KolaShangOne:
@Brabus The way you shouted carcass only made me laugh.. You no wan enter trouble

I'm at the carcass only stage of a 3 units of 2 bdr in Ibadan and so far we have spent just 4.7million.

But we all know the cost of finishing can Be equal to, more or less, the cost of carcass.

I need shout o because first thing most people will see is the 3D and the figure. They won't bother read the post. You go come hear "shebi you talk Na N10m you take build the house"

______
You're not doing bad with your figure on that project sha. But I still beat you cos by the time you deduct the cost of slab and extra spend on raft. My final figure will come down drastically.

This is only feasible when you have a lot of tools and materials that can help drive down cost at your disposal.

1. Marine boards for foundation and slab. Even we had to transport some of our used bamboos and 2by3 from another site during slab work.
2. Van to move materials. So I don't have to spend anything on transport. The savings comes back to me.
3. Truck to move in granite and sand. Especially during filling stage. Na overloading I dey take my truck carry. All I need do is to settle suppliers 2k per trip.

I once dare the client to bring me a cheaper build cos I want to see what they're doing differently.

abouzaid:
the number of rooms is often a question of family size given the extended family system in Nigeria but let's start with design, a rectangular shaped house is the cheapest to build and roof and is the norm in low cost housing but the negative is that the centre corridor might in theory be dark if all the doors are closed simultaneously, as for roofing sheets, zinc roofing sheets have a life expectancy of atleast 25years and costs less than 8k per bundle, locally made wooden flush doors costs about #4500 and lasts like for ever when used internally, as for windows, expensive aluminum windows is not appropriate for our weather and is expensive what is more appropriate is glass louvers since all of it can be opened at once unlike sliding windows thereby allowing more breeze in to the house. it's also far more cheaper. now let's go back to the issue of house size, adequate sizing of rooms will yield smaller homes without giving up on the number of rooms. the architecturally recommended minimum size for secondary bedrooms is 10x12 which gives enough room for a double bed, night standards, a wardrobe and a reading desk. a masters bedroom is 12x16 which gives room for a baby crib(bed) in addition but if you go through the designs here on nairaland,you would notice that room sizes are often noticeablely larger. what about living room sizes talkless of dining rooms, I'm not going to talk about en suites, now let's talk about ornamentation, every house deserve some kind of ornamentation like window hoods,wall edges(othions), arches, classical columns etc but the simple truth is that we overdo these things to the extent that some domestic homes now look like churches. i only subscribe to wall edges and window hoods while the rest should be done away with. I'll stop at here for now.

i am impressed with your detailed response.

abouzaid:
i said i believe not that i know for sure, but that is really not the crux of the matter, just help me out by redoing the estimates with the dimensions i supplied, i need a second and even a third opinion before committing my life savings to the project.

Please resend dimensions to my emai

KolaShangOne:
Like I said before, anything is possible in view to construction.

The question is not "can 2.5million build a house?" The question for me is "what kind of house can 2.5million build?"

One thing I don't like about the Nigerian mentality is that "I must build my own house." I walk around Ibadan and I see these 'buildings'

During Ikeja Bomb blasts, I was in a friends house in Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos which is far from the site of the blasts. The house was vibrating, windows shattered and We noticed lines of crack on the walls. We had to run to my father's house which wasn't vibrating like their own.

Talking of low cost housing, there's Transformation estate in Ibadan going for 4.5million for a 3 bdr. It's a fine condo. The whole size is not more than what I will use for an ante room, living room and dining.

except that most working class Nigerians won't care about an ante-room and my cost analysis includes iron mesh and iron rod reinforcements as well as a German floor

brabus:


I need shout o because first thing most people will see is the 3D and the figure. They won't bother read the post. You go come hear "shebi you talk Na N10m you take build the house"

______
You're not doing bad with your figure on that project sha. But I still beat you cos by the time you deduct the cost of slab and extra spend on raft. My final figure will come down drastically.

