EgunMogaji:


An astute thought.

So I'm still debating doing my build with 6" blocks on the exterior and using steel studs on that part facing inside and the entire interior partition. We have steel studs here in Nigeria and a Nairalander uses it a lot to do fancy wall work.

The thing is the cost factor. I am working out a spreadsheet to calculate all of this. I just haven't been able to get the cost of steel studs as well as the installation though I can supervise that.

What will that steel studs look like?

abdulwastecx:


you can have a sizeable three bedroom flat with good space to pack 3 vehicle in front of the building.

something like this can enter the plot comfortably:
three bedroom each : 12ft x 12ft
three toilet each : 4 x 8ft
kitchen : 8ft x 8ft
dining : 8ft x 8ft
living room : 16 x 14ft
store : 4 x 4ft

total floor area = 1024square feet
plot size = 2000square feet

percentage built up area = 51.2%

thank you and thank you all... can I get an approximate cost from starting to finishing... awaiting your kind response

erico2k2:

What will that steel studs look like?

Very good looking because you won't see it





Very easy to work with, easier than wood, IMHO.

No RUST, no ROT, no TERMITE, lasts FOREVER.

They have them in 2X2, 2X4 and 2X6.

EgunMogaji:


Very good looking because you won't see it





Very easy to work with, easier than wood, IMHO.

No RUST, no ROT, no TERMITE, lasts FOREVER.

They have them in 2X2, 2X4 and 2X6.

I have considered the steel and dry wall option but it cost like thrice what you are going to spend on blocks and plastering.

EgunMogaji:


An astute thought.

So I'm still debating doing my build with 6" blocks on the exterior and using steel studs on that part facing inside and the entire interior partition. We have steel studs here in Nigeria and a Nairalander uses it a lot to do fancy wall work.

The thing is the cost factor. I am working out a spreadsheet to calculate all of this. I just haven't been able to get the cost of steel studs as well as the installation though I can supervise that.

So many benefits of building with steel and drywall, and when you do find out the cost for materials and installation, please do let us know!

@hajj, it's a good move, I welcome it o

FastShipping:


I have considered the steel and dry wall option but it cost like thrice what you are going to spend on blocks and plastering.

Excellent, I hate recreating the wheel.

Which part of it is the most expensive? If it's labour then I'll be good as I can take care of that by doing the major work myself with a few assistants.

Is it the importing of the studs? Did you only look in USA and not Europe as shipping is far more cheaper?

I'm all ears

petikal:
OK, here's a question.

Why don't we build with treated/insulated hardwood in Nigeria? You know, a house where the exterior walls can be blocks/concrete, but the interior/room dividers would be wood? Think of the freedom and cost-reduction in running electrical wires/pipes, plumbing, and even future reconstruction/expansion.

My high school in Abia built in 1929 has residential buildings built entirely of wood, and some still look good!

I am not really in support of using wood extensively because of deforestation effect of extensive use of timber.

I think we need to start looking at bamboo the wonder grass, which can be processed into different product such as wall panels, flooring materials, roof truss, wall partitioning stud. etc.

The technology available in other third world nation like Colombia and China can be put to use extensively in this regard.

Bamboo grow rapidly in Nigeria, such material will make building construction cheaper and affordable for majority of Nigerians.

petikal:


So many benefits of building with steel and drywall, and when you do find out the cost for materials and installation, please do let us know!

steel and dry wall is better and cheaper for high rise residential building due to lightness of the materials relative to concrete.

steel framing for wall partitions allows for flexibility of structural layout and allows small section of column to be used for tall building which automatically reduce cost of foundation and other structural members

abdulwastecx:


I am not really in support of using wood extensively because of deforestation effect of extensive use of timber.

I think we need to start looking at bamboo the wonder grass, which can be processed into different product such as wall panels, flooring materials, roof truss, wall partitioning stud. etc.

The technology available in other third world nation like Colombia and China can be put to use extensively in this regard.

Bamboo grow rapidly in Nigeria, such material will make building construction cheaper and affordable for majority of Nigerians.

That's what reforestation is all about.

You plant to replace what you cut. Yes it will take years for trees to mature but do you know how dangerous cement is to the human body?

Whenever I see pictures of workers schleping about in raw concrete sometimes bare footed and you know they'll have open cuts from working on a construction zone and breathing in all the silica dust, I cringe (yeah mother of all run on sentences )

The modern idea is to use the least amount of concrete as possible in construction.

"Cement comprises 7 to 15 percent of total concrete volume. As an alkaline material, wet cement is caustic, and can cause severe chemical burns to exposed skin and eyes. Thus, working with fresh concrete presents an obvious risk. That’s why it’s so important to always wear water-proof gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, full-length trousers, and proper eye protection. If you have to stand in wet concrete, use water-proof boots that are high enough to keep concrete from flowing into them. Wash wet concrete, mortar, cement, or cement mixtures from your skin immediately. Flush eyes with clean water immediately after contact. Indirect contact through clothing can be as serious as direct contact, so promptly rinse out wet concrete, mortar, cement or cement mixtures from clothing. And always seek immediate medical attention if you have persistent or severe discomfort.

