@KolaShangOne good points raised.

Interesting discussion here.

I will like to get to the bottom of this as I may have also missed out on getting a thunder arrestor installed so best to do that now.

btw any ideas how much they cost? Will like the electricians in the house to also provide some responses to this.

KolaShangOne:


Oga Agarawu23 I no gree.. Lightning can strike ANY building. There are some houses that are in the travel path of lighting. Very prone areas. They will most likely get struck at least twice a year.

Besides, I think you're in North Africa. Rain falls there once in 6months abi? Houses there are at almost zero risk.

PH, Lagos and some other parts experience all year round rainfall.. With accompanying Thunder strikes

Welcome news but I can't see this happening in the near future.

The govt that tries to ban such practices also needs these same omonile groups during elections.

Easy to say but difficult to actually implement but kudos to the govt for starting what should have been elimintaed years ago

mavverick:
Interesting news coming from the Lagos state government.

Put a stop to omonile

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/lagos-goes-tough-on-omo-onile/

Whist the intention is laudable, I see some flaws here.

* Who will police the action of the government ?
* What will the task force to to stop the actions of omonile ?
* In a case where a legitimate property owner is being harassed, what should they do ?
* How can omoniles be truly eliminated, would be good to hear from nairalanders ?
* How about the levies on workers on site that these omonile sometime demand ?

Haji.

They are very good but very very expensive.

Even close to the price of POP which pushed me towards using POP.

mufutau55:


Try Amoula Paragon PVC. They are good. No fake, you can go get it directly from their factory.

Hajji M.

@lastpage, I don't think anyone wants you to conform to any convention. Far from it but I think that unless you are one of those clients (myself included) that has been affected by Brabus you really cannot comprehend what we are feeling. Fact

I see your points for forgiveness and I am all for it if Brabus is truly sorry but let's ask this very simple question. Do you HONESTLY believe with all the response/comments that you have read from Brabus he is truly sorry for all these mistakes (as you put them)?

I will really like your honest YES/NO to this question

And BTW does 2015 qualify as a few years back?

Yeah, maybe I was sleep-building when Brabus was working on our project but I and certainly none of the other clients deserved what they got from Brabus

lastpage:



WRONG!

Honestly,
I swear to God, l will give him, if the need/opportunity arises.
(I generally dont "swear by God's name"... my YES, is my YES, and my NO, is my NO..... and for me to say the above, it means a lot)


I know his "weakness".... and l am capable of supervising him to the last block!

I wont give him any document to get for me (I know where l do such things and l have never been disappointed)
l cant accuse him of stealing my Block or anything (I put soldiers on my fenced site)
He cant build "floating pillar" for me (I will be watching and approving "everything" ....before casting)
He cant even 'breath' (I am always on my site 24/7, when l am building .....usually when l am on annual leave)

So, where will the mistake come from?
Problem is, he was building for people who "gave him money and went to sleep" (I dont blame them for that) ....when he himself was just getting on a "steep learning curve", back then.

But l am sure he is learning fast!
He is an "educated hustler" and hustlers are "sharp/intelligent" people.

I just hope he can STFU and stop trying to "argue his way out" of every accusation.
That one annoys me real bad!
Silence at times, is Golden.

Make una forgive me say l am not "acting true to convention".
That is just me.



Lastpage!

I vote LANICKY



Cc: NLJega

Thank you Sir. much appreciated.

allCopacetic:
not necessarily, unless it's motion activated . Sensor switches like that on my thread (see attached pic) use body heat, and stay on as long as the heat source is detected . They are probably best suited for places like toilets, kitchens and other such locations where you want the light on Everytime you're there.... You could be in a room but want the light off.

Is this AZUH's madam?

[quote author=ahmedonia4real post=46898929][/quote]

This was exactly my point here.

Folks have jumped to conclusion that OP wants to use it to shoot someone when all he did was ask for a firearm. He may need it to protect his family and that's not a bad thing. Or is it?

mavverick:
I did not read where he said he will shoot someone not to talk of his ex-Builder, he asked for where he can buy a gun, what he wants to use it for is another story, maybe to hunt bush meat ? Who knows.

