation is for those building on firm/solid land (like we are doing here).

COMING UP NEXT IS ITEM 1.02

saydfact:


I'll take a few more response then decide..... Cld even (no promise) use someone's design.... Lol

and we have someone's design to use for this long awaited (updated cost) tutorial.
You can join the class here >> https://www.nairaland.com/7690775/diy-practical-class-estimating-comfortable

Thanks and Goodluck.

Hi Morning.

You can follow the estimation class on the question asked here via the link >> https://www.nairaland.com/7690775/diy-practical-class-estimating-comfortable

Goodluck

Morning Followers/NLers

I've always wanted to do this update especially since the last update on this series was in 2016. If you're coming across my threads for the first time, you might want to check other topics I've written on ( O porrr ). Welcome to Part 4 of the series building your comfortable house.

You might want to check Part1 & 2 (links below) - as I won't be repeating all advice I had given in the past except it's very necessary because this is a practical (calculation) class.

>> Part 1 - https://www.nairaland.com/3502464/how-build-comfortable-house-earning
>> Part 2 - https://www.nairaland.com/3523256/how-build-comfortable-house-earning

The plan we would be using is courtesy: @Joyful365 and it is attached below.

Lastly; unlike the previous tutorials I've done (where the full tutorial was posted at one) I will update this thread slowly, for weeks - this would allow real time question and answer until the building is roofed or painted on paper/NL

The goal is that at the end of this tutorial, you should be well equipped with adequate knowledge in estimating the cost of your DIY design, to prevent unnecessary 'ripping off' thereby saving and spending less.

Welcome & Goodluck.... I am (Say-d-Fact)

Joyful365:


Thank you very much...

I don't really understand what you mean by type of land... but the land is 100 feet by 100 feet. It's in a developing area... It has been farmed on before.

Type of land refers to if its Waterlogged, sandy or a firm land. From the picture, it's a firm land... The land usually determines the type of foundation to be used.

@Joyful365

This is it in AutoCAD (not fully dimensioned thou)
we good to go.

what type of land are you building on? You can share a pics.

Watch this space for link to Tutorial thread.

Joyful365:


Hello saydfact

Thank you for your response.

I'd be delighted if you use the plan above to estimate the cost but I don't have the AutoCAD file/fully dimensional plan you mentioned. I don't even know what they are. I just googled three bedroom floor plans and got the sample above and I like it hence posting it here after seeing your thread about how to build comfortable house while earning little. Is there a way to get those things and how much will it cost?

I'll generate it....
And we can use it for the tutorial.

I only need the Autocad to make my backend calculation easier, does not mean we can't do without it.

I'll open a thread later today and we wld start the lecture maybe from tomorrow or early next week.

Thanks and regards..

[quote author=Joyful365 post=123024856][/quote]

what about we use your design to estimate what the cost would be in 2023 May?

I've always wanted to do a new thread with the lastest cost.... but you'll need to send me the AutoCAD file or fully dimensioned plan.

I'll need to create time thou for it.

bobkezel:
Good morning guys and special morning to @saydfact....
Pls I need a suggestion about my varendah, I am confused on whether to paint or tile the walls....
Any idea is appreciated.

Afternoon Boss.
Can you send a picture? wld help

engrrichie92:
Builders/Architects/Engineers,

I need your expert advise.

So I have got 10M naira I want to invest in my first building project (Land inclusive)

I know it is not feasible in Lagos, so looking at Ondo/Ogun state; Is this feasible within my budget?

I am even willing to pay for a comprehensive project plan from an experienced builder.

It will be nice to have a detailed breakdown of how to achieve this before I proceed

Thanks in advance.

HI.

You'll need to be specific about the type of housing you're looking at.

And since its land inclusive - you'll need to deduct the cost of the land yourself (and leave just the building budget for debate).

from experience I THINK ..... (let me hold that thought for now).

Check my various thread for help

what type of housing project /?

Took a few years without Loan.
cost - I actually didnt document that because I saw it as a moral killer......

Lopigo:
I haven’t any word to appreciate this post.....Really i am impressed from this post....the person who create this post it was a great human..thanks for shared this with us. asphalt

Thanks Sir for the kind words - words as this keeps me motivated.... do check out my other post on buildings; you'll love them....

Good Day all:

If you're about to start building and want to donate your design for a study which would see us calculate how much would likely finish the project;

kindly share the building plan under this thread >> https://www.nairaland.com/3523256/how-build-comfortable-house-earning/14#120625343

if selected; you'll be required to send the AutoCAD version of the plan (in millimeters/meters)

Lets Go

If you're about to start building and want to donate your design for this study; kindly share the plan here.

if selected; you'll be required to send the AutoCAD version of the plan (in millimeters/meters)

Lets Go