In addition to the caustic nature of cement, 95 percent of cement particles are smaller than 45 µm.—compared to tobacco smoke of approximately 3 µm—suggesting that the danger of inhalation is possible. Workers opening bags or sacks of cement and cement products should always wear a dust mask in addition to their regular safety attire."

EgunMogaji:


Very good looking because you won't see it





Very easy to work with, easier than wood, IMHO.

No RUST, no ROT, no TERMITE, lasts FOREVER.

They have them in 2X2, 2X4 and 2X6.

sancrete block and concrete work is the cheapest and most flexible materials for bungalow and small building construction.

Nigeria is a country with low steel production capacity, the steel will be expensive and workmanship will be poor

abouzaid:
i would advice a small duplex since you can get more rooms from a small plot of land. i think i can design a six bedroom duplex for it but atleast two of the bedrooms won't be en suite. do you have a survey plan of the plot?

6 bedroom duplex .. how many floors is it going to be please??

abdulwastecx:


sancrete block and concrete work is the cheapest and most flexible materials for bungalow and small building construction.

Nigeria is a country with low steel production capacity, the steel will be expensive and workmanship will be poor

I totally agree with the boss here...

EgunMogaji:


That's what reforestation is all about.

You plant to replace what you cut. Yes it will take years for trees to mature but do you know how dangerous cement is to the human body?

Whenever I see pictures of workers schleping about in raw concrete sometimes bare footed and you know they'll have open cuts from working on a construction zone and breathing in all the silica dust, I cringe (yeah mother of all run on sentences )

The modern idea is to use the least amount of concrete as possible in construction.

"Cement comprises 7 to 15 percent of total concrete volume. As an alkaline material, wet cement is caustic, and can cause severe chemical burns to exposed skin and eyes. Thus, working with fresh concrete presents an obvious risk. That’s why it’s so important to always wear water-proof gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, full-length trousers, and proper eye protection. If you have to stand in wet concrete, use water-proof boots that are high enough to keep concrete from flowing into them. Wash wet concrete, mortar, cement, or cement mixtures from your skin immediately. Flush eyes with clean water immediately after contact. Indirect contact through clothing can be as serious as direct contact, so promptly rinse out wet concrete, mortar, cement or cement mixtures from clothing. And always seek immediate medical attention if you have persistent or severe discomfort.

In addition to the caustic nature of cement, 95 percent of cement particles are smaller than 45 µm.—compared to tobacco smoke of approximately 3 µm—suggesting that the danger of inhalation is possible. Workers opening bags or sacks of cement and cement products should always wear a dust mask in addition to their regular safety attire."

It takes longer years to replace what has been cut. It takes an average of 30 years to replace a cut lumber.

Deforestation in Nigeria is a serious environmental problem, we lost about 3.5% of our forest yearly to lumbering, which result in less than 10% forest cover, that is way below the world average of 25%.

With the building demand for 170million Nigerians, building house purely with timber frames and partition will cause serious environmental problem.

Bamboo is a better alternative which grow much faster ( 2 - 4) years, environmentally friendly and can be grown and processed with limited resources.

EgunMogaji:


Very good looking because you won't see it





Very easy to work with, easier than wood, IMHO.

No RUST, no ROT, no TERMITE, lasts FOREVER.

They have them in 2X2, 2X4 and 2X6.

Ok I know what you are on about now, I have worked on a building where these where put in use,however it would be worthy to note that we do have plaster boards in Nigeria(Dry wall Panel in the US), they are imported from china.So if you have plaster boards then you got your walls sorted there.

abdulwastecx:


It takes longer years to replace what has been cut. It takes an average 30years to replaced a cut lumber.

Deforestation in Nigeria is a serious environmental problem, we lost about 3.5% of our forest yearly to lumbering, which make us have less than 10% forest cover which is way below world average of 25%.

With the building demand of 170million Nigerians building house purely with timber frames and partition will result to serious environmental hazard.

Bamboo is a better alternative which grow much faster ( 2 - 4)years, it is environmentally friendly and can be grow and processed with limited resources.

I take it you have heard of plaster boards?

erico2k2:
I take it you have heard of plaster boards?

yes

abdulwastecx:


It takes longer years to replace what has been cut. It takes an average 30years to replaced a cut lumber.

Deforestation in Nigeria is a serious environmental problem, we lost about 3.5% of our forest yearly to lumbering, which make us have less than 10% forest cover which is way below world average of 25%.

With the building demand of 170million Nigerians building house purely with timber frames and partition will result to serious environmental hazard.

Bamboo is a better alternative which grow much faster ( 2 - 4)years, it is environmentally friendly and can be grow and processed with limited resources.

Yes it takes a long tim and that is why proper planning is crucial.

We have not yet run out of wood in developed countries because we manage it well.

Using age to matured growth is a crutch to development of alternative sources.

Houses for said Nigerians can be quickly built with natural resources that we have abundantly is the key. We have mud and we have trees. We can also purchase fast growth seeds for reforestation.

erico2k2:

Ok I know what you are on about now, I have worked on a building where these where put in use,however it would be worthy to note that we do have plaster boards in Nigeria(Dry wall Panel in the US), they are imported from china.So if you have plaster boards then you got your walls sorted there.

