Building Contractors' Secrets.

Who is Your Contractor? Your family members or the professionals?

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Choosing your contractor is one of the most difficult decisions to make, choosing rightly

will help the overall success of the project, from experience, clients choose from these people.

(i)Building professionals

(ii)Family members that are laymen

(iii)Family members that are building professionals and

(iv)Businessmen contractors

Of the four groups listed above (i) and (ii) happens to tower above (ii) and (iv) and they all

have advantages and disadvantages over one another.

For a client that doesn't know anything about building, no.(i) is your best bet a professional

may charge high fees but he will not compromise on standard when building your house because he

knows quite well that his reputation is at stake and if he does your job well then you may refer

him to your friends and this may lead to big things for him. So for a professional, quality is

always paramount though you may spend more.

(ii)Family members that are laymen may not be the right people to use however if the integrity

of the person involved has been tested overtime, he may serve as your eye on the site. All money

needed for materials will pass through him and he goes along with workers on site to purchase

these materials, whatever is recommended he has to monitor the purchase of materials together

in otherwords he monitors how money is been spent and progress on site.

This may save you some money, but if you have a bad relative unfortunately this method will

backfire because he will want to lord it on the workers to use substandard materials so that he

can make profit for himself.

Another disadvantage is that they can't easily see a bad job in progress, so anything

constructed is always acceptable to them untill is too late.

(iii)Family members that are building professionals are most favoured after all is your money if

your are been ripped off by your family then the charges will be small compare to an outsider

except if the person in question is fraudulent you can easily call on him even years after the

house has been built to help you do one thing or the other without extra charges.

Well you are also helping your family member to grow professionally.

The disadvantage is that if the job is poorly done you may not be able to make him pay for the

poor job done. Your financial strenght and weaknesses is also exposed.

(iv) The last which is businessmen contractors are the worst of the lot to give your project to

. They parade themselves about as building contractors without any formal or informal training

but they have some money from other businesses so they use that to set up an office and seek

for contracts.

The primary motive of this group is profit every other things are secondary including the

stability or success of the building. This group is worst off when it comes to using substandard

materials.

So in all the four above no (i) still seems to be the safest because the contractor can be

called to question anytime, he can be reported to the controlling body of his profession and

professionally he won't do anything unethical so that he can be recommended for other jobs.

Steps to take before Buying a Land in Lagos

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:05:00 +0000

There are basic steps you ought to take when you've finally

decided to buy a land in Lagos, to reduce stress you must

ask basic questions and take these steps.

(1)Consult your agent and tell him exactly what you want

and how you'll like to have it, if you have a good agent he

will most likely get a property close to what you want

faster than you might think is possible, this will save you

stress, but give him the instruction that you won't want a

land under government acquisition, this will make him to

work harder and search for the right one.

(2) You can also do your research too from family members,

friends and online especially through an online forum like

www.nairaland.com property section, there are lots of

professionals on that forum that that are ready to treat

your questions for free at the speed of light.

(3)After you must have been introduced to a land, the first

step is to go for site inspection. Considering many reasons

at the back of your mind to make you decide if to buy the

land or not. Issues like-

'i' Nearness to your office or business.

'ii' Will you be able to match the financial task required

if the soil is waterlogged and needs filling, and if you

are going for a storey building can you afford the type of

foundation that will be recommended.

'iii' The commercial value of the land in nearest future

'iv' Nearness to high tension cable (wires).You know it is

required you leave out at least 60m from the high tension

cables.

'v' how close is the site to Fuel or petroleum pipeline.

'vi' Nearness to major roads, if your site

is too close, and the road is expanded

in the future, it may affect your

property.

'vii' Check the level of the ground to the surrounding

environment, I mean the topography, is your site at the

lowest level to the neighbouring sites, its

likely that runoff water will converge in your site

when is raining and no adequate planning for

drainage system like Lagos.

(4)If you are okay with the land after having met most of

these requirements above. Get your land surveyor to

accompany you to the site with his instruments (compass)

and don't worry he is not going to charge you for going to

the site with him,just promise to give him the survey job

and that will settle it.

So why the Land surveyor?

He has the instruments/compass that he will use to know the

coordinates (direction located in map)of where the land

falls into and he has his colleagues at the surveyor

general's office in Alausa Ikeja who he can easily call

right on your site to furnish him with the condition of

your proposed site. with this you can know if the land

falls under government acquisitions or not.

If there is a survey for the plot before, then do the

photocopy and check by yourself at the surveyor general's

office Alausa, those guys there may eventually do it free for

you at most you only need to pay N2,000.

(5) Note that you've not paid money to accomplish the steps

above. If the site meets the right conditions, then get

your Lawyer, he is to help you ensure the paperworks are

properly done. Omo Onile fears lawyers so having one is

very important apart from other benefits you'll get from

him. He will make sure genuine papers are gotten for your

property and he is there to defend you, Omo

Onile won't prey on you if you have a bold lawyer.

Certificate of Occupancy, Deed of assignment,Governor's

consent, e.t.c whatever you are required to have it is

better to have someone taking off the stress from you.

(6)Make sure you collect the genuine receipt from Omo Onile

after paying for your property fully.

Oversite concrete or german floor avoidable problems

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:13:00 +0000

Oversite concrete is often reffered to as german floor by the laymen, others mistook it for dpc,however oversite concrete is the mass concrete that you pour to cover the entire lenght and breadth of a building on the ground floor to serve as a source of additional support to the structural stability of a building especially storey buildings.

