Building Contractors' Secrets.

Simple Questions To Make Your Prospective Building Contractor Edgy

2008-10-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

These questions were sent to a friend who wants to engage a building contractor.
The project involves is a high networth project, so he is not ready to use an incompetent or inexperienced contractor, so I have to draft out simple questions that can make your contractor either edgy or keep him in check. Is good to know you aren't a complete dumb, when it comes to building your house, asking so much question will also make the contractor knows you won't accept a job not well done. In all this is just to start a conversation with your contractor by sheepishly asking everyday site questions.

(1) What are the types of foundation?
-strip, pad, raft and pile
(a)What are the advantages of one over others?. He should be able to explain a little.
-Strip is the common one that follows the path of walls, pad is also knowned as isolated foundation, raft is of concrete spread round the site often time in form of inverted T, also used for waterlogged or loose soil that is of moderate few floor height. Pile is concrete bored deep down the floor usually for multiple storeys.

(2)How do you assure or determine that the foundation is squared, what will you use?
- An instrument called square, details more
(3)Explain how to set out the building?
(4)What is the thickness of foundation concrete bed you will use, let him show you from the structural drawings. Could be 600mm(2ft)-1200(4ft)mm or more.
(5)What are the likely mixture ratio for the foundation concrete?
-1:2:4, i.e 1 bag of cement to 2 headpans of sand and 4 headpans of stones.
(6)Granite or gravel which are you going to use for the building, what are the differences?.
-Granite is fine neat and stronger but far costlier to gravel, granite bonds easily because of less impurities.
(7)The iron rods where are you going to buy them from?
They said imported iron rods are often stronger why?
-Some iron rods in Nigeria are recycled hence they are often not as strong, though the ones from factory in Delta are ok.
(8)Why do you put biscuits (small cubic concrete square around iron rods when laid in concrete mass during construction? What are biscuits anyway?
-To allow the iron rods to be properly buried inside concrete, if the rods are exposed to weather or climatic elements they may get rust and that will weaken them, apart from that the exposed one is not fully functioning optimally.
(9)What is oversite concrete? Let him explain
-German floor in lay man’s term
(10)What is the height or depth of groundfloor between the top of the adjoining road to the ground floor? What are the advantages of raising the ground floor higher.
-Of course it will help in case of flooding, you can easily slope the site to your drainage points.
(11)Load bearing walls, retaining walls, nonloadbearing walls, what are they and the differences in a building?
-Loadbearing walls as the name implies helps in carrying the load of the building, it also contributes as structural part of the building .
-Retaining walls are for supporting other structures in place, for example in arunoff of water, retaining walls can be used to protect the sands or earth from being washed away by your fence. It could also be used in basement.
-Non loadbearing walls are others in a building that aren’t really contributing structurally to the stability of the building, like the curtain walls, partition walls in a building.
(12)If the place is prone to flood what are measures you can use to check or forestall water from percolating through to the building.
-You can use dpc membrane (cellophane like stuff to prevent water from percolating thorough to the building.) What is DPC anyway?
(13)What are the advantages of using oversite concrete or german floor?
-It helps reduce water percolation from ground
-It enhances the strength of building
(14)The suspended floor slabs- first floor, second e.tc what mixture ratio is advisable to use.
-1:2:4
-thickness of suspended floor-150mm or 6”
What type of suspended floor are we using?
- Most likely solid- that can be seen from the structural drawing
(15)If you discover the roof leaking after building what are the possible causes and how can you remedy it.
-If the design is faulty
-Bad workmanship by installer
-To repair, relay the very terrible ones,
You may apply aluminium flashing for aluminium roof. Other areas close to wall you can use bitumen too.
(16)The roof, are you recommending aluminium or others, what are the advantages of aluminium over others.
-Is probably going to be aluminium and advantages-it is light, durable and aesthetically pleasing to others, you can choose any colour.
(17)Conduit wiring or surface which will you advocate?
-Conduit is when you have wires embedded in walls.
-Surface is when it is placed on surface of walls.
Conduit is preferable for office settings it is neater, though surface can be easily maintained.

Project 1: Serie A.The Diary of A Building Contractor.

2008-10-22T05:43:00.000-07:00

This is a serie of projects written in stages to help you have an idea of what to expect or experience when you are executing your next project. This serie is stage one of a 4 bedroom project designed and built by me for a moderate income earner.
Other projects will also be brought to you susequently. Enjoy my diary and
I hope you'll be able to learn from my personal experience and mistakes. The other series will be posted in due time.

DAY 1
My client,his friend and I went to meet their former neighbour today
that also has a building around where we are to buy land.
Infact he introduced us to someone close to the "Baale" (traditional king
of the area).He is popularly called "Baba Legba"

We met the "Baale" and he pegged the price of the land at
1.2million but we were able to negotiate it to 1million naira. We promised
to pay N700,000 as installments the next working day. After that we had
pep talk and word of advice from 'Baba Pamilerin' our contact man and his
wife.

Another issue was raised by me concerning Government stand on the land but
the Baale wade in that practically all lands in lagos at one point or the
other were Government acquired, but they do sell some of these lands based
on the facts that the moment the entire space is built, then is easy for
them to request for excision (given out back the land to the villagers)
from government, so the onus was left to us to go ahead or stop for
further investigations, but we went ahead because the area is built up.

But we later discovered that the area was not part of the exempted portion
from the government.

lesson no. 1- when you are ready to buy a land it won't cost you anything to contact a good land surveyor to accompany you to the site, let him come back the next day with his compass to double check.
Though we had a feeling of the plot being in Govt acq. area but we weren't 100% sure,
probably that may have influenced our decisions wether to still go ahead
or take our time or bit down the price of the land e.t.c

DAY 2
Client sent N700,000 to pay for the initial deposit, hence early in the
morning next day tuesday, myself and "Akeem" -(clients friend) went to pay
the money. We went there with "Baba Pamilerin'-our contact man. Tried to
still negotiate the price down but met stone wall."The baale-(traditional
ruler) called the owner of the plot of land if he will agree for N700,000
as the installment and for us to pay the balance by end of october the
seller agreeed for end of semptember.
Prayer were made we signed and collected the receipt from Baale. He made us to realise nobody sells the land in their domain without their knowledge, obviously so that they would continually collect commission on any exchange of properties from one hand to the other, this was also expressly stated in the receipt they gave us.

DAY 3
We organised for the clearing of site, gave "Baba Legba" N6,000 to pay
Hausa people to cut the overgrown grasses.

DAY 4
I went to the site measured the existing foundation with "Baba Sunday"-my
bricklayer. We used his bike to the site and we both made suggestions on
how best to carry out the project and how we can adjust the structure on
ground to blend with what we have in mind.

Surveyor Kayode came to site to look at it, we went round and I asked him
if the site is not probably in Government Acquired Area. He brought out a
gazzete (government publication that shows that parts of the village has
been given back to the villagers but for now he can't really determine the
exact space, so he may need to come back to measure and use GPS -Compass to determine that, asides that he can't
guarantee us for now but advised that people do appeal to government
concerning some areas where you may have plenty of buildings around.

DAY 5
I called in Baba Sunday our bricklayer to look at the site with the sketch
plan I gave him and take inventory of what is on site vis a vis what we
are trying to achieve. Then I asked him to go through and tell me what he
will take for his fees to lay the entire blocks of the building.

DAY 6
Baba Sunday came with a quotation reflecting N115,000 to get the structure
to dpc level, that is the level before you have the ground floor.
The initial thinking from me was for him to estimate for all but I think
he smelled a fish and decided to make it piecemeal, well this has both its

advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages--
i, I can afford to terminate his contract after the DPC level (ground
floor level-foundation)

ii,This can also give me room to once again study the expertise of the
bricklayer with possiblities of terminating his appointment.

iii,We can afford to suspend the construction at that stage untill economy
improves without any obligation to anybody.

