Hello House,

We have been going through several posts on Nairaland, and have come across several stories of Construction projects Transactions with some allegedly ''Fraudulent'' Contractors that did not ened well for the client.

As a result of this,and due to our speciality in this area, we will like to advise clients on what to do and how to do anything relating to construction projects in Nigeria if they dont want to get burnt.


For Clients:

1. Please, never ever ever do business with a Contractor who is not professionally indemnified for professional services malpractice by an insurance company. This seemingly negligible point is very vital if you hope to ever get redress if and when a Contractor fails to do as promised. A professional indemnity means that the insurer of that professional will pay up if anything untoward happens to Your Project as a result of the dishonesty,incompetence or negligence of the contractor that was indemnified by the Insurer. This is very very crucial, especially if you are hiring a contractor from an online platform like Nairaland.

2. We have also observed instances on this platform where potential clients will just state the dimensions of a particular building project they have in mind or even upload such and then implore certain ''experts'' to come up with possible estimates for constructing the building. This is one of the easiest ways to get burnt on a project, and while it is very possible to get estimates that are within range of implementing the project, it is very very risky in most cases, as most potential contractors will just underestimate to trap you in, then renegotiate once you commit financially to the project. this is a leading cause of most projects that end tragically for clients.

The smart thing to do is to contact professional quantity Surveyors and Estimators, or Construction Firms, who have a database of cost.per square meter of various building types across the country, that is reviewed periodically. They will usually give this out to you for free. once you get this rate, multiple it by the total square meters of your building floor plan, then discount what you get by 40 percent. That will give you the lower range of what it is likely going to cost you to build that house, and the initial value will be the upper limit. If you feel comfortable about the Price Ranges, you should then ask your Quantity Surveyor to prepare a Priced Bill of Quantities for you, and also a material schedule and a labour schedule.

Now,some people think a BOQ is useless on small projects,we disagree. A BOQ contains all the work that is to be carried out, this will guide you on what you can remove or not remove, because it will contain everything, including some that may not be necessary. ONCE YOU IDENTIFY SUCH,you can remove it and get a lower cost, but that wont be possible f you do not have a view of the whole picture,and a BOQ gives you the whole picture of the project. Of more importance is the Material and labour schedule that is based on the BOQ, these documents gives you the EXACT number of artisans you need per work type, or the exact quantity of blocks you for example need to build a wall, all down to the cost per artisan or item. Once you have this information, you can decide to use 3 artisans instead of 5 stated in the schedule, and save cost there, or even find a way to achieve cost savings on materials BECAUSE you now have the COMPLETE picture of what you need to achieve your project,and where you can save cost. Avoid guesstimates.

3. Contract agreements: Please in all and every case, never commit financially on any project no matter how small if you do not have a contract agreement with the contractor. there is nothing complicated here at all, a Quantity Surveyor can prepare that for you in a jiffy, and all the project terms and conditions are specified and laid out in clear terms here. This document is particularly important if you need to resolve troublesome issues with a contractor that is failing to do what he agreed to.

4. Payment: If you live abroad, never pay your contractor directly, appoint a trustee, pay the trustee, tell the trustee to pay the contractor if and only if you instruct them, and after they have verified that the contractor is executing the project according to the contract terms and conditions.

5. Quality of construction: Please always involve a professionally registered Architect when planning your project, he will ensure that detailed Standard Specification documents are produced, specifying the quality of materials to use on the project, the construction method to adopt and the quality of construction acceptable and quality control checks that must be put in place. This may seem too academic to some people, who think small projects dont need these sort of arrangements, but from experience a project is a project, and it is better to err on the side of caution. this architectural specification document is part of your contract agreement,and the contractor is liable if he fails to stick to the specification.

6. Time: It is a Myth that you cannot state precisely when a project will be completed. As long as Funding is in Place, and BUILDING permits and approvals have been received beforehand, and there is no Force Majeur event, it is only the ineptitude of a Contractor that will result in any delay on your project.

7. Best Practices: Please, never ever instruct your contractors to flaunt building approval requirements and laws because you want to maximize space or save space or materials. True professionals will not even agree to do such in the first place, but if you end up with a crook, you may regret it at the end of the day because you may never be able to get building permits, approvals or go-aheads, and your building may end up demolished. Always follow best practices.


There are many other points that we ll cover in subsequent topics, but the moral of our Advice is always involve professionals on your projects, because if push comes to shove, you can make them lose their practicing licences.

Kind Regards.