EgunMogaji:


I thought I was doing good by doing rural but those bastages found me

Thanks for sharing.

Actually, I was waiting for government authorities to come and enforce building codes in my house, I was waiting with village boys and the instruction was that their vehicle should be seized and the whole government workers detained

How can they come demanding anything from a village without roads? We are our own government there.

brabus:


Met most of them a year after. Do you know the funniest part, I always ask them if they're Muslim or Christian so as to perform foundation prayers on their behalf. It's fun though. Trust me, it's fun.

Your Yankee gifts will definitely come.

In sha Allah.

brabus:

My respect forever goes to one and only Nairaland client who took me by the biggest surprise. I'm sure Hajji Mufutau55 himself won't believe his eyes when he actually sees the guy.

Yeah! I know whom you are talking about... never met him, but we chat on various things almost everyday... even calls me daddy like I am old man, I could not stop him, so I left it alone.. he couldn't wait for me to come to Naija so we can meet... Humble and respectful. Nice guy.

Hajji M.

mufutau55:


Yeah! I know whom you are talking about... never met him, but we chat on various things almost everyday... even calls me daddy like I am old man, I could not stop him, so I left it alone.. he couldn't wait for me to come to Naija so we can meet... Humble and respectful. Nice guy.

Hajji M.

Good that he's not calling you grandpa. He's so humble and I learnt a lot from his lifestyle. I pray you meet him soon. He's humility personified.

Honestly, real money no dey make noise. Na coins dey make the loudest noise.

EgunMogaji:


The work was done by incompetent workers, not because the engineers direct labor wasn't used.

Here, you have different crews working at stages.

Ground preparation crew
Rough plumbing crew
Foundation crew
Framing crew
Roofing crew
Window crew
Plumbing crew
Rough wiring crew
Sheetrock crew
Cabinet crew
Etc

Not required that they know each other because they go off of archie plan.

That model is working for me. The only constant is my bricklayer.

The key is getting good worker.

maybe you are lucky sir...

the truth is that they will be working at cross purpose most time, and since they are not your worker you may not have the capacity to control or corrrect them

twinskenny:


maybe you are lucky sir...

the truth is that they will be working at cross purpose most time, and since they are not your worker you may not have the capacity to control or corrrect them

Well I, at the first hint of any issue, carve out the offending artisan from my project and banish them.

I hope my luck holds out. I also pay them above the negotiated price. My builder also knows he's not safe in case he gets out of line. We've fired each other before and reconciled

twinskenny:



maybe you are lucky sir...

the truth is that they will be working at cross purpose most time, and since they are not your worker you may not have the capacity to control or corrrect them

More like experience vs experimental project. The thing go be like:

Hey you that looks like a very good carpenter, how much is your bill? You'll work for me... At the end of the day, he performed woefully. Next day! Hey you that looks strong like tornado nail. My oracle recommended and picked you... Next day... And the next day!

And yet my project looks good and gets compliment from anyone that's been onsite and online

No rework, no parade of builders taking corrective actions.

I don't pick my workers out of thin air, they come highly reccomended

Now I have a few pictures of work that's be done by $1m builders though

Nothing beats experimenting on your own dime, just don't do it with clients money.

A while back, there was a showdown between quarry contractors and quarry owners.

What was the resolution?

Is this house in Nigeria for real? If so what's the story on it?

EgunMogaji:


Well I, at the first hint of any issue, carve out the offending artisan from my project and banish them.

I hope my luck holds out. I also pay them above the negotiated price. My builder also knows he's not safe in case he gets out of line. We've fired each other before and reconciled

Lol, your builder is really trying. Hope you not rendering him incapacitated Sir?

44chux:


Warri asks for millions because you waited for the jobless youth to confront you on ur site.

If you go to the family head or his rep prior to commencement of project, each payment is usually between 20k to 200k per stage (foundation, decking & roofing) depending on the area. Some areas demand u use their engr/builder/workers hence u additionally use between 100k to 200k for total cut-off.

The youths are usually angry when u do this but all they can do is beg and beg for crumbs. The problem is when u give one group any token, they tell they next group so they can come beg their own so the best is to buy drinks for everyone to drink and go.

Segzy14 used the wrongdoor thats why the problem. He is even fortunate coz I have seen where one group was settled and because they refused to share the funds with another group they just came and knocked down the building.

If I have time later on I will post family receipts for some 2016 projects including this one am about to start.

Firstly, it is not my responsibility to settle with the youths but that of my client.

The client's representative met with the youth prior before starting , they even met with their head but the head said client rep. should settle with youth.

Oga, you are not being sincere about the total cut-off, I can tell u that I have two other owners(where I made enquiries) in the same estate in Warri who paid 1M naira and 1.5M naira for total cut-off and these owners are all indigene of Warri.

@ segzy14, if I may ask "What are you cutting off?"

brabus:
@ segzy14, if I may ask "What are you cutting off?"