Disadvantages
i,The bricklayer has the right to also reject and stop working after
completion of the first phase.

ii,Negotiating in piecemeal may make the overall cost of building to be
higher.
So after much deliberation we settled for N75,000 fee to get the building
to dpc level (ground floor level).

Day 7
The client gave me N500,000 to pay for material to kickstart the project.

We got a geepee 3000liters tank for N30,000 plus N1,000 accesories and we
were lucky to use the hilux jeep from surveyor Kayode to carry it to site,
this could have caused another N2,500-N3,000.
The surveyor took dimension with his ball boy and placed the beacon round
the building. The building is a cornerpiece so we had 5 beacons (concrete
element used for marking out building plots) . Each beacon costs N100 to
buy.

DAY 8

Myself, Akeem( client's friend) went to site one Mrs Chikwe approached us
that she supplies sand so we asked her to supply us sharp sand
"kasabubu"-20 tonnes at N36,000, other quotations we got were higher.
Gravel Sharp sand Soft sand
Baba Sunday's friend- 45,000 38,000 25,000
Mrs Kema- 36,000 23,000
Alhaja- 19,000 38,000 22,000
"Alhaja" gave us 5 tonnes gravel for N19,000 and we also asked her to supply
soft sand.

The next day sharp sand of 10 tonnes and gravel of 5 tonnes were delivered
to site. Additional 10 tonnes from Baba Sunday's friend was delivered a
day after.

We went to see Baale to pay for for "omo onile foundation money" we were
asked to pay N25,000 but we went back to give him N20,000 which he still
insists we must pay the remaining N5,000. We also went along with 2
bottles of schnapps one for Baale, the other for "Olori ebi" an elder to
the baale. The most senior man or the eldest among the baale's family(
though we haven't giving him his own at the time of writing this report).

We met the owner of the house beside site to help connect the tank to his
borehole which he agreed to, so we called plumber to help do the
connection, and he was paid N2,000 to buy the accessories and for the
labour.

DAY 9

Work commences , we just discovered that the building on site was not
"squared" it wasn't properly set out so the blocks have to be removed and we have to dig a new foundation all round retaining just one straight wall by the right side of site to serve as our point line. Every other line
were dug 600mm or 3ft. The stumps on site was removed by Hausas for N4,000
"Baba Sunday"-my bricklayer accompany me home around 2pm to collect
money for the suppliers of sand. I was to pay him N38,000 for sharp sand
and N25,000 for soft. But on getting home we took his okada and when I
asked him how much I am to give him he said N70,000-N45,000 for sharp sand
and N25,000 for soft sand. I gave him the money quickly without thinking
(the sharp sand was supposed to be N38,000 as formerly priced) . Why? you
may ask, I was very hungry I only discovered this mistake after I had
eaten so I quickly called him I was only able to get back N5,000 out of the
money.

Lesson no. 2-Don't negotiate a business when you are hungry.Don't give out money when you are hungry as well.

DAY 10
Casting of concrete -14 bags were expended, this is quite short of
ordinary calculation for a standard construction which you were expected
to cast 150mm or 6 inches thick concrete slab. We could have used more
cement and gravel with this.
This area is another place local bricklayers will cheat you if left to do
everything on their own the average thickness of the foundation we did was
100mm or 4 inches thick 50mm less than the normal paper design.

We couldn't get the next door neighbour concerning water issue , it was on
monday and everybody have left home . so someone had to fetch the water we used in drums for us at the rate of N250/drum.
I took 10 liters of diesel down to power the neighbours generator so that water can
be pumped into our tank for the next assignment.

DAY 11
Block work started destination to foundation or dpc level.
Stacking permit guys came with okada and I was told they've been around
before. So we chatted and they said with N20,000 they will help out( this
is an area that is still under government acquisition) I gave them N1,000
which I called okada money and I agreed to pay N10,000 ,that is definitely
a topic for another day.

In conclusion to the ground floor level stage for the plan above we have
expended N650,000. Though some blocks were still left which we used to
raise some portion up -(pictures will be added later).

However do not let your heart be troubled because of this amount, the
foundation area is one of the most money consuming part, apart from that
for the low earners there are still more you can do , you can build yours
piecemeal, I mean you can decide to raise up just one room and a kitchen
but you have the plan of the entire structure mapped out, this you can
seek the advice of your architect friend,if you don't have one, look for a
draftsman.
Also notes that the plan shown above can be the bogus type for
an average low income earner, you may have to reduce yours and streamline
your budget.

Why And How To Install Drainage On Your Site

2008-10-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Flood can result for a lot of reasons on your site, but one of the ways to prevent it is by constructing or installing drainage.

Neglecting drainage can erode the beauty of your landscape, it could lead to flooding of basements, destruction of plants ,walls and can even cause health
threatening damages.

It is important to do your drainage before heavy rain, construct it in such a that it can be able to take water from wrong places and uses gravity to drain
it away either to the public drains or along the slope to the outside.

One way is to channel water directly from your roof with a pipe straight to the drainage which in turns directs it out in a rivulets of water.

Another drainage system is called the "dry well" by this big pits dug and filled with stones but with no drains allows the water to slowly percolates into
surrounding soil and in no time the place becomes perfectly dry.

Also permeable pavings with lines of spaces all over the pavement done in a decorative fashion can also allow water to easily drain into the surrounding soil.

From "ehow" you can also follow these instructions when you are installing your garden drains with pipes-

Installing a drainage system in your yard is a great way to fix your lawn drainage issues. You will need to have a proper drainage system to help the lawn
look better. It will aid in relieving waterlogged areas around your yard or farm field.

Things You’ll Need:
Shovel
Large rocks or broken pieces of brick
Small rocks
Soil
Long drainage pipes
Slit drainage pipes
Sand
Water

Step1 Create a soakaway which will accumulate water from drainage pipes. This should be situated at the lowest area of your field or garden. The soakaway must
be 3 square feet and 4- to 6-feet deep. Fill the first 2 feet of the soakaway with things like large rocks or broken pieces of brick. Then have 1/2 foot of
small rocks. Cover the last 6 inches with a layer of soil until it is level with the rest of the ground.

Step2 Use flexible and lightweight plastic drainage pipes for the drainage system. Use sand to make a small line along the area you are thinking of laying the
pipe. Dig up some turf that is 5-inches wide and 15-inches deep along the primary drainage line. It should be going at a decline from top to bottom.

Step3 Make sure the trench is working correctly by putting some water in the hole. If the water goes all the way to the bottom of the hole without stopping,
then the trench has been dug correctly. Put a layer of stones about 1-inch deep on the bottom of the trench, and put the drainage pipe on top of the stones.

Step4 Keep laying stones in the hole so it surrounds the sides and top of the drainage pipe until the trench is 4-inches deep. Cover it with the soil that was
dug out of the trench until it is level with the layer of turf.

Step5 Dig slit drainage passages for the slit drainage pipes. These passages will be 4 inches shallower than the main passage, and it will stop above the
primary drainage pipe. This will allow the water to go out of the side passage and run off into the primary drain passage and into the primary drainage pipe
and into the soakaway.

Step6 Lay the slit pipes on sand and fill in the area around the sides of the pipe. Cover the area with turf and soil.

How To Prevent and Fight Termites In Your House

2008-10-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

Termites are often overlooked problem when building your house, but it is
reported that termites destroys about $1billion worth of properties each
year.

Termites are voracious wood eaters and can easily destroy everything wood
in your house if not quickly checked.

Before digging your foundation there is need to investigate if
termites are around your sites better still you can check for their hills
around, if found, then you have to apply chemicals on the soil.

How do you know when termites are eating your House.