This is only feasible when you have a lot of tools and materials that can help drive down cost at your disposal.

1. Marine boards for foundation and slab. Even we had to transport some of our used bamboos and 2by3 from another site during slab work.
2. Van to move materials. So I don't have to spend anything on transport. The cost comes back to me.
3. Truck to move in granite and sand. Especially during filling stage. Na overloading I dey take my truck carry. All I need do is to settle suppliers 2k per trip.

I once dare the client to bring me a cheaper build cos I want to see what they're doing differently.

Some things drove up the cost. We had to bring a bulldozer to work, had a site fence, and cement was 1800 then. We also have to buy water and its freaking expensive in that area.

I suspect that you've not started spending money on your equipments maintenance. If you haven't, please save up (when it rains, it pours). Charge clients accordingly.

And it's not good (my own view) to move things from one site to another because it raises suspicion especially when client isn't present.

abouzaid:
the number of rooms is often a question of family size given the extended family system in Nigeria but let's start with design, a rectangular shaped house is the cheapest to build and roof and is the norm in low cost housing but the negative is that the centre corridor might in theory be dark if all the doors are closed simultaneously, as for roofing sheets, zinc roofing sheets have a life expectancy of atleast 25years and costs less than 8k per bundle, locally made wooden flush doors costs about #4500 and lasts like for ever when used internally, as for windows, expensive aluminum windows is not appropriate for our weather and is expensive what is more appropriate is glass louvers since all of it can be opened at once unlike sliding windows thereby allowing more breeze in to the house. it's also far more cheaper. now let's go back to the issue of house size, adequate sizing of rooms will yield smaller homes without giving up on the number of rooms. the architecturally recommended minimum size for secondary bedrooms is 10x12 which gives enough room for a double bed, night standards, a wardrobe and a reading desk. a masters bedroom is 12x16 which gives room for a baby crib(bed) in addition but if you go through the designs here on nairaland,you would notice that room sizes are often noticeablely larger. what about living room sizes talkless of dining rooms, I'm not going to talk about en suites, now let's talk about ornamentation, every house deserve some kind of ornamentation like window hoods,wall edges(othions), arches, classical columns etc but the simple truth is that we overdo these things to the extent that some domestic homes now look like churches. i only subscribe to wall edges and window hoods while the rest should be done away with. I'll stop at here for now.

Good points, but the problem is that most Nigerians have not made up their minds on what to add or drop from their building plans. Everyone wants to appear richer than his neighbours and so every little introduction must be copied. I saw a man who peeled off his zink roof to do aluminium back then when aluminium was new, and peeled aluminium to replace with stone coated he even wants to remove it again now to add parapet fascia!

KolaShangOne:


Some things drove up the cost. We had to bring a bulldozer to work, had a site fence, and cement was 1800 then. We also have to buy water and its freaking expensive in that area.

I suspect that you've not started spending money on your equipments maintenance. If you haven't, please save up (when it rains, it pours). Charge clients accordingly.

And it's not good (my own view) to move things from one site to another because it raises suspicion especially when client isn't present.

Nice one!

We've started spending a lot on maintenance of equipment but we are not going to get it all from one project. A little drop makes an ocean. When we sign for a contract, we don't mix match. We are solely responsible for all the materials we budget for in the estimate. That way, there won't be any suspicion raised and there's cost control. Think of it this way, you've already paid me to do a job for you. Am I going to shortchange myself buying materials less than agreed quantity? Definitely, No! I'll have to haggle to get the best bargain at the right price which will still leave out some profits to cater for maintenance and overheads whilst maintaining budget.
Of course, one of the reason why construction cost can never go down in Nigeria is because we don't invest in reusable construction items. Why do I need to keep buying planks at every project site? Because the client can afford it? Because I don't want it to raise any suspicion? Because the fund is not mine and I don't need to explore cost saving alrernative options. Even construction giants who handle multi-million dollars projects don't buy at every project, they either hire or own their tools and equipment.

