The project site is located somewhere in Emene, Enugu state. I produced both the architectural and structural drawings for this project and had the electrical and mechanical drawings produced by my colleagues.

The features of the building are,
1. Living room
2. Dining room
3. Visitor’s convenience
4. 2 bedrooms (all en-suite) on the ground floor
5. A kitchen

PENTHOUSE
6. A living room in the penthouse
7. Kitchen
8. Bedroom (en-suite)
9. Balcony

We started with the setting out of the building layout. Went to the timber market to buy the pegs, lines, nails, profiles (2’’ × 2’’ ×12’) etc. I will show a sample of the detailed cost estimate I provided for the client in the next stage.

Nice one, I love your work bro

Thank you!

Kpokrikpo:
Nice one, I love your work bro

We dug the trenches to a depth of 750mm (2'-6'') and about 675mm (2'-3'') width. After we excavated the trenches, we followed suite with column pits.
I designed most of the structural columns in the building to support the suspended floor (penthouse) while the rest was to work with the tie-beams, lintels and roof beams to improve resistance against lateral soil movements.

The soil was fairly sandy and I reckon it has good bearing capacity to support the floor above. I excavated the column pits to the dimensions of 1.0m × 1.0m × 150mm. I have to stress that I get it from the structural design I did for the building and is not a recommendation for what you can use. Consult your structural engineer/builder.

After the excavation works, we took level (pegging) inside the trenches to get a uniform concrete thickness for the strip and the pad footing. This helps for quality control especially with the thickness of the pad footing and also helps reduces waste of concrete.

We used 6" hollow sandcrete blocks for the foundation block walls. The client had the blocks made on site before we started the construction works. It's also my first time of using 6'' hollow blocks to erect a building with a suspended floor.

I have to state here that the block walls are only supporting their own self weight. They weren't considered as structural elements here.

FOUNDATION BLCOKWORK & COLUMN SHUTTERING

As I've already mentioned earlier, we used 6'' for the entire substructure. The blockwork got completed in the trenches and followed by shuttering and concrete placement for the columns.

This dude photo bombed my picture twice.

I'll continue with the work description and processes some other time.

Here is a sample of the detailed cost estimate i prepared and provided for my client.

Contact me via email on frankitangltd@gmail.com and I will be glad to serve you and provide you with answers.

BACK-FILLING AND EARTHFILLING

We used the excavated earth materials to backfill the trenches and the pits. We leveled the remaining into the room spaces to make up level in the substructure. We did so because the earth materials was of good quality and devoid of clay.

The earth material was watered thoroughly for consolidation before a compactor was used to compact the earth. When not done, the earth will compact on its own over time under the slab-on-grade ('German floor" in the local parlance) and it can collapse if the concrete thickness does not support the weight on it or make a hollow sound when hit or stepped on.

The recommended slab-on-grade thickness is 150mm (6'') but I use 80mm to 100mm (3'' to 4'') once I've thoroughly compacted the earth fill. The lighter thickness is also pocket-friendly for the client.

We also introduced reinforcement inside the slab-on-grade (german floor) to act as tie beams (internal beams).

GROUND FLOOR: BLOCKWORK & LINTEL

We started the block wall construction on the ground floor level the next day even before completing the concrete works for the slab-on-grade.

The window sills were all at four courses of blocks except for the kitchen.

I went to the market with the client to purchase the reinforcement and the timber for the lintel and column shuttering. The lintel and the ground floor columns was cast monolithically.

At the timber market, we bought full planks which we sawed into two to get the with of the lintels. This I found to be better than buying the pre-cut ones. The planks are usually not properly seasoned hence warp when exposed.

Progress

Nice one

Can you give us a breakdown of the cost spent so far?

Nice one. Plz can I get a rough estimate of the total cost of this building.

Analyst01:
Progress

Is this half a plot or full plot of land ?

vanvick247:
Nice one. Plz can I get a rough estimate of the total cost of this building.

Yes sir,

You can reach me via email frankitangltd@gmail.com

Indigbo:


Is this half a plot or full plot of land ?

The land size is 120 feet by 50f eet

Nice one kudos

Building a a penthouse currently in Nigeria in 2022 with current prices.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=560Dvkximr8