After termites have entered your house, the first telltale notice is the
way they move around your house in swarms, they do this to look for a colony to establish, once a reproductive pair finds a suitable place to live and mate, they bore into the soil or into a wood structure, seal themselves off and commence mating. Once the founding king and queen stops
foraging they sit back and allow their offsprings to feed them which by
now may be in thousands.
The multitudes in turn search for food and their basic food is simple
sugars, derived from the cellulose found in wood and wood products.

The second sign is excrement which occurs in tiny thin strips rounded
at the ends usually around woods.

Another one that is very noticeable is the mud tubes, termites needs water to survive and with the water it is easy for them to provide shelter.

During rainy season you may notice much of these mud tubes which acts as

termites causewaays protecting the insect from heat and dryness as they

move around between nest and food source.

How to prevent Termites attack

(1)Before digging your foundation you caan sprinkle chemicals "Andrex T"
etc on the soil to forestall their invasion.

(2)Use well polished woods treated with chemicals can also protect them
from eating your furniture .

(3)You can also use hardwood that are resistive to termite when you are
planning to work on your roof and the furnitures. Ask your contractor or
carpenter to specify for you if you can't get a professional to do it.

How To Prevent Flood In Your House

2008-10-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

The natural role of a flood plain is to channel excess water during periods of heavy rainfall to rivers and other bigger channels.But where you have flood channels been blocked or walled off, then the artificially narrowed or blocked water must rise higher to compensate for the narrow channels, often time it becomes an embarrassment to a community.

CAUSES OF FLOODING
1) Deforestation- As activities of man becomes more intense, the trees around are being fell and these lands are claimed for other purposes. These areas will be exposed to flood as time goes on.

2) Development, Jobs and Affluence- like in every part of the world people loves to leave close to river because of economic and leisure gains, for farming (irrigation) ,water, transportation and even waste disposal.

3) Poverty- When you have too little to pay for a conducive environment, then you are most likely to settle for anywhere you find yourself, also constructing a drain gutter may be too expensive for you.

4) However not only areas close to rivers are prone to flooding, Unnecessary blocking of public drain channels and overbuilt environment may cause flooding.

5) Even in some houses bad foundation of buildings could lead to flood right inside your house. Areas with loose soils when building houses on them are expected to have water protecting membrane laid down round the foundation to prevent water rising to the floors through the walls from foundation. Also oversite concrete or german floor ought to be done for such area infact for every building, but the cost of doing it makes virtually anybody with low budget to ignore this important part of your building.
For those with considerably strong soil, you can use the method I used to at least saved some money, though not the best alternative.

What I did-----
After raising all the blocks to foundation level what I did was just to look for a carpenter to nail planks around the top of blocks (both internal and external) with about 100mm space to accommodate concrete directly on top, you may ask why did I do just that alone, as I said I am trying to save money and most of the water from ground will percolate through wall to the top and soon you may begin to see the effects.

To prevent flood , these are the major steps to take
(i) You can raise the foundation level of your building this will make your building to be higher but will probably save you from flood when the runoff is high. Though it will cost you more to raise the house from ground, it may perhaps be more economical at the long run, besides a well built house standing alone gives it an elegant look.

(ii) Make sure when paving the surrounding environment, the paving or whatever, slopes along water runway so that water entering your environment will naturally follow the gradient or slope of the land.

(iii) If you found out that your house is usually flooded after rainfall because the pavement/screeding of your environment was not done to slope towards the natural water flows, you can channel water from the roof of your house with a pipe to water channels, underground tanks or drain gutters.

(iv) Replace damaged pipes around the house, the ones from public utilities and your own.

(v) You can erect a retaining wall or fence made of concrete to block strong rushing water.

(vi) If number (v) is expensive you can use sandbags

(vii) The most important of all, when carrying out your project consider drainage gutter if you envisage future flooding problems.

(viii) In large scale done by Organisations and government, Dams,large water channels, and leeves are provided to further fights flooding. Leeves are embarkments composed of soil and earthen materials that are used to prevent annual flooding in many areas just like what you have in V.I bar beach presently been done by the Lagos state government. With a levee it requires very high volume of rain water before flooding can occur. But the drawback is that if the water level is high enough to past through the fence(levees) then the flooding will be most and will cause several times more damage.

(ix) If all fails, just move out. Leave the vicinity. Q.E.D

How to Supervise your Tiller/Tilling Contractor

2008-09-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

Tilling is part of tilling finishes that you will have to be very careful of. A good tilling work will bring out the beauty of your floor out and gives a pleasant look to the eyes of your visitor. So it can mess you up both financially and aesthetical wise if wrongly done.

Tiles are very costly if well handled by an expert it canbe used to cover up errors on a floor done by your masons/bricklayers.

Clean up the floor you want to tile, this is important to remove dirts that will affect the bonding strength of the mortar you are going to use.

Tillers tiles floor in very gentle slope that are not noticeable towards an edge, though not easily noticed by users, this slope helps the water on tiles to drain easily out to the drainage points on your site.

Use the edge of a trowel to form a grove on the floor where you will lay the tiles. Let the mortar (cement sand ) cover the badly treated areas of floor before applying tiles.

Make sure your tiller use the spacer, spacers are small plastic materials that are used for even spacing of the tiles you want to lay, they are usually 3/16th’s of an inch thick and will help ensure consistency in the width of the joints.

After laying your tile down and use tile spacers to keep them perfectly even distant from each other do not walk on them, leave those spacers overnight and next day rmove the spacers. Then the even space created will now be filled up with a mixture of white cement and water.

In circular motions, wipe the grout off the tile, after 2 days clean up the entire floor space.

Bank of Industry Building :How To Demolish A High Rise Building

2008-09-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of ways to demolish a building, but when it involves a high profile building of many floors the safety of people around is very important. For a low building, ordinary sledge hammer can do the work when you employ enough labourers.
But for buildings like BOI then more technical expertise must be applied to avoid loss of lives and more properties around the area. The building in question is a peculiar one because it is surrounded all over by buildings, hence uncontrolled demolition will result in a disaster and great loss of valuable properties because the building if not well analyzed and demolished correctly may affect more valuable properties.
Excavators and wrecking balls can do the work for a fairly high building of 4-5 floors. But for an high rise you need an explosive. Explosive demolition is the preffered method for safety and efficiency , the general term is imploding of building.
To explode a building, you need to remove the support structure of the building, that is ,the structural element carrying the building will have to be the target of the explosive, when you remove the supporting element at one point the section of the building above that point will fall down on the part of the building below it and when the upper section is heavy enough , it will collide with the lower part with sufficient force to cause damage to the lower ones and just like that the crumbles goes straight down.

Blasters approach each project a little differently, but the basic idea is to think of the building as a collection of separate towers. The blasters set the explosives so that each "tower" falls toward the center of the building, in roughly the same way that they would set the explosives to topple a single structure to the side. When the explosives are detonated in the right order, the toppling towers crash against each other, and all of the rubble collects at the center of the building.

This option which I believed was used for BOI is to detonate the columns at the center of the building before the other columns so that the sides of the building falls inward. Going by the news the explosion was to be a series but one was enough to bring the entire building down, there must have been some reasons for this-

(1) When the engineers checked the plan probably the design was done in such a way that the core element of the building was at the center so they only need to strike the columns at the center for others to fall thereb causing everything to crash down.

(2) Another method could be that the engineers could have systematically weaken the center by demolishing selectively some of the columns in the building, before the major demolition. In all for sure the center of the building was weaken before it could have crashed against itself –this is common sense.

Though the building was also controlled by the cables they position around it this is secondary, the main job was done by the explosive which was planted in the building.

Blasters positions the explosives at different structural points of the building, but their decisions and methods they are using chiefly depends on where the building should fall to. Therefore it is important that the engineers carrying out such jobs requires the architectural and structural plans of the building.
There are some buildings that are required to fall sideways, but the BOI had to crumble on itself to save other properties around it even the church very close to the building was not affected after demolition.