It's safer, cheaper and help them to stay competitive in the long run.

If we are doing things the right way, you'll agree with me that precast is the cheapest way to build a house. I was in a seminar where a Unilag Professor showcased what they were doing to drive down cost in Lagos and some of their projects where they've used this technologies. If they've come up with mentality of I don't want client to be suspicious or feel I'm cheating, they wouldnt have come up with precast staircases, lintels, door/window frames, interlocking blocks which require no cement. I saw a lot at the seminar and it inspired me to do things differently.

To me, you have to win some and loose some to gain some. As for NextHome, we plough back the profit in order to serve our target market with the right pricing, at the right standard.

spyder880:


Good points, but the problem is that most Nigerians have not made up their minds on what to add or drop from their building plans. Everyone wants to appear richer than his neighbours and so every little introduction must be copied. I saw a man who peeled off his zink roof to do aluminium back then when aluminium was new, and peeled aluminium to replace with stone coated he even wants to remove it again now to add parapet fascia!

no problem na provided builders and artisans are earning our daily bread from his ego.if both him and his wife are private school teachers earning about about #35,000 per month with three kids and relatives to cater for, he would have been forced to straighten out his priorities.@ brabus, i envy you o, i honestly need a fairly used truck.

abdulwastecx:


low cost housing need to be look into from a different perspective
Things like size of the house, method of construction, and the design.

why build a four bedroom flat, when you have a budget of 2.5m naira. The wise thing can be to build a smaller house like two bedroom flat.

cheaper construction materials like stabilized laterite brick, laterite roofing sheet, making doors and cheaper windows.

Exactly on point Sir.

Anyone can slap together a shitshack and call it a house but no one here have still shown me a modem 4 bedroom house built to current standard for N2m.

All I'm reading is syllabus materials.

Not even Brabus has shown me a N2m house. Spyder880 showed us a house of mud as a joke.

And some of the others are stroking themselves with anti American sentiments when they need to stop hand wringing and present a building already. Shebi all the brikilas and Okada drivers have them?

Oga Egunmogaji, the Jesus you're looking for is not here "He's Risen"

brabus:
Oga Egunmogaji, the Jesus you're looking for is not here "He's Risen"

Good for him but will he pretty please ask his one of his followers to show me standalone N2m 4 bedroom bungalow?

Thinking of spending 2M in making of a 4bedroom flat is just like trying to plan a day to cry , abinukole that's what such person is, then a lot of questions must be raised with the issues of collapse structures, do they spend the necessary amount on the projects? What happened to the contractor who budgeted certain amount and along the line he realize he should av budgeted more and because of trying to keep up to his budget, he will av to manage things till he gets to the finishing, lots of issues arises after a while , paint peeling off, big cracks on walls, we don't av to gamble on trying to av a structure spending lesser than what mr B spent on his and u coming out to be a super economist, lots of people will keep having issues at the end of the day if u can't leave room for a backup. Good afternoon my ogas in the house, I'm as well learning from your comments sir/ma. Lovely ideas here from everyone and thanks for sharing with us

Please my ogas, what can one do to cracks on POP ceilings? The sitting room looks large and I guess the guy who did it didn't use enough materials to keep it thicker.. I don't condemn people's work but I believe in "your work will speak for you anywhere "

adeekiti:
Thinking of spending 2M in making of a 4bedroom flat is just like trying to plan a day to cry , abinukole that's what such person is, then a lot of questions must be raised with the issues of collapse structures, do they spend the necessary amount on the projects? What happened to the contractor who budgeted certain amount and along the line he realize he should av budgeted more and because of trying to keep up to his budget, he will av to manage things till he gets to the finishing, lots of issues arises after a while , paint peeling off, big cracks on walls, we don't av to gamble on trying to av a structure spending lesser than what mr B spent on his and u coming out to be a super economist, lots of people will keep having issues at the end of the day if u can't leave room for a backup. Good afternoon my ogas in the house, I'm as well learning from your comments sir/ma. Lovely ideas here from everyone and thanks for sharing with us

This is one of the most sensible responses on this subject.