Is the mass concrete which is cast after the dpc or damp proof course level has been established.
Going by the definitions above it is clear that this portion as part of a building foundation is one of the most important parts of the building.
Not long ago one of my subscribers asked me on how to salvage an oversite concrete that was sinking/collapsing, before then I had also experienced a poorly done job too that resulted in parts of the concrete collapsing, so with the first hand experience and for the benefits of those that haven't gotten to that stage of your building project is good you read on.

To have a good oversite concrete these are the steps you must take-

(1) Make sure the soil underneath/ or the soil used to fill the dpc is a laterite and not any other kinds of soil especially loose and peat soil. The filling requires sand that can be compacted to have a good sustainability and the ability to carry the compressive load of concrete coming on top of it. A loose soil in this case will not allow the soil to be easily rammed or beat to compaction hence won't be good for the task.

(2)If it is recommended to use wire mesh or brc by your Engineer then save yourself of future unending agonies with a few thousands of naira and apply it. The wire mesh forms a ring that helps the concrete to be able to carry its weight and even when the soil underneath is getting more compacted, because of the tensile strength of this wire mesh the concrete is most unlikely to cave in, so make sure you spread it round the building as specified.

(3)Also if it was specified in the drawing that you must use a membrane- just call it a polythenelike material that can be able to block water from rising from the soil to the ground floor or slab, then it is important you also do it. this is usually specified where the ground is waterlogged.

(4)Ensure you follow the right mixture ratio of the concrete, hence you may be faced with a not so strong concrete.

(5) Before the day you will cast, make sure you get all the materials you need in place human,materials and otherwise. If the numbers of people you have is not adequate then you may run into problem , some portion will be left till the next day and you may not have a cohesive single bonded foundation.

(6) Take a day get two bricklayers, let them take the proper level of the dpc round and make sure they apply plumb ( an instrument used in determining the level) round the building with the level established and traced with ropes round, when this is done you are most unlikely to have a badly built house. Foundation is the root of the beauty of any house just as it applies to every facet of life.

(7)When you have casted don't be in a hurry to remove the sideboard or wooden/iron materials that were used to support the concrete from running off the edge, it is good you give it a day to dry before removal else you will notice cracks around the edges when the boards are removed especially when the concrete mixture ratio is weak.
Make sure the iron rods of the columns/pillars coming from the base of the foundation is aligned and shoots out or longer than the top of the concrete by atleast 450mm or 0.45m or 9 inches.

Causes of Caving in /Collapsing oversite/german concrete
(i) When your contractor wants to make profit and save cost, the mixture ratio of the concrete may likely be weak

(ii)When your project has no capable professional directing the affairs on site

(iii)If you are careless or take no cognisance of little details when executing the project

(iv)Soil underneath not well rammed and when it is not a compacting soil that has ability to bond.

(v)During ramming water must be poured again and again until the soil can no longer compact before you stop.

(vi)When the sides of your structure are not well supported by wood or iron and brace properly.

(vii)Damages on site by workers

(viii)When inadequate or substandard materials are used

(ix)The hollow blocks under the concrete if thats what was recommended must be filled with concrete to give the concrete additional support and help to easily transfer the weight to the ground.

Above all, caution! caution! CAUTION!
hope this have helped.

How To Calculate Materials In Concrete Foundation.

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Download images here if not visible

image 1

image 2

Using images 1 and 2 above and in a bid to also demystify the raft foundation cost, this article will deal extensively on how to calculate your concrete materials like cement, sand and granite that you will use for the foundation.
Often time concrete are mostly mixed in 1:2:4 ratio, when you see such specificationit simply means one bag of cement to four headpans of sand and eight headpans of granite.
Notice that first number represent a bag of cement which is equivalent to two headpans, hence the sand is taken as four headpanss and the granite represented by 4 in the ratio is taken as eight headpans.
Going by this knowledge it is easy for us to do a very fast calculation at least to be close to what we might need on site.
To do this calculation, add the sum of ratio 1+2+4=7
Calculate the cubic volume of concrete for foundation.
Going by the previous article the total lenght of trench was taken as 65.6m
Height of concrete beam is 1.1m or 1100m from image 2
And width is 0.225m or 225mm
therefore total volume of concrete beams =65.6m x 1.1 x 0.225 =16.236
Now divide 16.236 by the sum of the ratio which is 7
16.236/7=2.31943m3
Taking a constant, the volume of a bag of cement is 0.035m3
Divide 2.31943 by 0.035
=66 bags of cement to do all the concrete beams , however don't forget that cement and sand will also be used for the blinding before the concrete beams are placed .
For the sand reqd.,multiply 2.31943m3 by 2 to know the volume since it is in ratio of 1:2:4
Therefore volume of sand requires =4.63886m3
If we take volume of a tipper as 3.8m3 then
4.63886/3.8=1 1/2 trip of 5 tons tipper for the concrete beam.
For the granite use the same ratio of 1 bag of cement to 4 headpans of sand to 8 headpans of granite
So for granite reqd, multiply 2.31943m3 by 4 to know the volume since it is in the ratio of 1:2:4
therefore volume of granite requires=9.27772
If we take volume of a tipper as 3.8m3 then,
9.27772/3.8=2 1/2 trips of granite (Disregarding water and and other attending expenses
If one bag cost N1,800, then 66 bags =N118,800
And if one trip of sand is N15,000
then 1 1/2 trips =N22,500
And if one trip of 5 tons of granite=N30,000
then granite cost needed =2 1/2 x N30,000
=N75,000
Total=N118,800 + N22,500 + N75,000
=N216,300
For the german floor or oversite concrete-
Multiply the lenght by breadth by the thickness or width of the plan from image.
Add 3.825 +3.95 +1.375 +1.25+4.975+1.25=16.625
Add 3.825+2.910+3.825=10.560
So multiply the sum for the volume=16.625 x 10.560 x 0.2
=35.112m3
To know the number of cement required divide 35.112 by the sum of the ratio which is 7
=35.112 / 7
=5.016m3
Taking a constant, the volume of a bag of cement which is 0.035m3,
divide 5.016m3 by 0.035
=143 bags of cement for the german floor or oversite concrete.
Apply the steps above for the sand and granite,
For sand,
Multiply 5.016 by 2=10.032, now divide by 3.8m3
=3 trips of 5tons sharp sand
For granite,
multiply 5.016 by 4=20.064, now divide by 3.8m3
=5 1/2 trips of 5 tons granite
So if one bag of cement cost N1800
then 143 bags of cement will cost N1800 x 143 =N257,400
And if one trip of sand cost N15,000
then 3 trips of 5 tons sharp sand =N45,000
And if one trip of 5 tons granite cost =N30,000
then 5 1/2 trips of 5 tons granite =N165,000
So total for concrete excluding other attending materials
=N216,000+257,000+45,000+165,000
TOTAL=N683,400
This is hard to understand I believe but you can still study it by bits.