We dey cut them off the site, it could be total or partial cut-off

segzy14:


We dey cut them off the site, it could be total or partial cut-off

We learn each day. How madam? If client ask you to handle this, how you go come write this for your estimate "Owo partial cut-off and Owo full cut-off"

P291:
Lol, your builder is really trying. Hope you not rendering him incapacitated Sir?

Not at all, we have a good working relationship and has gotten other work through me.

I'm a good and fair person and a straight shooter.

If we can only learn to treat others the way we would like to be treated then Nigeria will be great again.

Please remember that I said I mostly used his crew or reccomended crew but I pay market rate. Builder can use his crew but price is market price. It's a win win, he gets people he can brow beat and my wallet stays afloat.

brabus:


We learn each day. How madam? If client ask you to handle this, how you go come write this for your estimate "Owo partial cut-off and Owo full cut-off"

Madam and my daughter is fine.

I go write am for estimate but I go leave the space for naira blank, lol.

Anyway, I have decided to do lagos only cos the wahala is three much sef.

brabus:

Good that he's not calling you grandpa. He's so humble and I learnt a lot from his lifestyle. I pray you meet him soon. He's humility personified.
Honestly, real money no dey make noise. Na coins dey make the loudest noise.

I know what you mean... and your name for him... "Small body, big engine".

Hajji M.

segzy14:


Madam and my daughter is fine.

I go write am for estimate but I go leave the space for naira blank, lol.

Anyway, I have decided to do lagos only cos the wahala is three much sef.

The bolded is the most important thing.
You don decide like me to do Lagos only. Haa! What if the pay is very attractive? For now, nothing changes my 20km radius decision.

Even my junior bro (here on Nairaland) who wants to build in Ibadan was recommended a builder who lives within his project jurisdiction and an architect who sabi his onions (both on Nairaland).

However, if you must work outta town, let it be to consult only and clearly spell out your terms and conditions in black and white (especially the financial part).

brabus:


This is the most important thing.
You don decide like me to do Lagos only. Haa! What if the pay is very attractive? For now, nothing changes my 20km radius decision.

Even my junior bro (here on Nairaland) who wants to build in Ibadan was recommended a builder who lives within his project jurisdiction and an architect who sabi his onions (both on Nairaland).

However, if you must work outta town, let it be to consult only and clearly spell out your terms and conditions in black and white (especially the financial part).

Na so ooo, I have been offered two jobs in p.h, another one in Benin but I told them nope.

mufutau55:


I know what you mean... and your name for him... "Small body, big engine".

Hajji M.

For Brabus to turn "Ayinde Erin" to dey sing praises of one person... He get as he be.

I'll forever cherish the moments shared with him. I learnt a lot from this young man and I really wish many people will be like him.

I've met many good men on Nairaland but he came as a rude shock. I used to believe that Owo t'omode ba koko ri, akara lo maa fi nje"

Baba Agba, let me stop here. You'll meet him one day. He's well raised and I pray God will continue to bless him.

segzy14:


Na so ooo, I have been offered two jobs in p.h, another one in Benin but I told them nope.

Let me tell you a true life story.

I was doing a very beautiful (when builder say beautiful it means good money) project. Then a client beckons me to come and build for him several miles away from my ongoing work.
At first, I was reluctant to take up the job but the circumstance through which the good project came was through the client who wants me outta town. This explains the reason why emotion should not mix with business decisions. "If I didn't go, he will feel bad"

I decided that I'll push my good project to a good stage and delegate duties to my guys while I start the new job. I map out the plans and everything look so good on paper and proceeded into a 5 months journey into unfamiliar terrain where site challenges were not only enormous but a hard but to crack.

To cut the long story short, the owner of the good project was calling me to shift attention to their project which is at a very critical point. Meanwhile, I've also pushed the other project to the same level and thought it's better I finish the project out of town first with the hope that the good project guys will understand.

In the end... Guess what happened.


Good project in this case is a project that gave me N4.5m profit on carcass only within 3 months.

The work outta town costs 20m (material, labour & supervision) and it took 5 months to complete. Within that 5 months I lost contact with all my prospects and was busy doing remote/telephone support for critical sites. I had to pay travel costs of over 100 workers (Professional renderers, carpenters, electrician, POP, Aluminium guy, door fitters, and support guys) working on the project. Isn't that crazy?

End of story.

segzy14:


Na so ooo, I have been offered two jobs in p.h, another one in Benin but I told them nope.

I'm glad to see you guys becoming choosy with work selection.

Your core business principle that makes you unique, not a one time or one off deal, must be scalable before you can take work out if your primary zone.

I just don't see how anyone can offer quality supervision work when projects are spread all over the country.

An astute decision.

Memejem:
Is this a finished job? im weighing the pros and cons of using terazzo floors on a building project and those pictures you posted the floors aren't polished. Im worried that i will not be able to find skilled workers who can finish the terazzo floors to the finishing I would like in a home project. although quite expensive, terazzo floor are very durable if done correctly.

i don't know if i've replied this before.. but,
Its not a finished job..
Also, There are 3 stages in the polishing of Terrazzo. In order to minimize cost, we only do one or two stages these days..
If you can afford it, you can ask for even a 4th stage polishing.

