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Discuss Anything Property And Lets Make Money In The Process / Residential Building Construction Mistakes In Nigeria You Need To Avoid / General Topic Thread - The Roforofo Thread Of Construction Activities (2) (3) (4)
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Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 11:46pm On May 12, 2016 |
@ brag3, I knew the terrain but there was no single water on the land when we were doing the foundation till completion of the raft. It was after DPC that we discovered that there's water coming from the neighbours building and in fact it was non stop. It seems like an overflowing dam. They seem not to have a sump for all their waste waters and choose to bury pipes underground my clients land. Till date I doubt if the neighbour have dig a sump for their waste water. How did I know? There's no single water coming from the house into the community gutter. Everything goes into the ground. Even when we were looking for the source of water on the site. They never bothered to tell us until we discovered it ourselves. How many more of this do we know that's underground? If you observe from the pic of the building I posted, the house was been sandfilled even before I completed the ground floor block work. I've proposed that a ditch dug instantly between the fence of the neighbour and the building in question to intercept all water coming from the neighbours side into the land and redirect it to a larger drainage some distance away but this was not done instead laterite fillings were brought to site and abokis under the supervision of my clients bro we backfilling the foundation. It didn't took a long time before the dammed up water soaked up the laterite. Now, if you go back to the thread you'll read where the client said if it's not that I'm extremely a calm person that we wouldn't have survived it long because while we were busy doing the ground works, he was just not seeing why it's taking so long. The same happened when I was complaining that the right fix to stop water from hitting the foundation be applied before overloading the structure, he wasn't seeing the need for it. As I was proposing on site, I was updating the thread online about the different challenges and the proposed fix. Not a single one was done. That was the reason why I stopped work at decking. Too unfortunate again, the client went ahead to call some secondary school boys to take over the first floor block work and they raised the walls on the structure this adding more load without the fix. https://www.nairaland.com/1338637/chateau-ile-oluji-construction-journal/43#20504485 Pls note: 1. Sandfilling was done without me been around. 2. Backfilling of the compound was done without me. 3. First floor block work done without me. 4. Fence and drainage done without me. 5. Roofing woodwork done without me. Even a 2m high foundation in a terrain that is constantly wet will sink and tilt faster than imagine if there's no proper drainage and adequate measure to channel off the water off the building is done. https://www.nairaland.com/1338637/chateau-ile-oluji-construction-journal/44#20528892 |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by olumide4christ: 11:53pm On May 12, 2016 |
n3xt: The site situation is so serious....this reminds me of a thread I started earlier this year which talks about choosing lands meant for construction wisely https://www.nairaland.com/2954604/beware-buying-these-lands-may#43219226 Honestly Nairalanders, this issue is critical...it could make or mar one's dreams and investments if not heeded to. Purchasing the wrong type of lands would always increase construction costs. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 12:09am On May 13, 2016 |
The building in question was 1m higher than the natural ground level at completion of the DPC that we had to use planks to climb into the building. I can remember the first day the wife of the client visited she cannot enter into the building and the client had to back her on the platform provided. What ate up the foundation? Uncontrolled water dammed up on the land.
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Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by abdulwastecx(m): 12:15am On May 13, 2016 |
n3xt: The height of the foundation is adequate. The major problem is settlement which result from water entering the foundation. The solution now is how to divert water away from at least 3m away from the foundation perimeter 1 Like |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 12:24am On May 13, 2016 |
abdulwastecx: Thanks. Take a look at the height of foundation during decking and parapet stage where I stopped work so that right fix can be applied before continuation. Also take a look at the water coming into the foundation. It's not rain o. If it's rain, the foundation will be wet. It was just like a dam was opened and water from nowhere besiege the site. All works done between mid-Decemeber 2013 and mid-January 2014 and it rained only once. The solution has always been to divert water away from the property. No other fix I know!
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Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 12:37am On May 13, 2016 |
A 5 board fence raft that subside in Graceland estate, Ishashi due uncontrolled water.