Calculating Reinforcements or Iron Rods in Raft foundation

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Download images here if not visible

image 1

image 2

Image 1, shows beams of section 1-1,2-2,,4-4 and 5-5 but for this purpose we are going to assume that section 2-2 is used for the entire raft.
Image 2, is the reinforcements details for the raft slab also showing its sections.
Lots of people are considering building their houses around water bodies and the large portions of the highbrow areas in Lagos state are waterlogged so the demand for raft foundation is high.
Starting with image 1 section 2-2 the dots represents the iron rods runners, these are usually the thicker of the rods and they lay them to run round the rings of the raft foundation in this case it is a 16mm rod in 9 places.
The ring which is usually the thinner one is represented by the thick line forming a rectangle of 1100mm x 225mm just as shown on the drawings.
Calculating the runners (16mm rods) we need to know the entire length of the foundation trench (excavated portion of the soil) which we can get from image 2, the trench will be along the dotted lines that crosses the thick square columns or pillars as shown in the drawings, the thick square dots are representing the pillars of the building so the trench are been represented by the dotted lines running and joining all of them, this you can easily calculate since the dimension are already given outside the perimeter "check dimensions A-B-C-D and 1-2-3-4-5-7-8
From our sums the total length of trench is 65.6m or 216 feets. Therefore the 16mm rods we need is (65.6m x 9 rods)/11
=54 lengths of 16mm rods.
11meters(m) is taken as the length of a rod so if the total length is (65.6 x 9) then just divide by 11 as was done above then you'll know the number of rods you are to buy which is 54 lengths in this case,
If 16mm rods go for N2700/rod then
total for 16mm rods=N2700 x 54=N145,800
16mm on the drawing is represented as Y1601 and Y1602
Now to calculate the rings , remember the total length of the trench or foundation hole round site is 65.6m.
Calculate the length of each ring from the drawing , we take each ring to be approximately (175mm +1050mm+175mm+1050mm)=2450mm or 2.45m. Using section 2-2 for all, our rings will be taken as 12mm rods and they spaced at 300mm or 0.3m from each other or (center to center) (See BEAM drawings on image 1-300 c/c links)
So knowing that each ring is 2.45m, we got that by removing 25mm from the dimensions we have round the section of 225mm by 1100mm, so if you remove 50mm from 225 you'll get 175mm same as removing 50mm (25mm top and bottom of drawings) for 1100m will give 1050mm , since they are spaced at 300mm to each other ignoring the overlap
that we are supposed to also add just for this purpose ,then to
Calculate the numbers of rings in total trench,
65.6m/0.3m or 65600mm/300mm=219 rings and each ring is 2.45m, therefore total lengths of rings
=2.45m x 219= 536.55
Rods are sold in 11m lengths ,so to know the numbers of rods you are going to buy , just divide 536.55 by 11=48 lengths of 12mm rods.
If 12mm rod is N1600 x 49=N78,400.