We seem to be jumping the gun here but unless I am totally blind (which alot of people seem to think ) I cant see anywhere QC! mentioned shooting anyone. I saw the mention of procurement of the said firearm but I did not see any names mentioned.

Make I go get my 2nd pair of glasses

lastpage:



Motive: He messed-Up my building Job (Very strong one)

Means: Soliciting and Seeking to acquire a Gun

Opportunity: Blue Pally to bail-out within 10mins, (as stated openly, in his post!) of doing "a favor"!


Just read that post again! it is slam-dunk.

#AnAngryManIsDangerous






"Never make a decision especially you are angry".

If l were him, l will take down those comments IMMEDIATELY....NOW, NOW!



Lastpage!

Honest answer? Being a none-engineer I will most probably plead/beg Aventures or Spyder or Segymore to have a look at it.

I wont sink anymore money into it unless I am 100% sure that the right solutions have been provided. If I have to pay some millions to salvage it then so be it.

I know it may be election after campaign but I will also ask for another soil test to be done (if one has already been done)

lastpage:


Haahaaahaaa!

Shey l nor tell you?
This "Egun" nor be Masquerade wey fall from heaven!
Na humanbeing dey hide under that cloth-garb!




Lastpage!

Okay, enough is enough. Lets make progress!
Can we start making suggestions on how to save this building?
We never know where the brilliant idea/inspiration might come from.

Question: What will you do to SAVE this house (at the current state), if it were yours

Haba, It's not like that. Think you got me wrong.

If iron rods were not used then an explanation as to why they were not used does not constitute defence.

Do you not think it prudent that learners like me and maybe some others need to understand certain things.

That's not goading as you put it. That's putting that facts straight

Let me put it this way. do you think iron rods should have been used and if they were not used can you give any reason why?

Like I said I am just a learner so your wisdom on this area will be appreciated.

lastpage:


Absolutely 'NO' !

Reason l said "No" is that "I" dont want Brabus to keep trying to defend himself on this matter again.

In doing so, the Clients get offended even more but at the same time, I understand his need to "CLARIFY" certain things that he feels are "not ACCURATE" in the narration.

[size=14pt]It seems to me, it is we "Aprokos" that are stoking the fire, goading Brabus into "self defence" only to turn around and accuse him of gloating![/size]

"The heart of Man is exceedingly wicked, honestly".




Lastpage!

BTW: I am not inferring in anyway, whether it was Brabus that did that German floor or not (I was not there).
I only said there is no Iron on that "flooring", ....German or French! That much seems obvious.

I hope Brabus will not fall for the BAIT again... and again!

Lets not jump to conclusions here. There may be iron rods/ wire mesh embeded somewhere

Let's defer to the builder to confirm. No more assumptions on Nairaland

lastpage:


Obviously, there is no iron rod, not even a Wire-Mesh.... in that "German" Floor!

The next obvious question is: Was it Brabus did this German floor?

That would be very sad, to say the least.



Lastpage!

Well Said.

Have you ever wondered why they are passive? Have we even wondered why the whole ecomony seems to follow this suit?

I wish I could answer that but until we decide to call a spade a spade we are not going to make any progress.

Granted everyone deserves a second chance. SECOND being the operative word.

Lets have a recall of the attoricities commited by Brabus and honestly ask ourselves if he has not been given more than a few second chances.

I am not baying for blood but all we ask is for profressionals to concentrate on their area of expertise and let the real qualified/experienced workers do their job.

There are so many professions out there that pay so well so why try to use clients hard earned money to practice/learn on the job all the name of making a quick buck at the expense of unsuspecting clients.

That is totally unacceptable and those who think otherwise should be ashamed of themsleves.

OnetimeOnly:


Learning is constant, but you must understand the principles! Either by education or apprenticeship.

