signature2012:


You really broke it down in pieces with this your explainantion,thank you so much.

This would have been the best option,but no one on ground to do it for him.

Thanks so much for your contribution sir.Please what was the cost of the toilet sit you posted when you got it?

This matter of not having a trusted person on the ground is always an issue for all of us diasporan.

I paid N70,000 for the set which is about $200 which is pricey even for USA but once I saw it then I had to have it. Killed two birds with one stone. (1) Bought something artful and most importantly (2) Rewarded local/foreign manufacturer who made an investment in the economy.

nwaorlu:
I have a question for anyone with experience in building. For outside crack wall tiles, is the Spanish ones that much superior to Chinese to warrant more than N1000 per sqm. Have any one used Nigeria or China outside crack wall previously? What is the outcome? Did it change color? Was there Algae growth on it? I would appreciate any feedback you can provide. Thanks

Spanish is the most superior & costly. Chinese tiles shines alot & tend to look childish to most people. But personally i recommend nigeria tiles if u can't afford spanish for clients. nigeria tiles looks more mature than chinese to me. Spanish wall tiles cost sha, i no fit lie

signature2012:
Hello gurus in the house.kindly help me go through this quotation,is for a friend here in US.He feels the electrician who is also same as the plumber wants to cheat him.
The building is 3 bedroom ,3 bathroom and 1 living room.

others who have knowledge about this,thanks.

This your plumber sef. Why are some quote horizontal, others vertical. The plumbing is fair. You may even spend a little more for fittings sef.

oyb:


imho, the electrician is your average naija technician - learned by rote, never upgraded, dismissive of new technology, has 'years of experience'.
when someone is talking about running coax [antenna] cable everywhere in 2017



this is why i keep asking for the drawing. most people i know who have money or who are based abroad want as much replication of western creature comforts as possible. some even want technology that i am not certain will work here seamlessly.

Well if we see the electrical plan then it's our luck.
Let's just wait till that time.

I do not consider a novice of any client who could afford #4M to 25M to put up a carcass of any structure.
Any thing to be done that comes after the carcass then the client should have an input and the contractor afterwards can come up to speed with whatever that is trendy.

signature2012:




This would have been the best option,but no one on ground to do it for him.


Thanks so much for your contribution sir.Please what was the cost of the toilet sit you posted when you got it?

If no one is on ground, he should put it off. There is no rush. He can send the money down and the electrician will end up buying cheap Chinese wires (if conduit wiring). When the house eventually goes up in flames, it becomes penny wise pound foolish. There are some aspects of a house one shouldn't delegate. He can take a week to fly down and back.

\

InvertedHammer:


[b]If no one is on ground, he should put it off. There is no rush. [/b]He can send the money down and the electrician will end up buying cheap Chinese wires (if conduit wiring). When the house eventually goes up in flames, it becomes penny wise pound foolish. There are some aspects of a house one shouldn't delegate. He can take a week to fly down and back.

\

But then the bastard children of property section might abuse him of being a "one block a year" builder

signature2012:


You really broke it down in pieces with this your explainantion,thank you so much.

This would have been the best option,but no one on ground to do it for him.


Thanks so much for your contribution sir.Please what was the cost of the toilet sit you posted when you got it?

is there any professional attached to the project - architect, builder, contractor?

someone who can make a proper proposal for your friend?

how has the project been executed to date?

EgunMogaji:


But then the bastard children of property section might abuse him of being a "one block a year" builder

LOL.



What do you care? LOL.

signature2012:
Hello gurus in the house.kindly help me go through this quotation,is for a friend here in US.He feels the electrician who is also same as the plumber wants to cheat him.
The building is 3 bedroom ,3 bathroom and 1 living room.

Cc twinskenny
EgunMogaji
Timtol
Mufutau55
Daboomb
Oyb
InvertedHammer and others who have knowledge about this,thanks.