Calculating the reinforcements/iron rods in slab ( refer to image 2)
For easy calculation of the reinforcements just follow the specifications by the left of drawing then trace the line on each specification to the drawing then check where there is a dot, the line crossing that dot is what to be calculated. The dots are usually supported by arrows both sides, this indicates where that particular rod suppose to end.
So starting from the top
19Y1201-200C/C,
The total length of this is the broken line spanning the entire drawing so the total length is 3825+3950+1375+1250+4975+1250
=16.625(ignoring the return) multiply that by 19 because that is what is stated at 200c/c=315.875m
Divide by 11m=28 lengths of 12mm rods-------(1)
For second line,
3825+3950+1375=9.15m
divide by 11m=1 length of 12mm rods---------(2)
Line 3,
This is a peculiar case the line is approximately 2m not really specified in the drawing but the arrows are in 4 places along that line and four of those rods are to be placed at each point where you have (4) written on the drawing.
so 16 x 2m=32, 32 divide by 11m=3 lengths of 10mm rods-----------(3)
Line 4,
6Y1002-250C/CB
Make to be 6x2m =12m
divide by 11m =1 length of 10mm rods -------(4)
Line 5
Trace line under and check the dot , then calculate the broken line crossing it.
12 x(3825+3950+1375+1250)=124.8, divide by 11
=11 1/2 lengths of 10mm rods-----------------(5)
Line 6,
38 X 2=76, DIVIDE BY 11
=7 LENGTHS OF 12MM rods----------------(6)
Line 7,
In line 7, the line was not drawn directly to cross the dot, so trace where the dot is up and you'll see another dot indicating how the iron rods will be placed ,the line is a broken line
83 x (3825)(ignoring the overlap and return)=317.475
divide by 11=29 lengths of 12mm rods-----------(7)
Line 8,
8 x2m=16m, divide by 11m
=1 1/2 lengths of 10mm rods-----------(8)
Line 9,
8 x2=16m
=1 1/2 lengths of 10mm rods ----------(9)
Note the short lines are immeasurable and are just estimated to be 2m each
Line 10,
77 x (2.910+3.825)=518.595 divide by 11
=47 lengths of 12mm rods------------------(10)
Check the other dot at at the same line up and measure the broken line in our case the return and overlap was ignored.
Line 11
103 x 2 =206, divide by 11
=19 lengths of 12mm rods---------(11)
Line 12,
19 x 2=38
=3 1/2 lengths of 12mm rods---------(12)
Line 13,
19 x 2=38
=3 1/2 lengths of 12mm rods---------(13)
Line 14,
34 x 2=68
=6 lengths of 10mm rods---------(14)
Line 15
19x2=38
Divide by 11=3 1/2 lengths of 12mm rods --------(15)
Line 16,
103 x 2 =206, divide by 11= 19 lengths of 12mm rods
Line 17
6 x 2=12m
divide by 11m=1 length of 10mm rods
Line 18
12 x 4975=59.7m
divide by 11m=5 1/2 length of 10mm rods
Line 19
10 x 2=20m
divide by 11m=2 length of 10mm rods
Line 20
8 x 2=16m
divide by 11m=1 1/2 length of 10mm rods
Line 21
19 x (1250+4975) ignoring overlap and return=130.725
divide by 11m=12 length of 12mm rods
Line 22
30 x 2=60m
divide by 11m=5 1/2 length of 10mm rods
Line 23
15 x 2=30m
divide by 11m=3 length of 12mm rods
Line 24
19 x(1250+ 4975+1250+1375)=168.15
divide by 11m=15 1/2 length of 12mm rods
Therefore total numbers of lengths of iron rods of 10mm=271 rods
If 10mm rods are sold for N1300, then 271 rods
=352,300
And the total for 12mm rods for the slab is =219 rods
If 12mm rods are sold for N1600, then 219 rods=N350,400
Total reinforcements for the raft foundation above is=
N145,800+N78,400+N352,300+N350,400
Total=N926,900

How to start a Construction Company without a Dime or from ground zero.

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:29:00 +0000

We sit on and around wonderful opportunities that can turn our lives around and make us the millionaires we eagerly wish for. Quoting Samson Makinwa chairman Techo Quip Ltd on the Wealth Platform of Vol no 3/09 the headline reads it is easy to make money in Nigeria there is money all over the streets yet most people can not see it, I can’t but agree with this sayings.
The first thing you need to have before dabbling into the construction industry is the will, you need the determination to do it and you must be patient because is unlike the other everyday industries where you may have jobs to do throughout the whole year, though your company could grow up to actually achieve that, but for a beginner business may not come even for some months before the breakthrough.
Number two is to learn the trade, you can make friends with a contractor or a professional in the field but with vast experience that you can understudy and learn from, he may actually be your friend or a pure professional you have to contact and arrange a time to work for him to have an idea about how things are run.
The next step after few months training or understudying your mentor then you should be thinking of registering a company , however since you are starting with no money down ,I’ll advise you liasewith an established and register company to work with and write proposals, this you will make an agreement with the business name owner on profit sharing before you can finally stand on your own with your name and organise your office.
What you should naturally do is to get an office but your home address could be your office address or use a friend’s office temporarily.
Without the job all the facilities you are running after will be a waste of time and resources, so I’ll advise you start writing proposals to different companies that may need your services, look for a brother, a church member and other people that could be of help in making sure your proposals passes through the right offices.
Then begin to strongly think of given yourself a proper packaging. I mean people loves to look at things at face value in this part of the world, so you can also meet their expectations by looking very good and in the right frame of mindwhen you’ll be going for a presentation. Wear a suit or a corporate dress well ironed, if possible rent a car with a driver for that day. A man was able to secure a contract of hundreds of millions of naira because he was wearing a rolex wristwatch he borrowed for a business meeting. Same as car e.t.c
Before the big jobs start coming, be a subcontractor to some major contractors, our dailies are filled with the advertisement for subcontractors everytime from big time contractors, check Tuesday Guardian newspaper and others. The money you make will help to stand as a contractor ultimately later on and you can be quoting for jobs directly.
Be articulate and bold, you need this if you are going to win any contract .
Find out where to source for equipments before bidding for any project, all projects have their own peculiarities, do not bid for a project because you are desperate to get a job else you might bite your fingers at the long run.
Pretend and present yourself exactly the way the client will like to see you and feel about you, the client won’t be happy to know you are a hungry man that needs their money to get out of poverty, he will also not be happy he is given out a job of a big magnitude to somebody that hasn’t handle a job of that size before. Avoid what will make the client to doubt your competencies.
Use professionals as business partners and leverage on their expertise, just agree with them on a percentage sharing formula and you are on.
Source loans from families and friends especially when there are no interest or is very low, but make sure you are working for an organisation that will pay you in time and they have a record of prompt payments to their contractors, unlike the government contracts that you may be owed for several years.
Lastly pray for success of your projects.