Preliminary Measures before Blasting.
Blasting of major buildings usually involves the input of the authorities, message is sent round for people to evacuate the area for safety reasons.
Next is to begin to clear the building of debris, then demolition crews will move in and systematically weaken the building by removing the non load bearing walls -ordinary walls that are not meant to carry the building are taken out to further weaken the building and by using sledge hammer on the supporting columns (pillars) before the final blast.(though this is dangerous)
When demolishing a column, the hardest is usually the steel column, this requires more specialized explosive materials (RDX) to blast.

In Conclusion, blasters determine how much explosive material to use based largely on their own experience and the information provided by the architects and engineers who originally built the building. But most of the time, they won't rely on this data alone. To make sure they don't overload or under-load the support structure, the blasters perform a test blast on a few of the columns, which they wrap in a shield for safety. They tries out varying degrees of explosive material, and based on the effectiveness of each explosion, they determine the minimum explosive charge needed to demolish the columns. By using only the necessary amount of explosive material, the blasters minimize flying debris, reducing the likelihood of damaging nearby structures.

How to Renovate or Remodel Your House

2008-09-16T04:04:00.000-07:00

Last week sunday I went to a church in ‘Surulere’ Lagos state with a colleague. The project is an uncompleted church building work, though we were asked to come and give advice on the finishes of the house, but our encounter opened our eyes also to errors the parishioners hitherto took for granted.
Hence what we specified in some parts of the project is more of renovation then.

To renovate your building you need to do a self assessment of yourself, list out the problems and your expectations also consider your purse too.

Firstly go for a professional to take a closer look at what you are planning to do before going ahead. He will draw out plan according to your budget and give you the best options available. In our case, when we got to the church after going round and listening to the clients, we proffered solutions to some problem areas. Furthermore we discovered that the building is about 7meters from high tension cable.
Hence we have to advise them against erecting more structure on the ground. The town planning regulations requires a minimum of 45meters setback from the church therefore the plan could not be approved though they have finished building the project, so the only thing is to advise them to limit their spending, town planning issue is a big one presently in lagos, the house could be demolished anytime.

Moving on, the architect will be most favourable to come out with the design and plan based on your budget. After you have both agreed on his recommendations, then the next thing is to look for what you can do yourself at least to save time and cost. Packing, cleaning and clearing sites of debris can be done by you. Looking for a good subcontractor that you must have worked with before could be done by you or leave it for your consultant.

Just as I said in our own case government permit for the church is not attainable, we couldn’t just think of drawing the attention of the authorities, but for you, get the government permit to continue if not, what you will be doing will be illegal especially when it involves large scale remodeling of your building.

What you must look out for

Number one thing to consider is the structural implications on the building. Consider the foundation, is it strong enough and okay to sustain the building because of activities that will be going on the building is likely to be subjected to serious vibrating forces- somebody is hammering, another is dropping cement on suspended floor and other activities are taking place. If the foundation is not satisfactory what can be done to reinforce or strengthen it all this you need to know.

Check other structural elements like columns (pillars) and beams are they in good shapes? From the new design are some of them going to be knocked off, the roof frame is it made of steel or wood? Why and how will your renovation/remodeling work affects it.

The windows are they in good shape? Do they allow water into the house are you thinking of replacing them?

Now check the carpentry works especially in roof, some of them may have been affected by rain water drops from leakages of roof and the roof itself, is the materials used for it okay? If not then you may be thinking of replacing them.

Look at the walls there may be cracks all over and probably a large percentage of plaster may have been falling off what you need to do in such case is to pull down the weak portion or the quadrant around it before you replaster, you may have to apply wire mesh (small tiny wire nets) before the plaster to be able to hold it firm .

Something that we also noticed lest I forget, in the church we went to, we noticed that the fence grill (fence iron) was almost directly under the high tension cable, we had to advise them to remove those iron and replace with ordinary block because they are bound to conduct electricity from those high tension cables, infact one of the church members told us that atimes when people around tries to work on their television antennae, they always experience electric shock. So you see why these laws are actually for our good.

The floor is another area you need to take adequate attention of, do you have some portion of the building uneven or there are some areas that retains water until it dries out, then this is the time for you to take assessments of all.

The services is as well very important, how is the water from your wash hand basin running? Where is it being chanelled to, check all pipes and replace any bad plumbing materials.
The wiring of the house is also very important, any socket in bad shape? What of the entire wiring are those wires naked and exposed to human beings?
The ceiling you are using is it due for replacement? If yes are you thinking of getting one that has good insulating strength? Many of these questions and more you need to ask yourself however you will have to tackle each task based on priorities and what you have in your pocket.

How to Determine Your Consultants Rates

2008-09-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

A subscriber recently asked me to quote for a project and he made mention to me that he will go for the cheapest so my resolve to write on this topic.
Yes it is good to go for a really cheap job but there are disadvantages of doing that which I may write about another time. In otherwords the cheapest moneywise may not really be the cheapest valuewise.
Most often your projects are the reflections of what you paid for, below are why you may have variations in fees from your consultants-architects,lawyers,QS,Structural Engr e.t.c
These are what will determine the fees

(1) Experience-
The Experienced consultants work hard to stay ahead of the curve learning new trends and skills that benefit customers. Some have spent more years in the job than others, hence you may get a better job from them to the less experienced though not in all cases, expect to pay more to such people.

(2)Location of Consultants-
Running businesses in the area your consultant is presently will affects how he will charge you. If the office is in a high brow area don’t expect less from him, he needs to pay for the rents which usually costs more, and the thinking of the average Nigerian is that if your business is in such area you must be successful and experienced, again which may not be always true.

(3)Location of Project-
Where your project will be sited will determine the fees the consultant will charge. Imagine you want to build a 4-bedroom bungalow, but you bought the land somewhere in Ikoyi close to N100million naira, now for somebody somewhere I can afford to do the design for that person for N20,000-N30,000 , but for someone that bought the land for that price count me out I won’t agree to take anything less than N200,000 for the same work, same energy and same product, so also have this in mind.

(4)Influence or Name of Consultant-
You’ll agree with me that how well known a consultant is can also determine how he will charge you as the client.
For instance Festus Keyamo,Gani Fawehinmi e.t.c may not really be the brightest brains in the legal profession but for the mere fact that they are well knowned, you will be surprised if they ask for a low fee for your job and that also reflects in every profession.

(5)Closeness or Relationship with Clients-
The relationships between you and the consultant will determine what he is likely to take, he may even do the job for you free, if he is your brother or a close friend he won’t charge the same with an outsider.

(6)Level of Education-
If he has recently gained new certifications, or additional professional credentials that help clients, that knowledge has value. There are professionals with high qualifications with all manner of certifications, expect to pay more to such people.

(7)Office Settings-
How plush the office is will determine the fees also, if you are ushered into a reception that worths millions of naira and is very clean and organized then don’t expect anything less from the consultant, your money has got to maintain that plush office, ready to pay more. Other consultants are operating from home so they may charge you less.

(8)Consultants numbers of Employees-
Have you entered an office and the C.E.O is introducing you to everybody in the establishment? He is only showing you around to let you have a fill of how big the company is. So after showing you around and you discovered that there are a lot of employees working for the man, then expect to pay more to maintain the staff.

(9)Consultants’ Controlling body-
The association of each profession atimes regulate how their members charges customers/clients to help protect themselves from been underpriced. From ordinary barbers in the street to big time consultants, the story is the same.

(10)Government Policies and Regulations-
If the government of the day gives zero tolerance to quacks then expect the fee of the few professionals available to be very high.
If government gives regulations that makes the job difficult for your consultants they will also pass the stress to you in terms of money you will have to pay.