Can someone tell me the quality of the roofing wood called "Orindudu".
Thank you.

Hajji M.

segzy14:


Na so ooo, I have been offered two jobs in p.h, another one in Benin but I told them nope.

Bros,

Lovely states to carry out construction works are Abuja, Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ijebu, some part in Oyo, Osun, Anambara, Enugu, ilorin, Ikoyi(very interesting), V.I, lekki ph1, Calabar

The worst(very deadly)
Ikorodu, Ikotun, Okokomaiko-Badagry, Bariga, Oshodi, Iyana-paja, Sango- Ifo, PH, Benin, Warri, Onisha, Ibadan.

Benin&PH, slangs "u won die"
Ikorodu, u feell thernocool by your chek. Immediately Igbo in the air. 30,000 owo wa da what you will hear. Call police on your own.

mufutau55:
Can someone tell me the quality of the roofing wood called "Orindudu".
Thank you.

Hajji M.

Very good dominat in Abeokuta.
Kokoigbo dominat in ijebu.
Itara dominat in Oyo & Osun

All these wood are good.

Chekitaut:
Very good dominat in Abeokuta.
Kokoigbo dominat in ijebu.
Itara dominat in Oyo & Osun

All these wood are good.

Thanks Brother...

Hajji M.

Chekitaut:
Very good dominat in Abeokuta.
Kokoigbo dominat in ijebu.
Itara dominat in Oyo & Osun

All these wood are good.

What about Ogudu and Iroko?

Thanks.

Add Ayetoro to that list

Chekitaut:
Bros,

Lovely states to carry out construction works are Abuja, Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ijebu, some part in Oyo, Osun, Anambara, Enugu, ilorin, Ikoyi(very interesting), V.I, lekki ph1, Calabar

The worst(very deadly)
Ikorodu, Ikotun, Okokomaiko-Badagry, Bariga, Oshodi, Iyana-paja, Sango- Ifo, PH, Benin, Warri, Onisha, Ibadan.

Benin&PH, slangs "u won die"
Ikorodu, u feell thernocool by your chek. Immediately Igbo in the air. 30,000 owo wa da what you will hear. Call police on your own.

Onuokwu:


If that works for you, well....

I allow the engineer to use his own workers for better co-ordination and control. Before that i would have done a market survey and as such will negotiate the labour charges and infact materials costs vigorously within a fair range that does not compromise what i want to achieve. After that i hold the engineer strictly to quality standards and delivery of milestones.

Some of these guys, especially the daily paid ones are a different kettle of fish and by the time you realize to fire them, its at great cost to you. My first build was nearly messed up, took longer time than necessary and i eventually traced this down to imposing people on the engineer to supervise while not being physically available myself. Again i had to spend countless hours mediating and intervening as these different sets can be on site and not talk to each other but will be doing their own thing.

Spyder, Abdulwastex and et al. I believe you have been to my project thread and you have read about the issue between myself and the engineer that was handling my project. It is this same exact situation whereby I agreed to use his workers for my project. After paying him almost 80% of the negotiated fees for electrician and plumber labour, I was left biting my fingers as they abandoned the work. I gave the engineer enough time to convince his workers to return to site to finish the work but all to no avail. I had to fire him and now paid substantial amount to hire new workers (please ask Rotech who eventually completed the plumbing work).

You may want to say I can't use my case to generalize which may be true but all I am saying is clients should not position themselves to be in my situation. I have learnt my lessons and next time I will do things differently. In an ideal situation where the engineer and his workers agree to whatever the client can pay (after the client has done his own market survey and know what price is fair to all parties) then by all means the engineer's workers should be used. Refer to my earlier post where I mentioned that the engineer's workers should be given chance to refuse the work first (most times this is based on divergent view on fees).

If you must use the engineer workers, there must be some form of visibility on how these workers are being paid. If the engineer does not pay them their fee they will abandon your work and you will be the one to cough out another payment if you don't want to delay your project.

EgunMogaji:


Not at all, we have a good working relationship and has gotten other work through me.

I'm a good and fair person and a straight shooter.

If we can only learn to treat others the way we would like to be treated then Nigeria will be great again.

Please remember that I said I mostly used his crew or reccomended crew but I pay market rate. Builder can use his crew but price is market price. It's a win win, he gets people he can brow beat and my wallet stays afloat.

Thanks EgunMogaji. This is the point I have been trying to make but I guess folks read another meaning to it. If the engineer's workers would accept a fair market rate why won't I use them? But where wahala go dey is if the workers supplied by the engineer are insisting on throat cutting wages then I won't have any other choice but to look for other competent workers. If the engineer refuses to work with the new workers then he can leave my project. My argument has always been "the engineer workers are not the only competent workers in Nigeria". The only advantage of using his workers is mostly for coordination and better work relationship that have been developed over the years.