Why and How to Choose a paint

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:12:00 +0000

Painting a house is important if you really want a building to last long and be appreciated by outsiders. There are so many reasons why you should paint your house amongst are

(1)Protection against weather, insects and other elements-
There are specialized paints that are treated to fight pests and other elements that are destructive to the building, therefore such paints are usually in high demands in the market.

(2)Others are applied on walls even to encourage creeping stems and reptiles, its complimentary to the wholesome view of the building.

(3)The most common reason is that of aesthetic, paints makes your building to look very beautiful if you have a very good combination of colours especially when the colour scheme blends with the environment or landscape.

(4)Some paintings gives signs of purity or cleanliness especially when it is white or off-white.

(5)The choice of colour and painting sometimes give passersby a clue of the type of business the building will be used for.

(6)Painting also adds value to a property.

(7)It also has psychological effects on the users, the reason why most hospitals are painted white and residential buildings are always with cool colours.
Choosing a paint especially in a tropical region where humidity and heat is discouraged you have to paint the external face of the wall with light colours to discourage absorption of heat from the sun, therefore use water-based latex paints on your exterior because they are fast drying ,reflective, easy to repaint and they have less odour and fumes compared to oil based paints.
Oil based paints can be used for interior because it is longlasting.
Apply gloss in wood trims, woodworks and furniture because of its ease of cleanliness which is also light reflective(shiny).

How Can a starter make Profit Investing in Properties

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:15:00 +0000

Making profit in properties requires attention to a lot of details amongst them are the ones discussed below.
(1)You must get a good architect to design the building for you in the first place, he will be able to give maximum input to your design and requirements without necessarily taking the cost of your building too high.

(2)Also allow a professional-(architects,builder,civil engineer) to supervise your building during construction and make sure the building comes out well with particular attention to details.

(3)Employ the services of a quantity surveyor to be able to know if what you have to spend is enough to carry out the building project in the first place, if not then the design may have to be scaled down, else you may have an uncompleted project in your hand which can be very difficult to sell at that stage.

(4)When you are investing in properties always make sure you follow the trends of urban growth, what I mean is that in an axis where development is tremendous then you can look for a cheaper property close by and develop having it in mind that development will soon take over the place.

(5)Buying properties in choice areas is another sure way of making your investment yield profit very fast.

(6)Following hype:V.G.C, Banana Island, e.t.c were able to increase so much in value because of the hype the original developers of these areas created. When you have such places that are overhyped be rest assured that prices of properties will grow very fast in such places.

(7) Employ the services of good estate valuers, many people have lost quite a great deal of money trying to sell their properties on their own, thinking the commission of an agent will eat into their profit, but this is not true, because study has showed that a lot of property owners do undervalue their properties. And incase of rent then you also need a property manager to oversee the property.

(8)Advertise your properties to quickly get buyers that are ready to pay. You can advertise on castlesweekly, Guardian newspaper ,even on radio and television.

(9)If you tend to rent it out, then draw a plan for a good maintenance of the building which will help also to increase the value of the property, and when you raise the cost of rentage is most unlikely your tenant will complain. Though also find out the background of your tenant.

(10)During planning make provisions for adequate airspace around the house and good parking space that can accommodate at least one car for a family.

(11)Don’t just build for building sake,build where there are actual needs for your properties. Building where cost of rentage is beyond the reach of the people living around will result in a loss to you. Put the building that fits the environment and also affordable to the class of people of that area.

(12)Also during planning, put yourself in the position of your tenant/prospective buyers, if you can’t leave in a building you are proposing then know that others may also not be interested in the property you are proposing.

(13)In areas where it is acceptable, you can design for a mix use. In such cases offices and other corporate organizations may rent some parts of the building which they may probably pay more than the residential parts. Shops can be designed along with such projects.

(14)Think of the possibilities of designing for corporate bodies for long lease, though location must be of high activity area.

(15)For a starter with less funds, but with eye for long term investment, you can buy properties far from the town and wait for few years before selling, by then it must have appreciated considerably.

(16)Some areas you should consider for quick returns on investment are places around educational institutions (hostels),capital city, companies e.t.c

(17)Do not compromise the use of quality materials for your property because this also adds value to it, and smart buyers can easily recognized good properties.

(18)Properties close to recreational facilities also increase in value at a very fast rate.

(19)Properties around areas of high human trafficalso rates high in value, for instance properties around areas like redeem campin Ogun state and canaanland Ota are beginning to have high prices.
Areas close to political centers and seat of powers will also make the property value to rise.

(20)Properties close to access roads and infrastructural facilities will also grow in value at a very fast pace.

Control Pest with Aspirin

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:14:00 +0000

Aspirin is not only useful for human body but research as shown that is also valuable for plants against pest.
The active ingredient in it is called the salicylic acid which is both useful to humans and now also to plants.
If you love landscaping and you have your garden being inbfested by insects, put a full bottle of aspirin in 5 buckets of water, dilute properly and apply once in a week on your plants.

WHY INVEST ON REAL ESTATE IN NIGERIA

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:43:00 +0000

First and foremost corruption pervades all countries of the world and just like any other place in Nigeria those that are involved in it are quite negligible
So why should you invest in Nigeria?

1)You are helping yourself by solving a problem, it is a universal economic law ,find a problem and fix it then you will make money ,considering the population of nigeria housing problems in Nigeria is far much more than these other countries put together.