The electrician gave u average market price but no conduit pipe in the electrical quote and also how many number of ways is distribution board he is buying cos 5000naira is too small for a very good distribution board in the market. if am to analyse it, 3bedroom flat will have;

4 AC (4circuit)
3 water heater (3circuit)
Cooker control Unit (1circuit)
lighting of the whole house 2(circuit)
socket of the whole house (2circuit)

in total making 12breakers in all

is either he procure 12ways SPN(single phase) DB
or
4-ways TPN(three phase) DB

EgunMogaji:

But then the bastard children of property section might abuse him of being a "one block a year" builder

I thought "they have all left the building".

Hajji M.

snakebeat:

Spanish is the most superior & costly. Chinese tiles shines alot & tend to look childish to most people. But personally i recommend nigeria tiles if u can't afford spanish for clients. nigeria tiles looks more mature than chinese to me. Spanish wall tiles cost sha, i no fit lie

Thanks for the reply. I have been told by many tiles dealer that Nigeria/China crack tiles wear off quickly as compare to Spanish crack tiles. How fast I don't know.

signature2012:
Hello gurus in the house.kindly help me go through this quotation,is for a friend here in US.He feels the electrician who is also same as the plumber wants to cheat him.
The building is 3 bedroom ,3 bathroom and 1 living room.

Cc twinskenny
EgunMogaji
Timtol
Mufutau55
Daboomb
Oyb
InvertedHammer and others who have knowledge about this,thanks.

Cheat Him ??
How much does your friend consider a fair cost for running the whole electrical for a three bedroom, all rooms en suite flat?


Don't be deceived, the quote and possibly the "electrician" fall short by a long mile.

Get a “REAL” professional or a seasoned technician who knows what he’s doing. Not people who tell you what you want to hear, or just give you a quote you feel is gentle on your pocket. That choice can cost you greatly in the future. If you are confident in the skill of this person, Negotiate a fair labour price and request a 'standard' bill of materials which you can buy to your taste, keeping in mind the need for quality. buy one item a year if that is what it takes to give you a sound job and peace of mind. There is no sense in rush if you are rushing in the wrong direction.

As a side note , It is not wise to put too much pressure on an artisan for a cheap job. They have mouths to feed and would sometimes be forced to do whatever it takes to keep the job, Often to your own detriment. So Strike a Balance with bargaining . I just hope your friend is not the one unknowingly forcing the electrician to give him unrealistic quantities and prices.

With the mention of stablok fuses I am sure the Distribution board is in place. Take a look at the board and make sure it’s a good one(VERY IMPORTANT).
By the way, D-Boards usually come complete with the fuses/breakers so I’m guessing the guy just billed 5k to make some quick cash (unless you guys elected to buy the board without the fuses at the time, which is very unlikely)
5k cannot buy you 12 pcs of any good stablok fuse.

twinskenny:




the quote for the electrical is perfect sir.. those fittings and cable prices are okay..

Please Don’t describe this as perfect.

Even a novice should spot the irregularities with just a skim.

How in God’s green earth can he run twelve 13 amps single sockets, five 13a double sockets, five 15amps sockets, and one cooker control unit (23 power points !!) in four or more different locations, with just two coils of 2.5mm and one coil of 1 mm green !

If 16mm copper sells @ N78,000-N82,000 for a coil of 100 metres , how can he buy per metre or yard at N500

Even the number of coils of 1mm is very unrealistic for thirty lighting points!

The problem with playing to the gallery is it can be very misleading to a novice client, and can embolden him in a mistake.

If the guy in question is made to see the above quote as a benchmark for what is fair, it becomes a problem. Because when a better technician who intends to do a better job gives a standard quote, it’ll appear inflated or excessive since he already considers this a “perfect” Bill of Material. And will be looking for something within the region

oyb:


strange.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddiy&field-keywords=socket+outlet

thats a link to amazon uk socket outlets

we use british standards - which is why i said amazon uk. its the same catalogs one uses to order

Your explanation is quite impressive.. kudos air

allCopacetic:


Cheat Him ??
How much does your friend consider a fair cost for running the whole electrical for a three bedroom, all rooms en suite flat?


Don't be deceived, the quote and possibly the "electrician" fall short by a long mile.