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Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by abdulwastecx(m): 1:58am On May 13, 2016 |
mavverick: |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by abdulwastecx(m): 1:59am On May 13, 2016 |
mavverick:Oga I no fit na lol... I will get back to you on Whatsapp sir |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 2:23am On May 13, 2016 |
@ QC1 baba, sometimes last year you wrote this Qc1:https://www.nairaland.com/2486191/ikorodu-mansion-diy-report/2#36484247 Baba, the bolded part is one of the major mistakes you're doing while trying to fix this problem. The more load you impose while trying to raise your DPC, the faster the building continue to sink. There are times the person you really don't want to hear might be the person who has the right solution to your problem. You agree the foundation sank, right? Would it have been different if the foundation is 10 boards? NO! It'll only take much longer time but the problem will still remain and the worse part is that the building can even tilt. Qc1: I thank God you heeded my advice to do underpinning the last time I visited the site (after January 2014) when I saw how fast the building is settling. I told you, no roof until the settlement is stopped and thank God you allowed me to implement the fix and it yielded a positive result. It stopped the settlement. I went ahead to suggest other things that needed to be done but nothing was said about it. I wonder why you agreed with me that time to implement the underpinning fix as recommended and carried out by my men to stop the sinking. I saw a bigger challenge then and proposed a fix but you saw a man who is after 50k egunje from a carpenter when I could have just move in to the site to roof the house just like every other tradespeople who have been patronizing the structure yet unable to recommend a good fix. Even though it was just only one visit in 2 years. I was able to spot and correct a major problem. Since then, I just heard again from you. Whether you choose to adopt them or not, I won't stop throwing the advices from here. It's all about finding solutions. ________ Bros, again the damn fence on the left must carry a very big drain or require you digging a big trench to collect all waters before channeling them down to the govt drainage because that side has always been the receiving end and that's where the larger water comes from. Interestingly, this fix doesn't have to be overly expensive. You can use earthbag to construct the trench and fill with construction wastes and Rubbles or sharp sands. And a V-ditch on the right side to about 1.2m depth is very necessary. This will take care of any leaky pipes and re-routed pipes directinbf water into your foundation. You're not living there yet so you can't tell what might have happened overnight especially now that your building has been fenced out. In a waterlogged terrain or flood zones, the fix is never ending. You need to constantly monitor the water level; clear the drainages; observe; check and check everything.
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Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Qc1(m): 6:46am On May 13, 2016 |
n3xt: It's like you don't get it! I DO NOT NEED ANY DAMN ADVICE, I NEED A FIX !!! DON'T STAY HERE AND GIMME A LOAD OF CRAP, GO THERE TO FIX IT! 1 Like |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 6:51am On May 13, 2016 |
Qc1: Ok. Ikorodu, Here I come again. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by skimanski(m): 7:04am On May 13, 2016 |
Hmmm!!! These pictures are just too scary. These land looks like an erosion settlement. I'm not sure the soil is good enough to hold your house, regardless of the water that flows in from drains. You better go an do a soil test before trouble shooting blindly. Because if the land is as bad as it looks to me, in simple English, your house will keep on trying to find a steady soil surface underneath the ground to stand on, that will cause it sinking further until it finds it. Once you do a soil test, and find where the steady soil is, then a professional can give u a proper solution. I highly doubt that your major problem is that water coming into your land. Just go and do a soil test first. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Nobody: 7:12am On May 13, 2016 |
skimanski: Skimanksi, a question Sir. I've seen where they lifted a complete house here with hydraulic jacks to redo the foundation, of course it wasn't cheap but it was an historic home. So, say QC1 does a soil test and finds that the soil is bad, now what? Can it really be remedied? Just curious from a Nigeria perspective. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 7:44am On May 13, 2016 |