(11)Additional Overhead Cost of Running Business or Infrastructural Problems-
If your consultant is running the business on generator, then don’t expect to get a very cheap service from him. How easy is it to get your job done without spending so much on NEPA/PHCN?

(12)National Crises
When there is a shortage of supply in fuel or there is a general strike, then fees will also be affected.

(13)Natural Crises
Natural disasters, unexpected change of weather even the mood of your consultant may affect the price.

(14)Area of Specialization
Different niches are springing up everyday, the more specialized a business becomes the higher the rates consultants are going to charge for projects.

(15)Local Market Rates
Don’t expect consultants in the big cities to charge the same amount with people in the villages, the accepted rates from states to states will always be different.

(16)Numbers of competitors
The more the competitors around , the lower the rates will be in that locality.

(17)Clients Refferalbility
A consultant can reduce the cost of service for you by sizing your referral power.
I won’t mind doing a private job for free for a serving governor because I know I can gain more contracts from him, if I play my card well, so the same with people of connections but not too rich.

(18)Nature of Project.
The bigger the project the higher the fees.
The more luxury you have on the project the more likely your consultants think you have money to throw away so the more you have to pay.

(19)Pedigree of Client.
The position of clients in the society, how rich the client is, how educated and so on.

(20)Club or Association with Client.
If you are in a club that has an architect for instance as a member, then the probability of reducing the cost of service is much feasible. A church member is also going to afford you a cheap service.

(21)Source of Contact.
By that I mean how you met your consultants. Lets grade them by [high], [low] and [average]
This ranges from
Close association from childhood, [low]
Refferal through a friend, [average]
Referral by past work of the consultant saw by the client somewhere [high],
Through Consultants Controlling bodies directory [high],
Through Online forum [low]
Forumite are very inquisitive and always looking for the cheapest services and information they can get, hence this can also determine the decision of the consultant to reduce the fees on knowing that you are from an online forum.
Through Online search engine to consultants website [high],
Someone that searches directly through search engine shows he probably doesn’t have anybody to use, he is very hot and ready to go.
Through Conference offline [average]
Religious houses [low]
Clubs[average]
Family members of Consultants [high],
Clients family members [low]

In general cost of running a business will always determine the fees to be charged.

Palms Garden Estate offers new options at Mowe

2008-09-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

A Lagos-based real estate development company, Messrs Propertymart Limited, has initiated a campaign for a residential scheme at Mowe-Ibafo axis in Ogun State.

The new estate, which it calls Palms Garden Estate, will be developed in terms of infrastructure to offer subscribers the Gold and Silver class options.

A statement by the firm on Friday said already site clearance had commenced on the estate, which would feature the sale of serviced plots along with dwelling units.

The project is coming about four months after unveiling the multi-facet Crystal Park Estate in the same area.

The firm explained that a beneficiary would fall into either the Gold or Silver option, depending on the intentions.

The Business Development Manager, Mr. Muyiwa Oshinowo, said the aim was to enhance speedy development of the estate “by creating an avenue for separating intending residents from investors/land speculators.”

He added that the developers would in future build homes such as bungalows and duplexes in the estate.

He said that a breakdown of the cost of construction at every stage was being prepared, and that the company would build for land buyers in line with the stage of affordability.

According to the Head of Marketing, Mr. Adesope Adeyinka, Palms Garden Estate would uniquely feature a lot of greenery areas with abundant palm trees.

He said, “Our estates are unique in terms of generated concepts; while Crystal Park entails a three-in-one estate concept, Palms Garden is anchored on a lot of soft landscaping via trees, shrubs and grasses.

“Streets will be adorned with palm trees and each and every beneficiary to the estate is obliged to plant at least a tree in the front of his plot.”

Besides bulk payment by people who could afford to do so, there would also be a mortgage financing option for aspiring beneficiaries, Adeyinka said.

He said, “We are currently discussing with GT Bank over the possibility of providing mortgage facilities to our land and home buyers. This function may eventually be passed into GT Homes Limited, the primary mortgage subsidiary firm of GT Bank.READ MORE

How to Clear a Clogged Toilet

2008-09-06T02:03:00.000-07:00

Recently my wc got blocked by an element and I was faced with the reality of how ignorance at times could deal with you when you least expected.
My niece wanted to make use of the toilet and she wasn’t satisfied with the state of the wc so she decided to use a brush to clean it up unfortunately the head of the brush fell inside and she didn’t tell anybody about it.
The wc pipe was blocked.
When you have a blocked wc, don’t try to flush it out by thinking more pressure will cause whatever block it to leave, it won’t and you may get more frustrated knowing that you are practically wasting your time.
Solutions
1) You can use a very crude method, at least it worked for me, get a glove that can extend to your elbow because you will need the length under the water, insert your hands into it and remove it.
2) What if you can’t get a glove? Use a cellophane neatly wrap around your arms and insert into the toilet bowl, you can easily remove whatever is inside.
Usually, whatever is blocking the toilet drain is not very far away. If this doesn’t dislodge the clog, you can try to hook the blockage and pull it free. A wire can sometimes do the job.
3) You can also use a plumber tool call auger, it has a snakelike end that can easily coiled into the bottom of the toilet bowl.
Just insert the auger into the toilet trap and turn the handle until it feels tight. This means that the snake has twisted its way to the end of the blockage.

When you pull in the auger, you should be able to remove whatever is clogging the toilet. If you aren’t successful, try it several more times. In some cases, you may have to resort to pushing a regular plumbers’ snake through the blockage.
But if the blockage is from the pipes or is external then you may have to dismantle the pipes from the walls outside, but if the pipes are buried into the walls then go to the inspection chamber-a small concrete chamber where all the water from the toilet goes to outside before finally channeled to soak away.
From this end a mere shake of the pipe may even do the work, or dirts may have deposited in the inspection chambers, if that is the case you only need to remove the dirts and the toilet will be clear.

How to Select a Good Emergency contractor

2008-08-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is a follow up or update on
how to choose a competent building contractor posted on this blog a while ago.
For general repairs in your home the most common mistake is to look for a
contractor /artisan when you have a repair to do. This time you are
already under pressure to get it fixed, so you are most likely going to
accept the first tradesman you see.
The disadvantages of this is that you won't want to price the work for
long. You have not had time to know more about that person and how good he
may be .
So when you get to a new place , please look for general services and
emergency contractors like plumber, electrician e.t.c
Yes, one of the easiest ways as also written by me in the older post is
to get references from friends and family members.
Another one is to get the reference from a building professional like
architect, structural engineer,builder e.t.c
He (the pro.) must have worked with the person he's refering as they are
in the same industry, the possibilities of testing and knowing the
competence of the contractor is there.
Take time to get some names, meet with them and have a rapport with
them, then you can access their level of professionalism. You can as well
arrange an appointment with them and notice their punctuality, some will
respond faster than others though this is not a sign that one is better
than the other, because the other person may be very good and busy hence
he may need more time, just access the individual and find how you can
place them on your schedule.
Substance abuse also matters, though that is a personal thing, but a
contractor should be able to respect you and consider what you may feel
about him if found drinking alcohol heavily or smoking "indian hemp or
marijuana"

Here’s a checklist of things to consider when selecting your contractor.
Let’s use ratings of “Best”, “Good”, “OK”, “Fair” and “Reject” to classify
some of these items as stated in about.com though some of them will not apply to you
but I have left it unedited.