2)Strong building industry will also help to protect and make sure your money is judiciously used especially when you use the services of the professionals.

3)Population as earlier said will help ou to determine quickly.

4)Strong antifraud agencies are in place that you can go to for any complaints (the E.F.C.C I.C.P.C e.t.c) when you feel cheated and the courts are now getting better.

5)There are better government policies and regulations now in Nigeria.

How to ensure regular rental payments with minimum supervision

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:35:00 +0000

(1)Screening of the tenant is the first thing that has to come to your mind, do a proper verification of the claims of somebody taking the house, where he works or what he does for a living?
What made him/her to leave his former residence, probably it could be default in rents, the character of the person you may have to guess the income range to know if he can sustain payment by the type of work.

(2)Don't get too familiar with your tenants if you are a landlord, give the work to a facility manager or agent so that you don't end up loosing another six months before you can eject a tenant that is not willing to pay. Caretaker, if not tenants will take advantage of your closeness and they will start to default

(3)Treat your investment as business

(4)If their is an issue that could be settled out of court in case such arises then do. Ejecting a tenant through court process can be slow in Nigeria.

(5)Increase your rent regularly with small amount rather than wait for so long and then increase with a big margin, tenants are likely to revolt even when they they are aware that tenancy in that area has gone up. You cannot overlook that especially in a country like ours, where inflation rate is ever on the upward swing. Increase every two years or less.

(6)Write a six months notice to your tenants before increase to coincide with the minimum six months notice used to issue to tenants for them to vacate your building.
So for any tenant that is not comfortable with the increase write a vacate letter along with the increase notice so that you don't end up loosing another six months before you can eject a tenant that is not willing to pay.

(7)Treat as business your real estate investment.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PROJECT ATTRACTIVE TO POTENTIAL TENANTS.

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:31:00 +0000

1)Screening of the tenant is the first thing that has to come to your mind, do a proper verification of the claims of somebody taking the house, where he works or what he does for a living?
What made him/her to leave his former residence, probably it could be default in rents, the character of the person you may have to guess the income range to know if he can sustain payment by the type of work.

2)Don't get too familiar with your tenants if you are a landlord, give the work to a facility manager or caretaker so that you don't end up loosing another six months before you can eject a tenant that is not willing to pay. caretaker, if not tenants will take advantage of your closeness and they will start to default

3)Treat your investment as business

4)If their is an issue that could be settled out of court in case such arises then do. Ejecting a tenant through court process can be slow in Nigeria.

5)Increase your rent regularly with small amount rather than wait for so long and then increase with a big margin, tenants are likely to revolt even when they they are aware that tenancy in that area has gone up. You cannot overlook that especially in a country like ours, where inflation rate is ever on the upward swing. Increase every two years or less.

6)Write a six months notice to you tenants before increase to coincide with the minimum six months notice used to issue to tenants for them to vacate your building.
So for any tenant that is not comfortable with the increase write a vacate letter along with the increase notice so that you don't end up loosing another six months before you can eject a tenant that is not willing to pay.

7)Treat as business your real estate investment.

Cities In Nigeria Most Advisable to Invest on Real Estate and Why?

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:21:00 +0000

This is a serie of some questions posted to me by one of my
subscribers which I will be writing on and sharing with you.
There are different factors that will determine the profitability of
your investment in Real estate.

1) Number one is demand-The rate of demand will have to come first
before any other considerations , a lot of reasons will make people to
migrate to a place, mainly for economic reasons .

In Nigeria three cities will come into mind Lagos, Abuja and
Portharcourt.

2)Accessibility to a town can also determine the real estate growth in a city. This is why towns in Bayelsa state may not attract real estate
growth despite being very rich in oil.

3)Availability of land and materials will also affect real estate
growth though this is not as important as other considerations.

4)Cost of Construction in a place. Where materials and cost of
construction is low and accessible then real estate will likely thrive
in such places.

5)Capital generation of a town will also determine how real estate will thrive in such areas.

6)Increase in economic growth will also make real estate to be
attractive in a town.

7)Influx of human traffic to a place will definitely drive real estate.

8)Attraction to investors will also determine how real estate will be profitable in a town.

9)Absence of good residential buildings will make the good and new ones to be very desirable to the populace.

10)Availability of mineral resources.

11)Availability of infrastructural resources.

12)Availability of transportational resources like airport, train
stations sea port e.t.c

13)Availability of communication facilities.

14)Good government policies and regulations-Lagos and Abuja will come
to mind in this case, recently houses are being demolished in lagos
because of improper government permit before construction. New investors are now more careful and afraid to build because of fear of demolition.
Getting the permit on itself is very difficult at present because of the bureaucracy involved.

15)Availability of natural resources.

16)Is the town transitory? Hotel will be good for such areas.

17)Does it have plenty of government parastatals? with this you can be sure of growth in such area.

19)War and trouble will definitely affect real estate negatively.

20)Good climate

Going by the points stated above,Abuja, Lagos and Portharcourt will
beat the rest in Nigeria, but they also have advantages and
disadvantages too. Abuja is good for hotels, for low income earners you
can build hostels as common in Europe. Political meetings will always
be held in abuja and anytime there is a big programme the hotels are
always completely booked.

