The compendium of my building project level #1: From scratch to dpc
The proposed building: 3-bedroom bungalow
A month ago, I announced via this post about my ordeal and my decision to use my earnings to build a house for my family. I am here to give the update and it is going to be in levels.
As of today, the house is still in progress but in its 3rd level, going to the 4th level. The levels I mean are the stages a building project undergoes to the best of my knowledge before it becomes liveable, at least to the extent the cash at hand can carry. There may be other stages according to engineers and architects.
The levels are
From scratch to dpc
From dpc to window
From window to lintel
From lintel to roofing
From roofing to the roofing sheets, ceiling
From there to plaster, tiling, and moving in.
However, this first post is for the first stage. What did I go through to get to this stage? Please follow along as I share what I went through.
It is going to include
👉Meeting the village representatives where the land is situated to pay a developmental levy
👉The architectural drawing for the building
👉Involving an experienced engineer for professional advice
👉Moulding bricks, excavation of the foundation
👉Bricks laying by the laborers and supervisors
👉Dpc filling with red sand.
We already acquired a piece of land 2 years ago here in my city of residence. It is a plot of land but a bit bigger. The architectural drawing will reveal the actual size of the land. We had wanted to pay for the developmental fee but the village had an internal dispute about who is to be the village head. Because of this, we were advised to hold on to the payment to avoid repeating the payment. Then, the fee was 150,000 naira.
Now that the dispute is settled, and I am ready to build on the land, we were advised to go make the payment, if not, they will bring down whatever brick we raise there.
We then arranged with a family friend and met the youth president of that community, the chairman of the village. With the consent of the new village head, we negotiated the fee to be 250,000 naira as against 150,000 naira that it was supposed to be. According to them, one of the reasons for the increase is because that was what they agreed on before the dispute was settled. A lot of people will benefit from the cash.
Another reason is that, ordinarily, they will not accept cash transfers but physical cash. But in Nigeria, it is very difficult to access cash. If we were to access cash, they would have come down to 200000 naira. We searched for cash but all to no avail. We had to go ahead with the said amount. After we met and the transfer was done, we were given the receipt and the go-ahead order so that no one will disturb us. However, we should make photocopies of the receipt and ensure it is with whoever will be on the site in case anyone comes around to harass the workers.
Hence, the amount of STEEM spent for this fee amounted to 2100 STEEM
As soon as we were sure that we have been approved to build, we proceeded with the architectural drawing by meeting an architect who then demanded the size of the land. Of course, he came around and took the measurements himself so he can be able to be sure.
He was able to give us something great after some adjustments. Here below is what we approved
The proposed building: 3-bedroom bungalow
Having gotten the design, the next was that we involved a friend who is an engineer for professional advice and supervision. We agreed on a charge to pay him though he just accepted what we negotiated because of the relationship. We will be buying the materials and then paying the laborers. It was ok for us. He only charged us 160,000 naira and agrees to be with us until we are done and ready to move in. The amount in STEEM is 1,300 STEEM.
As soon as we bought the land, we molded about 350 bricks. We intended to be molding little by little until we are ready to build. But that was just the quantity we were able to mold till now. But we also had a trip of unused sand which could also be used for molding. So we used it to start the foundation.
Because we wanted to complete the building faster and move in, we decided to try buying bricks from brick industries. We paid for 700 bricks but when they were delivered, we discovered that they were of inferior quality. We then discontinued it and decided to mold it so that we can combine it with the ones we bought.
![]() | Offloading the purchased bricks |
---|
The excavation began as you can see from the pictures below.
![]() | The engineers mapping out the space for the proposed building |
---|---|
![]() | one of the supervisors pegging the mapped areas before excavation |
![]() | Excavation begins |
After the excavation, the foundation was laid with gravel, cement, and sand that we also bought.
2 Coaches of bricks were down the ground and 3 up to take it to the dpc level before filling. At this juncture, cash outlays will be presented at the end of the building because it is overwhelming to me. The expenditures overlapped at other levels. It will be best to keep it then.
![]() | They mixed gravel, cement, sand and water as a starting point before the bricks. |
---|---|
![]() | The bricks are laid as you can see |
![]() | The number of bricks that will form the dpc is completed. This is the 5 coach. The filling is next. |
After the 5 coaches of bricks are laid to come up to dpc level which is the level of the house floor, we were advised to fill it with red sand.
We started ordering trips of red sand. As of now, we have already bought 9 trips and we are still going to buy one more to fill the little place remaining. Each trip cost 25000 naira (210 STEEM for each trip). We were lucky that a nearby road is under construction from where we bought the sand. It could have been more in cost.
![]() | The filling is ongoing here as you can see |
---|
The filling remained a little before the next stage began. But take note that part of the red sand used in filing the dpc came from the soak-away excavation. We decided to do it along to use the red sand to add to the purchased ones. We used the red sand from there to fill the kitchen, the dining, the store, and the kitchen seat-out. This means that we could have purchased more red sand than we had wanted to.
I will talk about the soak-away in one of the levels that I will write about in the future.
The next level is to raise the bricks from the dpc to the window level, look out for the post.
It is not easy to build a house at this time.
Part of the challenges we faced was sourcing water to be used. Our close neighbors don't have boreholes yet, they get water from other neighbors. We then approached one of those they get water from, the man said there is no generator to pump the water and the electric light is not steady. We tried others and they said they will charge us 2,000 naira daily. It will be more expensive. We decided to fix our generator at home and take it to the one that said he has no generator and then all we spent is to fuel the generator each day we want to pump. It is less expensive and best for us. That is how the water issue is for now. We are grateful to the Almighty for helping us out in that area.