Getting Names of Possible Contractors: You have had good personal prior
experience working with contractor [BEST]
Reliable referral from direct experience of family or friends [GOOD]
You know of the contractor's reputation but have no direct experience [OK]
You found them from a trade association or general advertising [FAIR]
You have had good personal prior experience working with contractor [BEST]
Reliable referral from direct experience of family or friends [GOOD]
You know of the contractor's reputation but have no direct experience [OK]
You found them from a trade association or general advertising [FAIR]
State Contractor Licensing (they must provide the number if licensed):
Licensed; has never had a complaint filed or had disciplinary action taken [BEST]
Licensed; has no prior complaints filed for at least 3 or more years [FAIR]
Licensed; current complaints or actions against them within the past 3 years [REJECT]
Contractor has no license [REJECT]
Licensed; has never had a complaint filed or had disciplinary action taken [BEST]
Licensed; has no prior complaints filed for at least 3 or more years [FAIR]
Licensed; current complaints or actions against them within the past 3 years [REJECT]
Contractor has no license [REJECT]
Insurance (ask to see their certificates): Workman's Compensation and
General Liability [BEST]
General Liability only (bodily injury and property damage) [GOOD]
Contractor has no insurance [REJECT]
Workman's Compensation and General Liability [BEST]
General Liability only (bodily injury and property damage) [GOOD]
Contractor has no insurance [REJECT]
Business Longevity: In business more than 10 years with the same name [BEST]
In business 5 or more years with the same name [GOOD]
In business 1 to 5 years with the same name [OK]
New business under 1 year [FAIR]
In business more than 10 years with the same name [BEST]
In business 5 or more years with the same name [GOOD]
In business 1 to 5 years with the same name [OK]
New business under 1 year [FAIR]
Stability and Permanence: Has a physical business office and address [BEST]
Has only a Home office or answering service [FAIR]
Cell phone contact only, no office [REJECT]
Has a physical business office and address [BEST]
Has only a Home office or answering service [FAIR]
Cell phone contact only, no office [REJECT]

Reference Check (yes, you should check references) Positive prior current

references from at least 5 customers [BEST]
1 to 4 positive references from past customers [FAIR]
No real references or negative references provided [REJECT]
Positive prior current references from at least 5 customers [BEST]
1 to 4 positive references from past customers [FAIR]
No real references or negative references provided [REJECT]
Experience Specializes in the work you want performed [BEST]
Can perform the work you want but also does other types of work [OK]
Little to no experience in the work you want performed [REJECT]
Specializes in the work you want performed [BEST]
Can perform the work you want but also does other types of work [OK]
Little to no experience in the work you want performed [REJECT]
Scope and Price: (All Items are Required) Detailed description of the

scope of work
Assumptions (if any) are clear and accurate
Contractor DID NOT offer discount to “sign up now”
Contractor will Guarantee the work
All verbal Contractor representations are in writing
No more than 25% to 33% asked for up front
Final payment not required until work is complete

Lagos architects back two regulatory agencies for building process

2008-08-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

ARCHITECTS in Lagos last week called on the state government to adopt the recommendations of a committee proposing the establishment of a new agency to oversee building processes in the state.

This idea, to them, will be in line with internationally recognised practices around the developed world. The architects are of the view that for Lagos to meet the demands of its mega-city status, the on-going practice of having only one agency manning both building approval and building control should be done away with.

Over the years, one state agency - Lagos State Physical and Planning Development Authority - performs the duties of both planning regulations and building control. The agency had in the past been under pressure to deliver on its performance, apparently due to shortage of professionals in its fold.

The endorsement of the proposal followed the presentation of an 81-page report by a committee raised by Lagos State to review its planning regulation and building control process in the state. The 15-man committee, led by erstwhile Chairman of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Brigadier General Tunde Reis, presented its report to the Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects last week.

Among the terms of reference for the committee were, to; modernise extinct regulations toward the transformation of Lagos into Africa's model mega city; halt the increasing frequency of building collapse; establish a building control system to minimize the incidence of various building defects arising from bad design, inferior materials and construction leading to fire and health hazards.

Others were to create processes and institutions for effective enforcement of the regulations; eradicate uncontrolled development due to fast-paced growth in the state; reduction of slums towards attainment of the Millennium Development Goals and saving the unnecessary cost of relocating slum dwellers; mitigate security threats posed by several abandoned buildings in the state; address the prevalent loss of skills amongst building professionals due to lack of statutory certification and continuous education and formulate a sustainable physical planning and urban development policy for Lagos State.

Two weeks ago, the committee submitted its report after two weeks of brainstorming session to the state executive.

The Brig. Gen Tunde Reis led technical committee over the past two weeks embarked on an awareness campaign to sell the proposals to stakeholders in the construction sector, particularly members of professional bodies Read more

Scientists unlock power of the sun, convert water into green energy

2008-08-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

SCIENTISTS have devised a cheap and simple method of turning water into rocket fuel using solar power in a development that could generate a new source of green energy for the home and workplace.

The researchers used electricity from solar panels to split water into oxygen and hydrogen - the constituents of rocket fuel - with a technology that scientists believe could solve many of the problems that have hampered the development of solar energy.

With the help of a simple and yet highly efficient "chemistry set" made out of commonly available materials, the scientists have found a way of storing solar energy as a chemical fuel that can be used to power pollution-free electricity generators known as hydrogen fuel cells.

Until now the concept has stagnated because it has been too costly and difficult to use solar-generated electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen in a domestic setting, but the new method relies on the discovery of a catalyst that speeds up the conversion of water into high-energy fuel.

Daniel Nocera of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, said that the discovery could remove one of the major obstacles that had prevented solar power from being taken up widely as a viable alternative to fossil fuels such as oil and gas.

"The discovery has enormous implications for the large-scale deployment of solar since it puts us on the doorstep of a cheap and easily manufactured storage mechanism. The ease of implementation means that this discovery will have legs," Nocera said.

Being able to use solar panels to build up a store of chemical energy that is easily transported would revolutionise the way solar energy can be used. It not only means that it could power a building at night, it also means it could be carried around to power electric vehicles running on hydrogen fuel cells.

The secret of the breakthrough, published in the journal Science, lies in the type of electrodes used to generate oxygen and hydrogen when they are inserted into water. The scientists made them from a cobalt-phosphate mixture, which acted as a catalyst that speeds up the splitting of water molecules into their components - oxygen and hydrogen.

"The simplicity of this process is amazing. Using common and affordable elements, and a glass of water, these chemists may have given us a future way to efficiently obtain oxygen by splitting water," said Luis Echegoyen, director of the chemical division of the U.S. National Science Foundation, which funded the work. read more

How to calculate numbers of roofing sheets from a pitch roof

2008-08-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

The most common roof style is the pitch roof and the building is usually

divided at the center which is the apex.
The pitch roof is the easiest to calculate though I won't bore you with

details, but you can ask your contractor for the size of each roofing

sheet except you are using longspan aluminium roofing sheet which can be cut to exact lenght of the roof.
To make fast calculation, measure the length of the side of building let

say 'x', measure the breadth 'y'. To get an approximate surface area we

will add an arbitrary value for the difference in length due to the pitch

or depth of roof.
So lets say for a house of total length of the front is 1.8m or 60ft

and side which is the longer part is 27m or 90ft.
Area =length of front of house x side of house=18 x 27=486m2
Add allowance for the pitch or depth 20% of Area=20% + 486m =583.2m2
Now find out the length and breadth of each roofing sheet and also

multiply length by breadth.
Assuming the ceilling sheet is 3.6m in length and 1.8m in breadth
Then area of roofing sheet =3.6 x 1.8 =6.48m2
Therefore total numbers of roofing sheets needed approximately is
(Area of building + Allowance)/area of one roofing sheet =583.2/6.48m
=90 sheets
Please note that this is not a standard way of approximating but this is

derived based on my experience for your enjoyment. In any case there is

never a standard way.

3-Year Jail term for Owners of Uninsured Buildings.