But Abuja has developed to a very high rentage zone and total separation
of the rich neighbourhood from the poor neighbourhood will at the long
run not help the real estate industry there, that is why there are uninhabited
houses yet people are going far to the suburb to live in slums. But in
Lagos, in every rich area, very close by you will see poor neighbourhood
zone, this helps to create spillovers from rich neighbourhood.
So if you are an investor you can just get properties
close to these rich areas redevelop and clean up the place then you can
have the affluence of your neighbour rubbing off on the properties in the poor neighbourhood though very close to the rich.
Lagos has very high rate of human traffic and influx of graduates from
other states will always make it very attractive for real estate,
Portharcourt despite the kidnappings is the unofficial capital city of
Niger Delta the oil rich region, so expatriate are always attracted to
the place, there you are sure to make very quick and profitable
investment.

In conclusion, economy is the chief driving factor of a real estate
investment in an area and for Nigeria ,Portharcourt and Lagos towers
above the rest.

How To Check The Structural Stability Of Your Foundation And causes Of weak Foundations.

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:02:00 +0000

Foundation as the most important part of the building needs adequate attention for you to be able to sleep in your house with your eyes closed.
For a built building especially after a few years you need to recheck and ascertain all is well. These are some of the considerations you must make.

(1)Settlement-Every houses do settle without exception especially when it is newly built, but the effect is more noticeable after a few years of completion. The severity of the settlement is based on a couple of factors like how well the house was designed and built, attention to details and others. Settlement can be very noticeable in some houses when one side visually begins to sink, which will require urgent attention before the house finally collapse, the attention of a structural engineer is required here. Beams and other measures may have to be introduced on that foundation for the house to be saved.

(2)Cracks-Cracks may also be noticeable in some buildings foundation, this may be caused by a lot of factors like
i-settling which may be caused by loosed soil and is noticeable when you started having horizontal cracking.
ii-Soil moisture around foundation can also cause cracking and eat deep into your foundation ,hence is important your backfill the surrounding wall of your building and protect it from onrushing water, also water from the soil have to be channeled to drains quickly. Desist from making water settle around the foundation of your building for too long. Expansion of soil when wet will create pressure on the concrete.
iii-improper mixture and inadequate water during mixing of concrete can also cause cracks when concrete begins to shrink due to curing after a while.
When preparing your concrete make sure you mix the elements-cement,snd,water very well before pouring.

(3)Water movement around the foundation as discussed in (2)

(4)Type of foundation- You need to to know the right foundation for a particular building and soil type, anything lower than what is required may result in foundation problems, for instance introducing strip or pad foundation where you are supposed to have raft foundation may cause problem in a few years.

(5)Professional Handling-If not for anything make sure a professional supervise your foundation being the most important part of the building, but if you doubt the competencies of your builder, then you also have reason to be skeptical about your foundation.

(6)Mixture ratio of the concrete is very important and the professional recommendations must be followed.

(7)Types of Soil-If the building is on vegetable matter or on dumpsite and it was not properly cleared and refilled with adequate strong soil, the probability of you having a weak foundation is high. So before you build on any dumpsite,debris and vegetable matter must be excavated and removed. Also every materials and debris used during construction of the building around the foundation must be removed to avoid them been buried on the ground which may disintegrate and weaken your foundation.

(8)Improper filling or Backfilling of the foundation when not given adequate attention will also affect the foundation. For some structures you'll notice the surrounding soil sinking after few rainfall because the soil were not properly filled and well compacted. Foundations requires hardcores and it must be put in place to avoid too much pressure on the foundation.

How To Calculate The Amount Of Paint Needed For Your Room

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:19:00 +0000

Calculating the amount of paint needed depends largely on the surface area

of the wall in the room.

Measure out the perimeter of the room i.e the entire length of the

four sides of the room or as the case may be.

Then measure out the height of the room, the length from floor to the

ceilling. These could be in meters or in feet depends on what you are used

to.

Now calculate the surface area of the room which is simply by multiplying

the total length of the room by the ceilling heigth.

For a standard Nigerian room, it is usually 3.6m x3.6m or 12ft x12ft

others can also make theirs 3.6m x3.0m or 12ft x 10ft depends on the plan

of the house.

After this measure out the openings in the room, most often the windows

and doors.

For windows it may be 1.2m x 1.2m i.e 4ft x 4ft or 1.8m x 1.2m i.e 6ft x

4ft, the height of windows are mostly 1.2m or 4ft while the length is what

usually varies. Multiply the height by the length of all the windows and

then do same for doors.

For doors the height is usually 2.1m or 7ft and the length is 0.9m or

900mm or 3ft do multiply the height by the length and sum the total areas

of openings in the room then subtact from the total surface area of the

room.

After determining your area (square feet or m2) then choose your paint

check the label of the paint bucket for the spread rate for the

paint.Spread rate is just the number of square feet (m2)of surface each

coat of paint will cover .After finding out, divide the total surface area

you measured earlier by this number to determine the number of paint

bucket/liter you will need for each coat.

The number of coats you should apply depends on the type of paint, the

colour,the nature of the colour you are applying, method of application

and the nature of the surface.

For example, you will likely need a second coat of paint when covering a

dark color with a lighter one. Also, certain surfaces, like exterior

masonry, are very porous and absorb a great deal of paint. In such cases,

a second coat is often needed to give the paint a uniform appearance.

Using a brush will put on a heavier, better-hiding coat than roller

application.
----
Check this out to calculate in u.s gallons instanta

How To Fix Leaking Or Damaged Roof

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:44:00 +0000

A house must have a workable roof on it before it is referred to as a shelter. Roof can get damaged due to these causes.

CAUSES OF ROOF DAMAGE.

(1)Old age or Long Usage-
There is no material that doesn’t have it’s lifespan, so the longer the roof was installed, the probability of its getting damaged quickly.