This is one of the problems building professionals in Nigeria are facing today. Inability to call out the quacks in their midst! I presume you are a building professional, brabus is not! He pretends to be....pasting pictures from the internet. And abusing his clients when his mistakes make projects go south.
Unless you are willing to call out the fakes in our midst, people will lowball our services and clients suffer. The passive attitude of the professionals on this forum is not good.

As for prospective clients, be aware that Brabus can be using your building project as learning experience for fundamentals of building! If you are fine with that, go ahead. Aside from....well you can read his threads#

Very Interesting.

I can only wait and hope to see that day.

By the Grace of God it wont be too long in the distant future when someone can say Brabus did a fantastic job for them.

We all look forward to that and hope it happens.

Also remember that KARMA works both ways. If you advocate that people who give second chances will get second chances. what do you advocate for people who constantly have issues with their clients? A simple/succint response will suffice here.

Good luck with your builds.

lastpage:


I am "one" of those who believe in giving someone a second opportunity.

Infact, if not that my current build is so advanced (builder input no longer required), l would have used it to prove you guys wrong.

I am looking forward to when l will want to do another build from scratch, l will announce it here that l am using Brabus to build it.
Quote me on that, god willing.

Brabus has his issues, ...serious issues (and l have spoken repeatedly on them, even went as far as advising him "like l would do a "Blood Brother".

Three things accounted for the failure in his "PAST" Builds:

1.) His knowledge of foundations (back then) was very INADEQUATE!: He meant well but you cant give what you dont have. back then, his knowledge, compared to now was very limited!

2.) The Clients were mostly, if not all, "Diasporeans": Though this is not an excuse but his Clients have zero or very limited knowledge of Building.
They relied on Brabus' "expertise" when in actual fact, he too was just "learning as we go along" (like some other Builders here too, you can see from the way they ask or answer "technical questions".
(Abdulwastecx stands out from the crowd! he is a trained Engineer so, "No shaking".
This is where Brabus "bit more than he could chew".
He could have, at the very least, INSIST on a Soil test at all times.... and just follow the recommendations of a Structural Engineer who interprets the result


3.) Supervision was lax, if not non-existent: Again, l wont blame the Client but we are all learning! There is a reason why projects have "Consulting Supervisors" that are different from the Builder. These are Professional Engineers who are paid and mandated to ensure that "they monitor and approve" what the Builder is doing on ground. You should not allow your Builder to supervise himself. I wont.
Brabus was building without "oversight" supervision. If you cant supervise your builder, please employ a qualified person to do it for you.

The reason l am very confident that l will give him (Brabus) a job in the future, is that as "a Client", [b]l will be with him EVERYDAY of the build! That is how l do my own builds.... l monitor like hell, while "learning" at the same time
I have acquired "appreciable knowledge and experience" over time, such that even if l dont employ a seasoned Engineer as Supervisor, there is NOTHING Brabus will or can do, that l am not knowledgeable about.

I WILL TELL HIM WHAT TO DO, I WILL ENSURE HE DOES WHAT I WANT AND I WILL DO THE NECESSARY TESTS (SOIL, CONCRETE, e.t.c) to assist both of us to make a success of it.

it is a pity that the above three factors came into play, all at the same time, in Brbaus's build for his clients back then.

TODAY, in 2016, l dont think all those three factors can/should still align together... to produce the results we are referring to/discussing.
As for his "personal values"...... What you "already know" should not be able to hurt you... if you are intelligent and smart![/b]

Brabus na Ijebu, me na Ijebu, so let us see who get "sense" pass now.



So, when l say l will give my job to Brabus, l know exactly what l am saying and l am not saying it out of ignorance or sentiments.
Mind you, Brabus, like any other humanbeing, have their "strengths and weakness"
I know how to turn a "human weakness", into strength.

Thank you,



Lastpage!

BTW: I also believe anyone can reform, if they want to.
I also dont FLIP-FLOP on my relationship with anyone .... because it is ALWAYS based on PRINCIPLES, not personal sentiments.

Happy 21st Birthday

erico2k2:
Make Una dey do like say Una no Know, 2day is my Birthday the 22nd, so make una bring una gift sharp sharp

Makes sense.
I am surprised it's not widely used here.
I am sure most security lights will benefit from motion sensor lights.