Get a “REAL” professional or a seasoned technician who knows what he’s doing. Not people who tell you what you want to hear, or just give you a quote you feel is gentle on your pocket. That choice can cost you greatly in the future. If you are confident in the skill of this person, Negotiate a fair labour price and request a 'standard' bill of materials which you can buy to your taste, keeping in mind the need for quality. buy one item a year if that is what it takes to give you a sound job and peace of mind. There is no sense in rush if you are rushing in the wrong direction.

As a side note , It is not wise to put too much pressure on an artisan for a cheap job. They have mouths to feed and would sometimes be forced to do whatever it takes to keep the job, Often to your own detriment. So Strike a Balance with bargaining . I just hope your friend is not the one unknowingly forcing the electrician to give him unrealistic quantities and prices.

With the mention of stablok fuses I am sure the Distribution board is in place. Take a look at the board and make sure it’s a good one(VERY IMPORTANT).
By the way, D-Boards usually come complete with the fuses/breakers so I’m guessing the guy just billed 5k to make some quick cash (unless you guys elected to buy the board without the fuses at the time, which is very unlikely)
5k cannot buy you 12 pcs of any good stablok fuse.

Bros Thank you for the bolded. I have been Singing that Tone all my Career Life. I know its difficult, but we should learn the habit of Holding that Divide between what we want to hear and what we need to hear.

skimanski:



Bros Thank you for the bolded. I have been Singing that Tone all my Career Life. I know its difficult, but we should learn the habit of Holding that Divide between what we want to hear and what we need to hear.

The building industry needs to come up with a pricing structure.

This will help greatly.

EgunMogaji:


The building industry needs to come up with a pricing structure.

This will help greatly.

Nigeria as a country is not Soundly structured enough to have a functioning Pricing system. Until it does, we have to continue with our own functions systems.

and Bros note. This are very expensive in this Locations that we say have pricing structures than in Nigeria.

nwaorlu:



Thanks for the reply. I have been told by many tiles dealer that Nigeria/China crack tiles wear off quickly as compare to Spanish crack tiles. How fast I don't know.

Not that fast, they still last.

I need help on estimation of building materials needed up to the lintel level. Thanks

EgunMogaji:


The building industry needs to come up with a pricing structure.

This will help greatly.

i dont really do jumia konga etal in nigeria, but the great thing i have found about them is that you can use them to get a fair idea of the prices of a lot of things [electrical though] and from there, you can track down the contacts of the sellers .

their presence has really boosted online retailing. so today, by doing a google search - eg led panel lagos, solar inverter lagos - stamped concrete lagos you can find your way to websites of professionals or people with some sort of reputation to protect.

its much better than the old method of trudging on foot through dirty alaba or coker getting grabbed at by everyone when trying to build up a price list.

skimanski:


Nigeria as a country is not Soundly structured enough to have a functioning Pricing system. Until it does, we have to continue with our own functions systems.

and Bros note. This are very expensive in this Locations that we say have pricing structures than in Nigeria.

With a pricing structure clients can have a sound expectation.

Bros, please, Nigeria is very expensive. For quality level of material and labor.

To get the same level of USA building then you have to hire Skimanski or Julius Berger

EgunMogaji:


With a pricing structure clients can have a sound expectation.

Bros, please, Nigeria is very expensive. For quality level of material and labor.

To get the same level of USA building then you have to hire Skimanski or Julius Berger

Bros I can agree interms of Equipment based Jobs and in terms of Materials that are Brought in only from the US. But in terms of Materials that come in from Other location like China and in terms of Labour. forget it. You cannot compare. Overseas are very expensive. if you disagree with me Bros. Can you tell me how much to Hire a Mason to work for you in the US?

skimanski:



Bros I can agree interms of Equipment based Jobs and in terms of Materials that are Brought in only from the US. But in terms of Materials that come in from Other location like China and in terms of Labour. forget it. You cannot compare. Overseas are very expensive. if you disagree with me Bros. Can you tell me how much to Hire a Mason to work for you in the US?

How much is your cheapest exterior door Sir?

I can hire a mason in front of Home Depot for $25 per day and he’ll do Julius Berger type quality of work. How much does Julius Berger charge?