2008-08-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

Is your house insured? If your answer is no, you could be jailed for three years. Are you living in an uninsured house? Yes? Your own punishment is less – just one year imprisonment.
Disclosing this yesterday, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) said the law had now stipulated a penalty of N250,000 or three-year imprisonment or both, on conviction, for anybody who fails to insure his or her building.
Likewise, an occupier of such building will be penalised to the tune of a minimum of N100,000 or one-year imprisonment or both.
Speaking at the flag-off of the implementation of the sections 64 and 65 of the Insurance Act 2003, in Abuja yesterday, Commissioner for Insurance (CFI), Mr. Fola Daniel, said the implementation became necessary because the incidence of collapsed building in the country has assumed “national concern and shame”, causing economic losses and leaving many families grieving for the loss of their loved ones.
Daniel cited section 64 which makes it mandatory for all persons “constructing any building that is more than two floors to insure their liability in respect of construction risks caused by their negligence or that of their servants, agents or consultants which may result in bodily injury or loss of life or damage to property of any workman on the site or of any member of the public”.
He added that Section 65 on the other hand makes it “mandatory for all owners of public buildings to insure against the hazards of collapse, fire, earthquake, storm and flood”.
He described public buildings as “all buildings owned or occupied by government ministries, extra ministerial departments, statutory bodies, tenement houses, hostels, lodger or licencee and any building to which members of the public have access for the purpose of obtaining educational or medical service or for the purpose of recreation or transaction of business.”
Daniel assured the public that the insurance policy shall cover the legal liabilities of an owner or occupier of premises in respect of loss of or damage to property or bodily injury or death suffered by any user of the premises and third parties.
Flagging off the implementation of the law, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Ambassador Bab-agana Kingibe, explained that the recognition of insurance as a mitigating instrument to address the financial losses prompted the promulgation of the law that makes it compulsory for all public buildings and those under construction to be insured.
Noting that specific reference was made in the law to buildings that are taller than two floors, he pointed out that, “when buildings collapse, the attendant huge financial loss could best be mitigated by the existence of an appropriate insurance cover”.
He therefore urged insurers to insist on the use of quality materials in the construction of buildings proposed for insurance, stating that, “their financial stake in the issuance of insurance covers should be sufficient incentive to do this as part of their risk assessment mechanism”.
In his remarks, Finance Minister, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, called on construction industry stakeholders to READ ALL

How to fix plaster cracks and Causes.

2008-08-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

The little cracks on your wall can get so big if not quickly fixed, and it
may totally deface your building.

Plaster cracks are caused by the following reasons--

(i) Inadequate use of cement-When the mixture ratio of cement with soft
sand is not of a standard proportion, you'll see notable cracks on
building after curing /drying of the wall.
To save money foolishly,some masons use poor sand with so much impurities
and some that contains too much of clay. Fine sand with a good percentage
of cement will give a well bonded plaster surface with little or no
cracks.

(ii)Handling of the job by incompetent and impatient masons can also
results to plaster cracks. When the mortar/plaster mix is pasted on wall
you are supposed to use trowel and range(longwood) to get a vertically
blended surface ,after that a foam is applied which helps to smoothens the
surface.
The foam is wet with water and then used to gently rub the surface of
plaster. But the surface is left for a while or a time frame from when
trowel is used to initially smoothens the surface and when to finally use
foam to smoothens it.

(iii) When water is not enough in the mix, then plaster cracks will also occur.

(iv) Post usage cracks can occur if a portion of plaster surface is
continully exposed to water, that portion will eventually crack.

To fix, there are different methods you can apply.
First, scrape out the scale or the exposed surface, wash and clean the
surface with water and remove other dirts and growths like algae which
may affect the bonding strenght. Try to find out the cause of the crack
and see if the problem can be fixed. Vibrations from machines around can
cause cracks too in a building.

After that depending on how large the surface area, put wire mesh (small
tiny iron) in the surface and apply the mortar to cover the portion, the
wire mesh is to make sure the plaster does not fall off from a large
surface area with thick plastering.
Sprinkles water and carefully smoothens the surface with foam.

Re: Collapse of Building in Abuja

2008-08-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

Read here
Many reasons have been adduced to the collapse of building in a shopping complex in Abuja read more here but there are some basic factors that must have contributed to the problems, chief among them is greed on the part of the contractor, many houses in Nigeria are not habitable but people are actively living and working in them out of ignorance or because they have no choice. The materials that most people are using to construct buildings in Nigeria are substandard and very often times inadequate, which is caused by over dependence on one project to survive for a long time, therefore you will see where a builder will want to make so much money in a very small project.
Professionals are often contacted, I will be surprised if there was no professional handling that particular job but the issue is how many clients are ready to pay for the professional fees? Practically non, even in a big project like banks Nigerians still find it difficult to pay the professionals their dues, so the consultants will only pay lip service and the supervision is always very shallow because of this problem. Imagine a situation where an architect is commissioned for a job to be done and he is paid only for the drawings, when he is talking about supervision with his client it becomes a matter of stress to the client, this consultant is incapacitated and the client unknowingly may have shot himself in the foot by not allowing room for proper supervision. Every professional wants to get paid.
Now, checking the quality of materials is definitely an area where we are also getting it wrong we need to have the professionals on site when concrete is been cast, the funny thing in Nigeria building industry is that we the professionals leave the testing of the strength of materials used on site to the contractor, so for someone that is planning to cheat all he has to do is to prepare a quality mix to the testing laboratory while on site he is using a very poor mix. The same thing with the quality of iron rods or reinforcements.
Another common issue is the time frame been set by Nigerian clients to finish up a project. Yes time is money but when you misuse it, then you may not even be alive any longer to contemplate about time disaster could be as close as you can imagine. Just for the mere facts that you now have so much money is not enough to drive your builder mad to deliver a building for you at an unreasonable time frame—Our bank property units officials are the greatest culprits infact they should share in the blame for any bank building that collapse. They pile so much pressure on a contractor to deliver a project at most unreasonable time ,this will cause some people not to wait for proper curing time of materials before they take the next task. Every task in a building construction process requires a time frame to get done before you can move to the next task, they are often interdependent but this is no longer the case with our modern day rush madness.
Government officials also contributes in no small measure to problems of building collapse. The regulatory authorities often time look the other way when it comes to sanctioning erring contractors because of corruption. In some areas they do connive with contractors to allow what is totally unacceptable to be approved, this and more are contributing to problems of building collapse…
Read my pillar topic Causes of Building Collapse in Nigeria.
here.

UPDC FLAGS OF BARUMARK ESTATE IN ABUJA

2008-08-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

UACN property Development company (UPDC)as reported by sun newspaper is charting the part again as the number one property development company in Nigeria.
Its latest effort –Barumark estate will be located in the federal capital territory of Abuja which will comprise 3 bedroom terraced maisonettes/penthouses ½ bedroom flats as well as 4 bedroom semi-detached houses.
UPDC is in partnership with Barumark investment and Development Company Limited.
And Ecobank is the financier.
The estate is designed to be an open plan estate with individual drive-in paved walkways marked with functional drainage system underneath.
The development is to be disposed off by way of sale, but there will be onsite facility management office to see to the wellbeing of the estate and ensure proper maintenance of the facilities.
There are two variants of the 4 bedroom detached house types (A and B). However the 2 bedroom and 1 bedroom flats have been taken already. The prices comprises as follows N35 million naira for both types of the 4 bedroom semi detached house and 25 million for the 3 bedroom terraced maisonettes. The 3 bedroom penthouse flat attracts a price of 22million naira.
The initial deposit required is 20 percent ,second payment 30% and final payment 50%. Only a deposit above 50% guarantees choice of specific unit .Application for mortgage facility will also be considered on merit.