(2)Low Quality-
When a low or substandard quality is used, the roof will give way at the slightest pressure from man or weather.

(3)Bad Installation-
Roof is one of the most delicate part of the building, when it is not giving to an experienced and capable hand then you are likely to have a roof that will get damaged in no time especially when materials for preventing leakage are not used on the roof.

(4)Bad Design-
However, no matter the level of experience the installer has, no matter how efficient he is, if the roof is badly designed by the architect or whoever is in charge, the roof will end up leaking and which will subsequently get damaged.

(5)Types or materials of roof-
Some roof get easily damaged than the other, durability of roof depends on so many factors but aluminium has more advantages over others.

(6)Arson or damage through stones and other heavy objects thrown on it-
Careless throwing of stones or deliberate destruction can occur especially by area boys.

(7)Walking on it or placing heavy objects on roof can also damage it.

If the roof is destroyed, first step is to note the bad spots, check the nail points and mark out areas where there are problems, look for worn out nails. Metal flashing that were not properly done (flashing is used to prevent tiny holes during installation from causing leakages) will have to be replaced. And for others you may have to totally replace some pieces of roof.
Check the wood under the roof, the wood is the strength of the roof and it may have been damaged by exposure to water and other elements. Get a carpenter to replace any of the bad ones. If the damage isn’t much get a crowbar to remove the nails and replace the damaged piece.
It is good to install roof in the rainy season to easily expose leaking points by rainwater , but it is advisable you do roof repairs on a sunny day to avoid a slippery wet roof which can be very dangerous.
You can either use safety ropes for very high structures, a framework of scaffolding and ladder.
Please also consider the electrical wiring before working on the roof to avoid electrocution, for safety purposes use rubber soles when working on the roof.

Causes of Building Project poor Delivery In Nigeria

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:41:00 +0000

There are several reasons why your building project will not come out beautiful and solid as expected due to the following factors.

1. Clients uncanny penchant to save cost at all cost-Building a house for a first timer can be very daunting and too difficult. Preliminary works on site can be money guzzling which often discourages client from going on with the project. You may find it difficult to come to terms with the realities of spending millions on foundation and other preliminarysite works which will not really show to the outsider.
Developers want to make money and they will like to make it quick ,so substandard and inadequate materials are most cases used.

2. Quacks or no professionals on site- There are no well monitored building regulations in Nigeria, hence it is a free for all industry. People with little or no experience goes about parading themselves as building professionals and convincing the unsuspecting masses. Jobs are often interchanged, bricklayers are made to do the job of a builder . Even among the building professionals league, every professional is doing other’s jobs, of course badly. That is why an architect may want to design a structural drawing himself which a structural engineer ought to do, the same for a structural engineer. When there are no professionals to check the work done on your site there is a possibility that your job will be messed up.

3. Substandard Materials and Inadequate Materials-This is a common phenomenon in the building industry, substandard materials are used atimes out of ignorance and to save cost, low mixture ratio of cement/sand/granite or gravel also affects project delivery.

4. Lack of Enforcement will by the Government-Just like every other industries in Nigeria, there are very sound policies and regulations for the building industry, but just as it is difficult for the government to execute these policies, the same applies for the building industry. For example in Lagos state, the regulation is to make sure there is a professional on site at anytime, but most sites are devoid of them and government agencies aren’t really giving adequate attention to these sites.

5. Threats of Omo Onile and other Public Nuisances-There was a case of a Diamond Bank project in Ojodu Berger that collapsed partly due to the recklessness of “omo onile” they were asking for a certain amount from the contractor ffor the roof which he delayed in paying them, they therefore went to the site and remove some props (bamboo studs) that were used to support the roof gutter concrete. This weakened the support and eventually the entire building collapsed. Other cases are abound.

6. Clients Pressure on Contractor to Deliver the project at unattainable period-This is common among the banks, a project that is supposed to take 6 months duration is usually awarded to contractors for 3 months. Contractors on the other hand because of greed will take the project and put themselves on pressure which will make them to produce a poor job because they are in a hurry to deliver.
Moreover, there are fines for not meeting these unreasonable deadlines to the contractors, in order for them to meet up ,shoddy jobs by the artisans are often overlooked. This also applies to corporate and individual organizations.

7. Inadequate Manpower- Graduates produce from the higher institution of learning are being plagued with a lot of problems and inadequacies, hence most graduates are half baked.
Some specialized courses in building industry are not been thought in any of our university, so you may find expatriates involvements in more complex constructions. Employing them is costly, so if the client is not ready to shell out so much money, then he may have to make do with what he has.

8. Cost of Employing Professionals/Economic reasons-Just as stated above.

9. Inadequate Equipments-Some of the equipments or machineries needed to carry out these jobs are quite costly and cost of renting them is also very high so improvisation will have to be adopted. But in a case where you are using ordinary wood to support concrete where steel is recommended, then you will see concrete bulging out of shape instead of being straight and smooth faced.

10. Corruption-This is by far the major reason for bad jobs , contractors are in the habit of trying to make too much money off a project, hence substandard materials are substituted for quality jobs.

Simple Questions To Make Your Prospective Building Contractor Edgy

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:43:00 +0000

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.

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:43:00 +0000

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

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:27:00 +0000

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

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:24:00 +0000

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

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:40:00 +0000

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

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:27:00 +0000

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

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:04:00 +0000

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

great4ways@yahoo.co.uk (Omion Emmanuel) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:04:00 +0000

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.