I can hire a licensed mason that’ll charge per project but he’ll be licensed (is there as such in Naija?), he’ll be insured (is there as such in Nigeria), hell most likely have referral that I can verify (is there as such as that in Nigeria)?

I don’t want to get into comparing USA (I don’t live in UK or China) with Nigeria. It’s different war theatre, I just hope for a balanced fee schedule.

Kovic87:
I need help on estimation of building materials needed up to the lintel level. Thanks

May I ask why?

Thanks.

skimanski:



Bros Thank you for the bolded. I have been Singing that Tone all my Career Life. I know its difficult, but we should learn the habit of Holding that Divide between what we want to hear and what we need to hear .

@ bolded, you couldn’t have said it any better my brother.
I have never been one to be afraid of going by the road less travelled, regardless of whether it makes me or my opinion unpopular. In the long run it will come to be valued.
We complain about the absence of true professionals and the dwindling quality of work in the industry yet embrace mediocrity.
The truth is we cannot all operate at the same level, but there are minimum standards everywhere. Here in Nigeria that minimum standard is continuously declining.

EgunMogaji:


Bros, please, Nigeria is very expensive. For quality level of material and labor.

Oh Nooooo, you didn't just say this Oga Eguns...... Say What? ? ? ? !!!!

Except for items manufactured in the US or North America, you'll be suprised if you do a direct product to product price comparison

EgunMogaji:


The building industry needs to come up with a pricing structure.

This will help greatly.

What I believe will be more helpful is an enforcement of practical licensing and labour standards ( the use of certifed artisans or labourers only) even Baba kasali can simply get the proper training and be certifed.
The availability of better hands in the industry will minimize the use of fake materials . It also makes it easier for a consumer to compare labour costs as your are sure all or most are certifed to give a decent level of output, hence unlikely to worry about comparing the labour cost of a cut and nail artisan to that of a licensed or certified technician.

Food for thought.

“A new list of the most expensive cities in the world ranks Luanda, the capital of Angola, as number one. It knocks last year’s most expensive city, Hong Kong, off the top spot.“

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/worlds-most-expensive-cities-hong-kong-zurich-tokyo-singapore-new-york-a7800671.html

allCopacetic:

Oh Nooooo, you didn't just say this Oga Eguns...... Say What? ? ? ? !!!!

Except for items manufactured in the US or North America, you'll be suprised if you do a direct product to product price comparison

“quality level of material and labor.”

EgunMogaji:


“quality level of material and labor.”

At $25 ( approx N9000) per day, I'm sure you can get julius berger level artisans in Nigeria. Afterall the Julius berger works aren't done by expatriates they're done by our local artisans with the requisite training.

Again, any material that isn't manufactured in The US or North America is more likely to be cheaper in Nigeria than it is in the US. The problem will be finding it.

allCopacetic:

At $25 ( approx N9000) per day, I'm sure you can get julius berger level artisans in Nigeria. Afterall the Julius berger works aren't done by expatriates they're done by our local artisans with the requisite training.

Again, any material that isn't manufactured in The US or North America is more likely to be cheaper in Nigeria than it is in the US. The problem will be finding it.

I wouldn't have contributed if not that i am living in both worlds, i.e Europe and Africa, there is absolutely no basis for comparism in that you have to look at both at all different levels,per capita income of both lands, value of service, tax returns service if i own my own home Govt subsidies of buying my own home. insurance of the any artisan working for me i.e if a mistake is made i won't be the one carrying the ball. The Nigerian factor ist that any thing planned is liable to change in the next five minutes, different quotes from Artisan with a wide variable leaving the client with the issue of sieving between the chaff and the seed. there is absolutely no basis of caoparism

allCopacetic:

At $25 ( approx N9000) per day, I'm sure you can get julius berger level artisans in Nigeria. Afterall the Julius berger works aren't done by expatriates they're done by our local artisans with the requisite training.

Again, any material that isn't manufactured in The US or North America is more likely to be cheaper in Nigeria than it is in the US. The problem will be finding it.

I prefer not to really go down this path of debate. We’ve had it before. There’s no point because they’re different landscape.

All I wish for is standard of pricing in materials and labor in Nigeria.

This is not about Nigeria versus USA.