EFCC Beams Searchlight on Contractors and Consultants

2008-08-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

Federal government contractors may no longer be having easy ride any longer, Economic and Financial Crime Commission EFCC is beaming searchlight on private contractors that are collecting jobs from the government.
It is no longer business as usual from reports, they are going to start checking jobs done by individual contractors from four years ago.

Read more about this latest development in economicconfidential

Plumb and Range: The use and differences

2008-08-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

In continuation of uses of instrument common to bricklayers and builders, the use of plumb and range cannot be overemphasized .
Plumb is a small instrument usually made of steel or iron that has a transparent piece at the center which shows a portion of liquid in it. The liquid is usually half of the space left at the center of the transparent plastic for it to be able to move freely.
The liquid determines if the surface of a wall or an object is in a straight plane by balancing itself in the container, if the liquid line is not distorted and is exactly at the center line then the plane in which is being used is straight.
Range is simply a long wood or iron in a rectangular form with four sides used to extend or trace the smoothness of a wall. This instrument is often used with plumb to achieve a better result.
The combination of the two will give a better plastered wall surface.
So to check if your blockwalls are okay, just place the plumb anywhere on the wall, if the liquid line does not passes through the center then know that your wall is not straight, quickly call the attention of your builder. Note that if you leave this not corrected , the plastering of the wall will cost you more to do, because you will need to fill one side more with mortar( plastering element) for it to form a straight plane and look good.

Test the Correctness of your foundation with Builder’s Square before its too late

2008-08-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

Recently executing a project, I came across a badly done foundation which was paid for by the present owner of the land.
Builder square is a piece of iron in right angle (90*) form which is used to get accurately two adjacent walls in a building.
Architects do most of their drawings in straight lines and two walls meets each other at right angles except in few cases where the drawings are in circular forms.
The setting out of a building is what determines how a building will manifest in the future , and the most important instrument you need is the builder’s square to be able to get a perfect building done.
When your builder is ready to transfer what is in plan to the ground he makes sure the right angles are gotten and checked with the square, infact he needs to check and recheck to be certain. This is in itself the foundation of your building. A well laid foundation will make your work easier, you won’t have to spend money and time adjusting errors that will be generated because of bad setting out.
When the rope is tied round the peg and the squareness of building confirmed, the next thing is to start digging, but you as a layman can quickly arrest a badly set out building by just taking this check---Measure the diagonals of the square formed round the building by the ropes, if one is shorter to the other then the setting out is not correct, quickly call the attention of your builder.
However if you have passed that stage you can also determine if you are on the right part by using the square against two adjacent blocks laid on the foundation. Make sure one side of the square rest perfectly with one of the blocks then check the other side with the plane of the corresponding block, if the block and the square are not at the same angle then the setting out is faulty and you need to call the attention of your builder and correct it immediately, hence
(i) The walls will not be straight and it will affect the beauty of your house.
(ii) You will spend more money adjusting the visible errors in the future.
(iii) The ceiling of the rooms will be uneven and will generally give an ugly shape when looking at it from the room.

Professional and Self Carpetting

2008-08-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

Installing carpet from wall to wall doesn't require much but is advisable you employ a professional to do it for you if you aren't going to find the job too hard.
There are people that are also doing this job professionally just go to where you have markets for carpet and you see people that are buying and ready to look for installers, you can create a network of people doing this job and collect commission from people working for you.

You need these tools to work with when you are planning to turn it to profession.
measuring rule
hammer
nail set
screwdriver
putty knife
vacuum cleaner
work gloves
tack hammer
1/4-inch-thick piece of scrap wood
small handsaw
heavy scissors
staple gun
paintbrush or fine-toothed notched trowel
utility knife with sharp heavy-duty blades
knee kicker, available on rental from most carpet dealers
block of scrap wood
plane
Materials:
graph paper
flooring nails
wood putty
tack-less carpet fastening strips
metal door edging strip for each doorway in room
latex or vinyl foam carpet padding
foam padding adhesive
heavy-duty staples
precut and preseamed carpeting

Treating Specific Carpet Stains

This is how to remove a variety of specific stains.
Acid stains: Acid spills, such as drain cleaner or vinegar, demand quick action. Dilute them immediately with baking soda and water or with club soda. Then apply a solution of ammonia (1 part) and water (10 parts). Rinse with cold water, let dry, and vacuum gently.
Alcoholic beverages: Quickly dilute the spot with cold water. Absorb the excess liquid. Then mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot, and let the carpet dry. Vacuum gently.
Blood: Absorb as much of the blood as you can. Then mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot, and let dry. Apply dry-cleaning fluid. Vacuum gently after the carpet is dry.
Butter: Scrape up as much of the butter as you can. Apply dry-cleaning fluid, and let the carpet dry. If the spot remains, repeat the procedure. Vacuum gently.
Candle wax: Press an ice cube against the wax stain. The wax will harden and can then be pulled off.
Catsup: Sponge a mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 2 cups water into rug. Frequently wring out sponge until stain is gone.
Chewing gum: Chewing gum can be a sticky mess, so harden it by pressing an ice cube against the blob of gum. Once hardened, the gum can be pulled off.
Chocolate: Immediately scrape the chocolate from the carpet. Mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot. Rinse well. Vacuum gently.
Coffee: Blot spilled coffee immediately. Then mix1 teaspoon mild detergent,1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot, and let dry. Apply dry-cleaning fluid. Vacuum gently after the carpet is dry.
Crayon: Scrape away excess crayon or remove it by placing a blotter over the crayon stain and pressing it with a warm iron until the blotter absorbs the melted crayon. Move the blotter frequently so that it doesn't get oversaturated. Apply dry-cleaning fluid, and let the carpet dry. Vacuum gently.
Fruit: Fruit stains can be very hard to remove if they are allowed to set, but if you act quickly this method usually prevents a permanent stain. Scrape up spilled fruit, and absorb fruit juice. Mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot, and let the carpet dry. If the spot remains, repeat the procedure. Vacuum gently.
Gravy: Wipe up as much of the spilled gravy as possible. Mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot. Let the carpet dry. Apply dry-cleaning fluid, and let the carpet dry. Vacuum.
Mud: Allow the mud to dry completely and then brush or scrape off as much as possible. Mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot. Let the carpet dry. If the stain remains, apply dry-cleaning fluid and blot dry. When the spot is completely dry, vacuum gently.
Salad dressing: Absorb as much salad dressing as you can. Mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot. Let the carpet dry. If the spot remains, repeat the procedure. Vacuum gently.
Soft drinks: The carbonation in soft drinks will help you clean spilled drinks quickly, but act fast because some of the dyes in the drinks can permanently stain your carpet. Blot up the spilled drink. Mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot. Let the carpet dry. If the spot remains, repeat the procedure. Vacuum gently.
Urine: Mix 1 teaspoon mild detergent, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 quart warm water. Apply the solution to the spot. Let the carpet dry. If the spot remains, repeat the procedure. Vacuum gently.
Vomit: Treat vomit quickly. Blot up as much as possible, then dilute immediately with baking soda and water or with club soda. Apply a solution of 1 part ammonia and 10 parts water. Rinse with cold water, let dry, and then vacuum.
Wine: When red wine is spilled on your carpet, dilute it with white wine, then clean the spot with cold water and cover with table salt. Wait ten minutes, then vacuum up the salt.
When nothing seems to work, you may want to try a deep-cleaning.

A time comes when the rug will be practically out of shape then,
Vacuum the carpet thoroughly, then spot-clean and pretreat stains before shampooing the carpet.
Follow the instructions printed on the carpet cleaner.
Use single strokes over the carpet surface.
Do not apply heavy pressure with the machine.
Wipe cleaning solutions and foam from furniture legs and woodwork immediately to prevent damage.
Fluff damp fibers against the nap after shampooing to aid drying.
Make sure the room is well-ventilated after cleaning to speed drying.
Try not to walk on carpets until they are completely dry.