EgunMogaji:


There are more intelligent ones out there now.

Those are the only switches that I'll have on my builds as it'll conserve battery power.

Truth be told. Brabus has his opponents and supporters but do you actually realise that he loves/craves the attention he gets?

Just when things are getting quiet he finds a way to stoke the fire to make his opponents come out.....

Brabus we know you too well

Dieumerci:


Statements like this one is the reason why you have a lot of opponents.

I don't want to believe that it's your nature.

You can do better.

Learn to be courteous with the way you talk and don't always be quick to talk.

True, but you do have to keep moving around to keep them active .

They need/sense motion to keep them on

agarawu23:
thanks for the replies.

The magic amaze me so much. U don't need to stress yourself turning off/on the light.

It's sensor controlled lights..

agarawu23:
spare my ignorance. What's the secret behind lights that on by itself when u appear close to them and off when u are done in that particular area?

Staircase lights off after 2-3mins you on them by itself, do we have the installation in nigeria too?

WFH

agarawu23:
yes ma!!!


But I don take off already, how I go do am

Thank you very very much for your usual prompt response.
Without a shadow of a doubt you really help this forum.

gabbytabby:


On average 50 percent paid yearly and on time(for the first 3 years) 25 percent within 3-4 months of due date, 15 percent within 6 months of due date and then the 10 percent who really cannot afford or totally lack the discipline of making any financial commitment or simply freeloaders. We now issue eviction notices when rent is 1 day late and start proceedings asap.

void was about 15 percent due to my delay of turnaround maintenance and most tenants overstayed their end date or due to notice.

Thank you madam,

Your insights us helps us newbies.

And one more question. Was this rent constant over this 6 year period (as in was it paid every year)?

gabbytabby:
To put things in perspective, I need to add that original plan was for 12units and build over 6-9months but I was with child in the month that I bought the land such that it became piecemeal over 6 years and when you are building with tenants in situ the rent levels are different than a completed build.

It was 350, 350, 365, 380, 400, 450 as now completed.

Thanks Madam,

Please hope you don't mind and I dont mean to pry at but just for my sanity.

Please can mention what you got in years 1, 2, 3 leading up to year 6?

I am just amazed at this and we need to prapare and set our expectations.

Hope you don't mind

gabbytabby:
Year 1 rent level was only achievable in year 6

Evil prospers when good people keep quiet.

FastShipping:


Leave my conscience alone sir. I have done nothing wrong.

Nice write up but how many chances does one get before enough is enough?
Just a simple answer will do? Will you also give Brabus your work to do knowing what you know now?

Just simple answers will suffice.

Thank you

write2obi:


Egunmogaji if you'll kindly go back and read through my comments again, you'll find out that i never supported brabus for what he did, no one is above mistakes, we should all learn to forgive and move on, why kick a man when he is down?
If you like go naked and be screaming brabus is a fraudster, it will not change the fact, mistakes has being made and people have lost their money because of brabus mistake.

A time shall come in life, that you'll ask for a second chance, because of some mistakes you've made. Pray you don't get a Egunmogaji, carrying your matter in his head. Good day sir

But surely this is not enough.

Are you honestly saying this enough to warn others? How can you possibly know everyont that contacts the quack guy?

I just hope that someone does not hold back information from you that will prevent you from losing out on your hard earned dough

FastShipping:


On few occasion I saw nairalanders contacted him for work and I made contacts to warn them.

Here you go

https://www.nairaland.com/2477207/experience-owerri-client

EgunMogaji:


Please post the link, I want to revisit that thread.

Thank you Sir.

PS: I found it.

This is a required reading for ALL on here.

https://www.nairaland.com/2477207/experience-owerri-client

This is what i as tallking about.

It was Dominion's thread.

EgunMogaji:


Very true.

I made my opinions known to Fast Shipping on this previously but it's his choice.

I'm certain he wasn't the first person that was scammed by the Engineer, maybe someone else kept quiet and Fast Shipping then got ripped off too.