There is a fine lien between saving money and beating ones chest and constructing a sound modern building.

In the automotive arena of which I'm more familiar we have a saying, "Cheap, Fast or Good", pick any two.

I aslo suspect that unsavvy consumers are getting waylaid midstream and asked for more money. So to a consumer N2m will complete the house in his mind because that's what he was told by the pro but in the pros mind he knows he can always adjust as they go along.

Like you I am always learning too but I am from Missouri, the show me state, someone has just got to show me this deal. No one has yet.

spyder880:


Ok, here we go

Just N800k, you go even get change sef

Am planing to build my two bedroom with fire clay bricks. Just watch out for the bad ass structure and finishing.

spyder880:
Who was talking about small plots optimisation? A 4 bedroom house on a plot not up to 300 sqm.

Oga Spyder I like that; I am all for optimization of land.

Hajji M.

adanny01:

You cant eat your cake and have it.
You cant dictate cost and quality at the same time. One has to give. If you must build a N2million house, you must give in to quality. If you must build a house with best quality you must give in to cost.

It was meant to be a joke... look at the mud house we were talking about.

Hajji M.

Sir, it's obvious there can't be such deal of having a 4bedroom flat with 2M, maybe if the cost of materials will drop as we are experiencing in the price of cements but will all the prices of other materials drop too? Someone commented about the prices of water supply on a project which is another factor, as water supply is very important in constructions, now the question is , will borehole or water supply be part of the 2M expenses? There are different issues arising at different construction site And mostly money will be the only way to tackle it, now at the middle of situations the contractor will be waiting for the owner to complain and he will tell the owner, you are getting what you pay for, so who is at fault ? Sir, in the states mos houses are built with what we can't even dare try to use in Nigeria(examples: woods) but yet they have their maintainance often, and when nature attacks either storm or Katrina, they already expect damages when hit, nobody will be blamed as you know what you paid for and the problems to expect. As a contractor there are lots you need to explain to your clients after you serve them what they want, a guide to all u use in making of their homes, nothing needs to be hidden here, as a contractor, spending 2M on a 4bedroom flat is never a risk worth taking at all.

EgunMogaji:


This is one of the most sensible responses on this subject.

There is a fine lien between saving money and beating ones chest and constructing a sound modern building.

In the automotive arena of which I'm more familiar we have a saying, "Cheap, Fast or Good", pick any two.

I aslo suspect that unsay consumers are getting waylaid midstream and asked for more money. So to a consumer N2m will complete the house in his mind because that's what he was told by the pro but in the pros mind he knows he can always adjust as they go along.

Like you I am always learning too but I am from Missouri, the show me state, someone has just got to show me this deal. No one has yet.

adanny01:

I thought he was asking how much more on top of N2m will he require to have those quality of materials in the building.
Am sure he was just being sarcastic.

@adanny01
@Brabus
@Segcymoor

Guys.. please sense of humor... please follow the thread... we were talking about renovating this house below and getting change, but I want to upgrade this mud house with the listed amenities... this is all a joke. Understood?

Hajji M.

mufutau55:


It was meant to be a joke... look at the mud house we were talking about.

Hajji M.

Yea, i know that espcially for you but not EgunMogaji and his partner who seem to be worked up about it.

mufutau55:


It was meant to be a joke... look at the mud house we were talking about.