Another challenge is the cash issue. Most of the laborers who accepted a cash transfer found it difficult to access the cash to pay for transport to the site. We also fell into that same problem. Paying for transportation to the site became a very big challenge because the drivers refused to accept a transfer to their bank account. They need cash which is scarce. To access a little cash, you need to buy the cash. For instance, you pay 4,000 naira to get 10,000 naira. It is that bad. Hence, the laborers were demanding that we add extra money that will take care of the charges for them. We insisted in some cases and in some cases, we yield to their demands. It is not easy at all to build now.
As for us, we decided to fix the old car which has been parked for more than 6 months due to lack of cash to fix it. That is what we are managing now.
Thank you all for being there for us. I now understand what it means, yet, what Steem for better life means. I pray for more wisdom from the Almighty to be able to fix the house in a state where we can be able to move in.
My building is still a work in progress. Keep checking my blog for more.
Please dear curators, I am not in any club for now
This is my introductory post here
My friend I am in awe of what your doing with your Steemit earnings! Oh wow! Well done!
It is is a beautiful place you are building. A place you can now call "home" or should I say "Steemit corner". (•ิ‿•ิ)
Dreams on Steemit can come true!
PS: I cannot wait to see a weekly progress report from now on, not to mention a post when you turn that front door key for the first time.
Good luck!
Steemit corner will be well suited for this project. I can't wait to at least get it to the stage where we can move in. Thank you for your support. I appreciate
Welcome again among us.
Thank you for the warm welcome
Hermoso proyecto ya en marcha. Estuve pensando en ti hoy y me atreví a buscar tu blog para ver si ya estabas de vuelta
Y en efecto, aquí estás con tus avances como nos prometiste de que lo harías.
Me encanta ese plano de la casa y todo lo que estás haciendo, estoy segura que pronto vas a poder mudarte a tu nueva casa.
Es una belleza ese proyecto y se que lo están haciendo con mucho amor.
Éxitos mi hermana
Oh dear sister, it gladdens my heart to know that you thought about me today and you also took action to check on me. This shows how close I am to your heart. You know what? You are also close to my heart. Each time I share a post on my WhatsApp status and I see you around, I always remember you. Thank you so much. Yes, the project is going on with a lot of love and will be complete soon, at least to the extent that we can be able to live in it and to the extent that the cash at hand can carry. I really appreciate you so much. I will keep bringing the updates until we finally move in
Sii también me contenta verte en tus rutinas deportivas y tú vida integral en marcha....
Orare para que consigan efectivo para culminar la obra.
Los países que sufren por el dinero en efectivo terminan avanzando en las tecnologías, esta es una transmisión para ustedes así que ánimo. Pronto tendrás tu casita linda terminada
Thank you dear Sister for your prayers. It is appreciated
Wow Woow project ungoing extremely vey well and smoothly
Wishing you the best in this project mom
It is ongoing dear. I appreciate your kind wishes
Thank you, friend!
![image.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmd7of2TpLGqvckkrReWahnkxMWH6eMg5upXesfsujDCnW/image.png)
![image.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWDnFh7Kcgj2gdPc5RgG9Cezc4Bapq8sQQJvrkxR8rx5z/image.png)
I'm @steem.history, who is steem witness.
Thank you for witnessvoting for me.
please click it!
(Go to https://steemit.com/~witnesses and type fbslo at the bottom of the page)
The weight is reduced because of the lack of Voting Power. If you vote for me as a witness, you can get my little vote.
Waoooo what a great achievement, cash issues is one of the biggest challenge you will face. So sorry about that. For the water issues God will bless them but to me I will suggest you dig a borehole at once. If you still need the red sand Let me know if I can contact HENSEk for you at least if will be a little bit cheaper for you. Congratulations once more
Wow! This is amazing! If I had known, I would have contacted you for the red sand. Meanwhile,we need one more trip of it. Yu can let me know how much so that I will tell you to get us one from the.
The cash issue is something else, but the Almighty is seeing us through.
As for the borehole, it is a really good suggestion. We are also negotiating it. At least we will need to dig one that can be good for drinking instead of buying drinking water again. If you know of anyone that can dig a good one for us, let us know the quotation please. Thank you so much dear friend. I appreciate
Ok ma by tomorrow morning I will let you know
Wow! This is massive! My God..
I celebrate you ma, you deserve it mama
Thank you so much dear. I am glad that my earnings comes handy to help us in this time of need.
I hope that your house gets built soon so that you can become active on Steemit again. I am eagerly waiting for your next blog post. Best wishes 🥰
I will surely get back to become more active dear. Thank you so much
Hi @ngoenyi, I am glad that you started your house project immediately, it is quite lengthy project and dealing with all parting who involved in construction takes a lot of patience and nerves.
Wishing you good luck!
I couldn't have waited for long to start dear @sef1. I started immediately especially as the land was already available.
You are right, dealing with the parties involved takes a lot of patience and nerves. It's not easy at all but we are dealing with it with the help of the Almighty. Thank you so much for the good wishes. More updates will still come as we progress
wow beautiful house construction, i really liked your work, may Allah solve your all issues that you are facing in this regards, but really your house base is very much strong that is also necessary, may Allah solve your all issues that you are facing
Thank you so much. I pray for Allah to keep blessing the work. We are really seeing his hands in the work.
inshah Allah