The vicious cycle continues.

Interestingly enough, every single "engineer" in this section is now a suspect, if his Wife posts on here then double whammy

Egun "Character Assassinator Extra Ordinaire" Mogaji

@ Bolded, a few months back, armed robbers were luring builders from this specific section to the east and then robbed. It happened to many builders on here and they kept quiet and never warned others. So it continued until one brave builder then spoke up and the floodgates were opened.

babalose:
@Fastshipping....what if someone you don't know contacts him. I believe in calling a spade a spade. We can only help others not to be a victim by speaking out. Some of us have gotten out fingers burnt because someone refused to speak out. We can't continue to keep quiet while new people get burnt. A time will come if no one speak out that the whole forum will be labeled as place to solicit vulnerable clients(mugus)

The bolded is exactly my point

Thank you.

I think you may be confusing feedback with character assination which sometimes happens here but it's your choice but I will say that I don't think this approach helps.

Feedback should always be given (even if it has to be bad ones at times). We should be our brother's keepers and not hide such info.

Just me opinion.

Let me say something too.

A few months ago there was a thread (I think it was dominion's thread) about his experience in the East.

When this thread was opened alot of people came out of the woodwork to claim they had had similar experience about 6 months ago. Some even a year ago and yet no one came on to inform others. They all did it your way and kept it quiet (or maybe told a few) and let the others experience themselves.
This IMO is not the right approach.

Feedback has two advantages. It gives the potential clients/people to avoid such situations and it also gives the Engineer or supplier the motivation to change their practices. This feedback can be what the Engineer needs to improve their approach.

Now I am not in support Character Assination but lets call a spade a spade.

I was a victim of brabus. I don't hold any grudges against him anymore. Infact I always hope he does well but look at this.
5 or 6 unsatisfied clients and we still keep quiet?? he has not accepted most of these faults and yet people say it should be kept quiet?

I think a good job should always get a positive feedback as well as some kind of Bonus and likewise things that are not done properly should be rightly exposed.

Are you saying you know everyone that contacts this quack engineer that did a bad job for you?

I think you are a much better man than anyone else on NL.

FastShipping:


Each time someone contacted him so far for work, I have made contact with the person to share what I went through with the quack. I don't believe in character assassination that that become rampant here.

@FastShipping

Appreciate your write-up and thanks for this.

few questions I have and please indulge me.

Do you think not exposing this quack engineer is a good or bad thing In your opinion?

If the same thing happened to someone else and kept it quiet and let you experience the same with you, how would you feel knowing this informaiton may have helped you avoid such losses?

How does keeping his identity a secert help other prospective clients?

If he was a veyr good builder that made a mistake then I can understand but you have fully agreed that he is a quack engineer and still operating on NL so how does keeping his identity a seceret help others?

Just a few questions to understand your line of thought on this.

Again, sorry for your bad experience and glad you have moved past this.

FastShipping:



God bless you for this write-up. Brabus needs to exercise humility. He doesn't know when to shut-up or when to profusely apologize.

Let me tell you a story here. Hajj aware of this and I believe I showed what transpired to Skimanski and few others on blackberry.

Last year I gave my house roofing work to a nairalander. A quack for that matter who claimed to me he was an engineer. He gave me a quote and I paid him in full. I always pay in full upfront. He was supposed to start the work on a Monday but to my surprise he didn't start the work for more than two weeks from the day he was supposed to start. Then the next thing I saw was for the guy to start buying new clothing and displaying his pictures on nairaland. Designer shoes, shirts, trousers and watches. I said to my self wft! I called him several times and his phone was transferring me to different phone. When I eventually spoke to him, he told me he was working on a project at Ajah. I said but you were to start this work since last week.

He eventually bought wood and brought his workers to site after about two weeks. Three days into the work, he sent me a text that the house was bigger than he thought that he needed to make a new quote because they needed more materials. I said this has to be a joke. He sent a new quote and I sent him payment. Hajj was aware. Nothing I do that I don't let Hajj know in regard to my house.