@ Skimanski, I completely understand your point about soil test. And also I'm actually responding to this in case there are people who might be experiencing a similar situation so as to know exactly what causes and how best you can fix the problem. Before anything, let's do a simple diagnosis or try to recreate the problem. You can't fix what you don't understand. Let's put a ball in bowl filled with sand up to 1/2 of the bowl and water up to 1/4 of the bowl. The ball will stay despite having water underneath the sand. Now, let's start to apply pressure (put more loads in case of structure) on the ball. The sand will witness upward lift on all sides. Again, let's start to put more water without a drain off point up to 3/4 of the bowl, what happens the ball will be lifted. Now, if the ball is under a pressure that suppresses the upward lift, water will find a way into the structure through cracks and holes on the slab. Now, let's do the same experiments using granite as the base, if water level continues to increase in the bowl, there may be uplift or total disconnection of the footing from the bearing soil. I hope this simple analogy will make any meaning to us now to be able to diagnose the problem and the fixes. But just like you rightly recommended, I think an independent water/foundation expert should take a look and recommend a fix. I believe it can be fixed. It just shouldn't be too long and work must stop at least for the time being. _______ As it is, the ponding water is causing upward lift of the slab. That's the reason why water is found in the building and not outside because the slab is resisting the water. Such a challenge can only be fixed by reducing the water level or keeping an eye on the flood level. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Qc1(m): 8:04am On May 13, 2016 |
n3xt: The only thing left to complete the house is tiling, painting and the washrooms. At this point that I'm broke, I don't want to sleep anywhere else but in this house. I'm thinking to finish at least the guest room and the ante room for now to move in. This will be enough for me for a while. Bosun should go there and at least have a look because the community have developed more then the last time he was there. Moreover, I will like to say that the house directly in front of me does not have any problem like mine. The first pic shows the water problem (left side, the same side in Bosun pic in his previous pic)) of the house,As you can see that I'm standing on this same side in the 2nd pic.which means will have to construct his ditch on this side, if he choose to do the right thing, the last pic shows the front view. All this pic was taken this February 2016.
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Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 8:17am On May 13, 2016 |
@ Qc1 Can we take this to private chat? Who will be at the site? Also have you been able to complete your septic tank? Cos I may need it for a different purpose. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Qc1(m): 8:33am On May 13, 2016 |
n3xt: The septic tank is just as in the pic above. Not completed. If you want a private chat I see why not! |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 8:37am On May 13, 2016 |
I'll visit but I'm tempted to ask this question bros. What part of the house is that? Is it the private lounge? Or the guest bedroom? Or the main lounge? The private lounge at the void section and guest bedroom are highly susceptible based on what I saw during my last visit. Especially the guest bedroom. From the last pictures, I know you won't have such issue in the kitchen, dining and the bedrooms at the back. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Qc1(m): 8:42am On May 13, 2016 |
n3xt: I'm thinking settling in the guest room/ante room since it's the most affected in the house. I'm not trying to put any weight, just the painting and tiles. The kitchen and beyond is not effected, as you can see fro the pic posted already. Don't forget that the DPC on those part were a block high as it was designed. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 8:48am On May 13, 2016 |
Qc1: I guess as much cos those areas were stepped down by one board. And I am not leaving out the possibility of seepage or water ingress from the wall. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Qc1(m): 8:52am On May 13, 2016 |
n3xt: Those pics were of resent, If you want to go there and do your ditch, the time is now. Moreover, it wont hurt you to go there yourself! |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 9:05am On May 13, 2016 |
Qc1: I'll be there. I just need to get more info. I'm sure you know nobody can do better explanation than yourself cos we're both in it from the beginning. And you'll understand everything I'm saying faster than anyone else. If the picture you posted yesterday is from any of those two areas mentioned (private lounge or guest bedroom, or underneath the stairwell, let me congratulate you and ask you to put your mind at rest. Those areas have already gone beyond flood level when I last visited and that's What made me to quickly suggest underpinning. So if you're seeing water in those areas, I can understand. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Qc1(m): 9:11am On May 13, 2016 |