Hajji M.

sir, There is a particular place in abuja where what they use in building their houses is mud from their lands and they don't even use cement in shoking the blocks they made with that same mud, and after their brick works they can use cement to plaster and they get a great result from it.. When I visited That environs I asked a lot questions and I'm surprise almost all the houses in that environs was made mud with MUDs and some make a good structure from it..

adeekiti:
sir, There is a particular place in abuja where what they use in building their houses is mud from their lands and they don't even use cement in shoking the blocks they made with that same mud, and after their brick works they can use cement to plaster and they get a great result from it.. When I visited That environs I asked a lot questions and I'm surprise almost all the houses in that environs was made mud with MUDs and some make a good structure from it..

My Great-grand-father's house was made with Mud. And it was still standing until few months ago when I instructed them to tear it down.

Hajji M.

mufutau55:


@adanny01
@Brabus
@Segcymoor

Guys.. please sense of humor... please follow the thread... we were talking about renovating this house below and getting change, but I want to upgrade this mud house with the listed amenities... this is all a joke. Understood?

Hajji M.

I read from were the N2m issue started, i understand the jokes and the fights too.

adeekiti:
Thinking of spending 2M in making of a 4bedroom flat is just like trying to plan a day to cry , abinukole that's what such person is, then a lot of questions must be raised with the issues of collapse structures, do they spend the necessary amount on the projects? What happened to the contractor who budgeted certain amount and along the line he realize he should av budgeted more and because of trying to keep up to his budget, he will av to manage things till he gets to the finishing, lots of issues arises after a while , paint peeling off, big cracks on walls, we don't av to gamble on trying to av a structure spending lesser than what mr B spent on his and u coming out to be a super economist, lots of people will keep having issues at the end of the day if u can't leave room for a backup. Good afternoon my ogas in the house, I'm as well learning from your comments sir/ma. Lovely ideas here from everyone and thanks for sharing with us

i said 2.5 million not 2million, i just have to clear that besides it's a proposal i made to other builders to know how feasible they think it is based on concrete cost analysis. i have no stomach to debate issues with anybody based on emotion but so far all the nay sayers haven't pointed out what's wrong with my cost analysis. kolashangone came close but seemingly decided to pull out when he noticed that things are getting emotional rather than logical.

^^^
Getting emotional rather than logical. Interesting!

So my question is "How much does a standard (forget the jaras and effizys) 4 bedroom bungalow in a dry and table flat land cost in your area?"

Use your area as sample and possibly back it up with pictures and other evidences as the case may be.

Who knows someone may benefit from this!

mufutau55:


My Great-grand-father's house was made with Mud. And it was still standing until few months ago when I instructed them to tear it down.

Hajji M.

honestly, we need to make more research in Nigeria and utilize them, some ancient mud house still stands very strong. How can we improve our construction sector today, we all believe we don't live in the past anymore but to our greatest disappointment a lot of modern productions are failing us, but can't we try to develop the use of what was used in the past and merge it with the modern ones. Some foreign countries has been using the wood structures from their past and they develop on it and make a good modernize structure.. Are we there yet? No

adeekiti:
Sir, it's obvious there can't be such deal of having a 4bedroom flat with 2M, maybe if the cost of materials will drop as we are experiencing in the price of cements but will all the prices of other materials drop too? Someone commented about the prices of water supply on a project which is another factor, as water supply is very important in constructions, now the question is , will borehole or water supply be part of the 2M expenses? There are different issues arising at different construction site And mostly money will be the only way to tackle it, now at the middle of situations the contractor will be waiting for the owner to complain and he will tell the owner, you are getting what you pay for, so who is at fault ? Sir, in the states mos houses are built with what we can't even dare try to use in Nigeria(examples: woods) but yet they have their maintainance often, and when nature attacks either storm or Katrina, they already expect damages when hit, nobody will be blamed as you know what you paid for and the problems to expect. As a contractor there are lots you need to explain to your clients after you serve them what they want, a guide to all u use in making of their homes, nothing needs to be hidden here, as a contractor, spending 2M on a 4bedroom flat is never a risk worth taking at all.

i said 2.5million not 2million, please stop saying that and most houses built in this country don't have boreholes. here in the north, local boys can dig a well for you for 25k in labour charge or you can buy water from tankers. i honestly don't want to discuss this issue further.