Oh I've got it all sorted out, I just need to figure out the cost factor. Maybe FashShipping can educate us more on the differences in cost.

I'm going to add fasteners to the edge of my german floors and pause in case I can commence the walls with 2X6 steel studs, it's not that difficult.

abdulwastecx:


sancrete block and concrete work is the cheapest and most flexible materials for bungalow and small building construction.

Nigeria is a country with low steel production capacity, the steel will be expensive and workmanship will be poor

We don't know the prices of steel studs and dry wall yet so we cannot figure out the price difference. N50 per square foot or N500 per square foot, we nee dot know this before we can use the word cheap to quantify. I you've done the research then apologies and please share your findings.

Steel studs can be imported, we are an importing country and we have that sorted out, steel duty does have a premium over "regular" studs but it pays for itself in infinite ease of construction and lifetime usage.

Workmahship will be poor only if the general contractor allows his sub contractor to get away with it. I've seen buildings constructed with the traditional block and mortar right here on this site that looks like it was built by legally blind bricklayers.

I built this 120 square foot shed in wood singlehandedly in a few weekends. I have no prior building experience and the building passed city and country code inspections (jealous neighbor called county after I passed city inspection because he was certain that I should have screwed up somewhere and escalated to county inspection). There's no way I could have down this in brick and mortar. Not all builders are professional and it is not a requirement as far as I know unless it's a commercial building, you just have to pass codes.

When I used the words Artisan Architect and Architecture on another thread, some emorons got all wound up. One of the tenents of artisan architecture is being open to and being creative in raw materials.

Oga Spyder880 is still the leader in here, not because he build a necessarily superior product than others (you guys are all masters in your own rights) but that he is transparent and above all flexible. Howerver Skimanski is the supreme commander to me strictly because of his adaptation to modern architecture and use of materials and equipment. Just look at the structure in this thread of his https://www.nairaland.com/1331375/architecture-lagos-nigeria-construction-duplex

I would like to see builders in here try to step out of the box and start moving away and start blending stuff.

EgunMogaji:


Excellent, I hate recreating the wheel.

Which part of it is the most expensive? If it's labour then I'll be good as I can take care of that by doing the major work myself with a few assistants.

Is it the importing of the studs? Did you only look in USA and not Europe as shipping is far more cheaper?

I'm all ears

The cost of metal is out of this world.

FastShipping:


The cost of metal is out of this world.

Damn

Well back to the ol bricks then

FastShipping:


The cost of metal is out of this world.

How much are we talking about here? Also, is it the cost of buying them here or importing that is expensive?

If you know some details, please do share.

petikal:


How much are we talking about here? Also, is it the cost of buying them here or importing that is expensive?

If you know some details, please do share.

Cost of buying in Nigeria is very high. Three times of what it cost to plaster your house. A house you suppose to spend 600k plastering will end up costing you thrice of that.

EgunMogaji:


Damn

Well back to the ol bricks then

hey dont give up that easy nah,

erico2k2:

hey dont give up that easy nah,

Oh I'm not giving up and will never give up on introducing the methods of building that I am familiar with in the USA.

But I just understand that others may not be so staunch.

I'm doing more research in pricing and shipping steel studs from Texas and also from Europe. Even wood is still better than masonry except that you have to have pressure treated wood in ground contact areas.

EgunMogaji:


Oh I'm not giving up and will never give up on introducing the methods of building that I am familiar with in the USA.

But I just understand that others may not be so staunch.

I'm doing more research in pricing and shipping steel studs from Texas and also from Europe. Even wood is still better than masonry except that you have to have pressure treated wood in ground contact areas.

I understand you quite well, but i think sometimes, the ways of the west might not work here,factors being price and conditions.

erico2k2:

I understand you quite well, but i think sometimes, the ways of the west might not work here,factors being price and conditions.

I hear you but if you know me then you'll know that it's like telling an Astronaut that humans cannot survive on the moon

This is why I continue to give credit to Skimanski, it's the same environment but he continuously delivers eye popping architectural edifices.

EgunMogaji:


I hear you but if you know me then you'll know that it's like telling an Astronaut that humans cannot survive on the moon

This is why I continue to give credit to Skimanski, it's the same environment but he continuously delivers eye popping architectural edifices.

eheh true, hence I have decided to do all my tiling myself and I'm putting tiles on cured concrete ,we are going to see how it turns out,I aint paying no one

erico2k2:

eheh true, hence I have decided to do all my tiling myself and I'm putting tiles on cured concrete ,we are going to see how it turns out,I aint paying no one

This is in Nigeria? Please document it for us to see. May be I can get EgungunMaster to do mine... too much arthritis for me.

Hajji M.

EgunMogaji:

Oh I'm not giving up and will never give up on introducing the methods of building that I am familiar with in the USA.
But I just understand that others may not be so staunch.

EgungunMaster... we all like good stuffs o, but money nah the killer... I personally don't have it. I keep saying that.
But I like good stuff o...

Hajji M.