n3xt: YES to the bolded. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by n3xt(m): 9:26am On May 13, 2016 |
Qc1: Ok. If that's the case, the fix been applied is not the final solution. The walls equally need to be replaced with impermeable solutions 600mm down the DPC and 600mm above the DPC. I saw blocks and slurry concrete in one of the fixes done. That won't work. Anything that will not allow water to flow is what we need. Meanwhile, let me check and see what I can come up with after my visit. Thanks for your understanding bro. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Qc1(m): 9:34am On May 13, 2016 |
n3xt: Well...go there and check it out. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by mavverick: 10:22am On May 13, 2016 |
Bosun, Please go there and check it out, remember I put please at the beginning of my sentence. I think things will just be straight forward that way, let us see the solutions you are proposing, document it and include proper pictures of the situation right now, not that of 2/3 years ago. Its the least QC1 deserves from you, remember that once upon a time the 2 of you were business partners with a common goal, you cant now turn away during the time of need. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by mavverick: 10:31am On May 13, 2016 |
The idea of using hydraulic jacks is probably possible in the western world, but I doubt it in Nija. * Floors are suspended wooden floors not the Nigerian concrete decking. So the weight is lighter. * Foundation is shallow, so its easy to dig underneath and suspend the building on a stilt or jack it up. Good luck trying this in Nija, even Mallam hand self may not help. * In the western world, they have such machinery. With my little construction knowledge, I think keeping water away from the foundation and perhaps underpinning with a strong mix of concrete would be one thing to look at, What they do in the western world is lift up the floor board (wood, so even me self can do it in a day), then inject concrete mix into the foundation to make the foundation stronger, this is what they call underpinning. Here, subsidence issues are mainly caused by water ingress into the foundation by say broken water pipes or vegetation growing under the building/around the foundation thereby sucking out the moisture of the soil under the foundation and causing cracks, this in turn causes the building to move as the layman calls it. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by jeftalene(m): 10:45am On May 13, 2016 |
mavverick: Thanks Mavverick for putting my article forward to enlighten people.
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Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by agarawu23(m): 11:17am On May 13, 2016 |
Quack engineers everywhere. https://www.nairaland.com/3102738/shopping-complex-collapses-itoku-abeokuta I will rada put "baba mufu" with 30 years of experience in my site than some engineers that will be blowing grammar I don't understand. |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by 4nobody4every1: 11:24am On May 13, 2016 |
agarawu23:Hahahaha, l can supervise your site if you are ready to pay me good money, mind you, before we start, you will sign an agreement with me, deposit 90% of the fund in my account, you must not question my professional competence all through the project, l will deliver your building within 90 days, if you agree, drop your number here and lets take it from there, Lol, just kidding with you , you have a point though ![]() ![]() ![]() Lol @ the bold, l wont blow big grammar, l will get hausa, igbo, french, Japanese, Arabic, yoruba interpreters to explain to you in whatever language of your choice ![]() ![]() |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by 3strikes: 11:27am On May 13, 2016 |
QC1 and brabus am glad to see you guys are working towards getting a solution for this problem. This is how things are suppose to be handled in the first place rather than trying to proof points. Our Naija folks lack customer service skills. No empathy or sympathy. Yes! You can be very good in winning arguments but always remember that a lot of potential clients are reading your comments online and they will be asking themselves the following: do I want to be treated like these customers? Who wants to work with a builder who is known for leaving his clients hanging when things dont go as planned just to proof a point? Let us not forget to research why oyinbo people usually say customers are always right.. 6 Likes |
Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by mavverick: 11:55am On May 13, 2016 |
Osaz Since you wrote the article, any chance you can cost your solution for us, with the piles around 3/4 metres apart since 6m apart is too much. Plot size is 60 x 120. Soil is typical Lekki terrain. jeftalene: |
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