Three weeks into the job, I sent my mum and brother to the site and there was rancor going on there. People who supplied things to the site coming there to curse at my site because my roofer owed them thousands of naira. He owes his carpenters money for over a week and hasn't been showing up. Carpenters were coming to the site but not working because he owed them one week pay. I didn't know that each day I call that he picked up he wasn't at the site. He always said he was eating close by or buying something in the neighborhood. After a month on the roof carcass, he called me that my cousin at the site has been tormenting him. I said how has he been tormenting you. He said the quote he gave me second time was at the insistence of my cousin. He said my cousin said I don't ask questions that I just agree with any quote people give me as long as the work is done right. I said wow. So I told the nairalander that you are a criminal. You agreed to lied to me that the quote was not good enough and I agreed to pay you extra. I said why are you telling me this now? He said the work at the site is a big problem for him that I should call my cousin to return the money he gave to my cousin so he can use the money to buy more nails and wood because materials turned out to be insufficient. At this point I was on the verge on sending him 1.8M Naira for Metcoppo Aluminum sheet quote he gave me to cover the carcass. I quickly told my brother not to transfer the money to him. I quickly called Hajj and called the nairalander quack "engineer on three way call. To my surprise the guy was defiant on the phone. I couldn't believe it. He was talking as if he was doing me a favor to let me know what was going on at the site.

When I discovered he couldn't be trusted, I contacted Tower and First Aluminum. I woke up 6am U.S time and called those companies. They asked I send them emails. Tower and First Aluminum went to my site and met this nairalander and my cousin. To my surprise, they told those Tower guys to over quote for the roof coverings and give them their shares. The Tower guys said that's not going to happen. When Tower and First Aluminum guys got back to me, they told me the entire roof needed to be torn down because the carcass was not done right. I called the so called nairalander who claimed to be an engineer and told him what those guys had just told me. The next thing the quack engineer from nairaland did was to engage into fight and insult of the First Aluminum guys who were at the site. He told them they wanted to destroy his life. My brother and mother were present to see everything. I called the nairalander quack "engineer" to leave the site immediately. Not only did he commit fraud, he also asked me to do some things that were not needed to be done there that the whole carcass and other mistakes he made on reconstruction of my house cost me in the region of extra 480K+ because we had to tear down everything and start from scratch again. I was sending him pictures of house as the entire 579 square meter roof was torn down. As the carcass was going on, he called me gables needed to be done at the back and I told him no. My cousin called me and said gable was needed. I sent them 225K for gables and it tuned out the gable wasn't needed because the First Aluminum guys dismantled it during the tear down of roof carcass.

My point is, the nairalander accepted his was quack. He confessed to me he was only looking to feed his family. He has been a nairalnder since 2008 or so. As a matter of fact he begged me not to go public because his source of living would be dashed because it is on nairaland that he eats. In fact his wife is on nairaland too. He told me a whole bunch of things that I just pitied him and never opened a thread about him on nairaland. The guy never stopped begging me for more than two months. He kept apologizing.

Hajj is a witness. I believe I showed it to Skimanski too on BBM and segzy14 was there too. The guy never stopped texting me to apologize. He is still here on nairaland parading himself as an engineer and builder. I just shake my head when he come on thread accusing others of incompetence.

You are so right there.

It's a sad fact of life that MOST human beings do not appreciate what they did not work for.

If these kids worked for it they will maintain it but thats for another story.

For now we can only do our little bits to make a larger impact in our beloved naija.

We will get there for sure. Maybe in the next generation or two...

babalose:
@brag3.....you got a good laugh out of me. We tend to lack maintenance culture but most of those house you are talkng about, the actual owners are either late or has become very old or due to lack of inflow. Children always tend to care less about maintaining their fathers house except there is an upcoming family event like wedding, remembrance, birthday, burial or anything that will gather people to the house and they don't want people to behold the eyesore. Many of us are guilty of that as well. How many people repainted there dad's house in the last 5 years purely out of maintainance with ulterior motive?



Babalose