Sir, I'm not saying you are wrong. But I'm only trying to bring to notice the problems faced everywhere today, we all have our ways of handling things, I'm not a contractor sir but I'm gaining more through everyone's comments and honestly it's been a great priviledge to schooled here on forum like dis. I'm as well learning from your conments sir

abouzaid:
i said 2.5 million not 2million, i just have to clear that besides it's a proposal i made to other builders to know how feasible they think it is based on concrete cost analysis. i have no stomach to debate issues with anybody based on emotion but so far all the nay sayers haven't pointed out what's wrong with my cost analysis. kolashangone came close but seemingly decided to pull out when he noticed that things are getting emotional rather than logical.

abouzaid:
i said 2.5million not 2million, please stop saying that and most houses built in this country don't have boreholes. here in the north, local boys can dig a well for you for 25k in labour charge or you can buy water from tankers. i honestly don't want to discuss this issue further.

sir, can you believe I will put up a post of how much will it cost me to build a 2 bedroom flat and someone will say 1M and the other contractor seeing the post in other to gain the contract, he might bring his own quote lower than the other person and in the middle of the whole thing, he will become Oliver Twist " asking for more"

brabus:
So my question is "How much does a standard (forget the jaras and effizys) 4 bedroom bungalow in a dry and table flat land cost in your area?"

Use your area as sample and possibly back it up with pictures and other evidences as the case may be.

Who knows someone may benefit from this!

that's a question i can only answer when i have built it but I'm rather disappointed with our builders here for their hypocritical attitude because of the way most of them have always played the ostrich whenever issues like this are raised, i remember when i asked the six inches foundation question, it was only you and oga Abdul that sticked their necks out to take a stand even when I'm aware of threads by other builders here who have done the same successfully. simple cost analysis for a house measuring 43x40 has seen them going deaf and dumb while how many blocks can you get from a bag of cement is now a question beyond their knowledge. i comment my reserve for all of them.

brabus:
So my question is "How much does a standard (forget the jaras and effizys) 4 bedroom bungalow in a dry and table flat land cost in your area?"

Use your area as sample and possibly back it up with pictures and other evidences as the case may be.

Who knows someone may benefit from this!

Let me open the floor. Both projects below are Nairaland projects and handed over to their respective owners.

A standard four bedroom bungalow should range between:

3 - 3.5m in Ogijo, Ogun State
3 - 3.5m in Lambe, Akute side
4.5m in Ajah, Lagos State
3m in Owode Yewa, Agbara and environ
2.7 - 3m in Abeokuta, Ogun State
3m in Ile Oluji, Ondo State


Ogijo 4 Bed Bungalow | 2011 - 2014
I've done only one 4 bedroom bungalow as a project for a client but this house cannot be used as yardstick as the total cost of the building is 4.5m

It has the following:

1. 14 X 20' main lounge with a VT
2. 15 X 17' dining
3. A very big kitchen
4. 22 X 22 masters bedroom (ensuite)
5. Drive-in garage with a ramp for the disable. (Clients request)
6. A Big Porch and kitchen terrace
7. Other Rooms at 12 X 15
8. Plot size is 2 plots. Cost includes fencing the 2 plots and gate installation.
9. POP ceiling in all the rooms and living room
10. 0.55 gauge step tiles Aluminium.


Lambe 2 units of 2 bed on 2 floors | 2012
Here's another very close project built in 2012 in Lambe, Ogun State with a build cost of N3.5m

1. 2 units of 2 bed house on 2 floors (masters ensuite)
2. 15 X 12 living room with a balcony
3. 5 X 8 kitchen
4. PVC ceiling
5. Imported sliding Windows
6. Long span 0.45 gauge roofing

There's no need to flood this thread with pictures of these projects. They're on my project thread and the clients are reading also.