Learn everything about the construction industry

  Introduction Concrete roads are a vital part of our transportation infrastructure, providing durable and long-lasting surfaces for vehicles to travel on. In this article, we will explore the world of concrete roads, highlighting their advantages, types, construction methods, and structural components. So, fasten your seatbelt as we embark on a journey down the concrete road. Advantages of Concrete Roads Concrete roads are constructed using a blend of Portland cement, coarse aggregate, sand, and water, resulting in a surface that boasts exceptional durability. The key advantage of concrete roads lies in their extended service life. They are far less prone to wear and tear defects like rutting, cracking, stripping loss of texture, and potholes compared to flexible pavement surfaces. This low maintenance requirement is a significant benefit of concrete pavements and translates into fewer traffic delays, especially on congested highways. Requirements for Ideal Concrete Road Pavements...

In  this article, what I will be covering is a practical step of organising and planning a training program. We are going to use a training template developed for civil engineers but other professionals can use it as reference material. Course outline Who is the professional for which the training is organised for What is the mandate of the organization that is conducting the training Define the problem/ need for organising the training Define the target audience for the training Scope of the training Define the achievable goal after the training Who is the professional for which the training is organised for In this article, I will be considering a civil engineering professional also known as a civil engineer. Who is a civil engineer A civil engineer is a professional who analyses, designs and constructs civil infrastructures. Some of these civil infrastructures include buildings, dams, seaports, airports, roads, offshore platforms etc. This professional helps in planning every as...

In an environment that reinforces concrete structures will be exposed to deicing salt  may benefit from the use of corrosion-resistant reinforcement such as uncoated, low carbon/chromium (micro composite), epoxy-coated, hot dip galvanized or stainless steel rebar. Good design and a well-chosen concrete mix will provide additional protection for many applications. Uncoated, low carbon/chromium rebar looks similar to standard carbon steel rebar due to its lack of a coating; its highly corrosion-resistant features are inherent in the steel microstructure. It can be identified by the unique ASTM-specified mill marking on its smooth, dark charcoal finish. Epoxy-coated rebar can easily be identified by the light green colour of its epoxy coating. Hot dip galvanized rebar may be bright or dull grey depending on the length of exposure, and stainless rebar exhibits a typical white metallic sheen that is readily distinguishable from carbon steel reinforcing bars. Reference ASTM standard spec...

The rising demand for cement is attributed to the boom in the real estate sectors across many African countries. Ghana as one of those countries has seen a tremendous increase in cement demand, resulting in people demanding the real time information regarding the cost of this building material. Dangote Cement is among the popular cement brands in Ghana. The company has been operating in Ghana since 2011. This cement is shipped from Nigeria and finally bagged in Ghana at the company’s terminal in Tema. How Much Does 1 bag(50kg) Of Dangote Cement Cost In Ghana? Each bag of Dangote cement is currently being sold at GHS50( $4.81) while other cement brands cost ranges from GHS48 ,GHS47 and GHS45 per bag. 

As the infrastructure boom continues to increase, becoming a cement dealer is a rewarding venture as you will make a lot of profit from the business due to the high demand enforcement.  Many people have an interest in going into such business but unfortunately are not sure how to start and information is limited on such a topic. This article will try to point out the necessary things you need to have when going into the cement dealership business. This is a case study of how to become a dealer or distributor with Dangote cement, pointing out their key requirement in Nigeria.  Requirement for becoming a Dangote cement distributor.  1. Certificate of company registration form from cooperate affairs commission. 2. Application letter to become a distributor  3. Scanned copy of bank reference letter  4. Passport photograph of company's managing director  5. Passport photograph of company's representative  For the application form,  visit https://www.da...

Many of us are not sure how many types of Dangote cement are available in the Nigerian market today. In this article, I will try to simplify all the information about the types of Dangote cement we have in our open market.  But before you can understand the type of Dangote cement in Nigeria, we have to look at the grade of cement in Nigeria as defined by NIS and SON. Grade of cement in Nigeria  We have three grades of cement in Nigeria, namely: 1. Grade 32.5 corresponding to 32.5 MPA  compressive mortar strength at 28 days of curing 2. Grade 42.5 corresponding to 42.5 compressive mortar strength at 28 days of curing  3. Grade 52.5 corresponding to 52.5 comprehensive strength of mortar at 28 days of curing  Types of Dangote cement according to cement grade 1. Grade 32.5R. Portland limestone cement.  This is normally used in plastering works, low-rise buildings and masonry works 2. Grade 42.5R Portland limestone cement. This can be used in high-rise buildings...

   Rentals: Rentals are one of the safest and most steady sources of income from Real Estate. In Rentals, you buy a property to put on the market for monthly or yearly rental. It has a lot of upsides like; regular cash flow, asset appreciation, collateral for loans, and property that can be sold afterwards for a profit. The downside is that just like in many numerous Lekki and Banana island apartments, you may experience non-subscription of your apartment for long periods. A company like First World Communities handles rentals in a prime place like Abijo and a 3-bedroom flat there goes for NGN1.2m per year with a property worth 25m. Dangote has taken out a lease for over 50 units and you can make a guaranteed rental income of NGN800,000 per annum by buying these properties as a rental investment.  Flipping Also referred to as land/property banking — you purchase a property to sell in the quickest time possible for profit. A company that works well with this strategy is Gr...

 Real estate development in Nigeria can be a lucrative business with the right funding and strategic thinking. There are six key ways to fund your real estate investment  in Nigeria: 1. from your own savings Most of the time in Nigeria, if you want to start a real estate business, you can fund it from your savings. that is if you have the capacity because it's not easy to get loans 2. flexibility from Payment Plans You may not be able to shell out millions immediately out of pocket but there are different payment plans you can take advantage of. After putting down a stipulated payment — a fraction of the cost, you can spread the remaining payments, for a month, three months, six, 12, 24, or even 2–4 years. Most times these come with a little interest attached after the third month, but some are even interest-free, up to 4 years! like Landwey’s development at Oworonshoki. 3. Loan from financial institutions Maybe not so popular with individuals but lots of Real estat...

The construction sector is booming in Nigeria and the need for more construction materials like cement, sand and reinforcement is exponentially increasing.  As this materials demand is increasing, the quality is always tampered with. This article will show you simple ways to check the quality of cement.  1. Date of Packaging: Unlike wine, the strength of cement being used decreases with time. Cement should be used before 90 days from the date of manufacture. A year after manufacture, the strength of the cement is reduced by 40–50%. 2) Cement colour: Good cement is always uniform in colour. You can identify good cement by its gray colour with a slightly green shade. 3) moisture in cement: In cement, lumps are formed due to the absorption of moisture. Good cement has no lumps. 4) Temperature: If you push your hand inside a bag of good cement, you should feel a certain coolness. Bad cement feels warm in your hand. 5) Good quality cement floats in water for some time before sinkin...

  The prices of roofing nails depend on the sizes. There are different sizes of roofing nails which serve different purposes. Some examples include ½ inches, 1 inch, 1½ inches, 2 inches, 3 inches, 4 inches, 6 inches, zinc nails, concrete nails, etc. All the above-listed roofing nail sizes perform different functions during house roofing. The most commonly used for roofing of buildings are 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 inches. Zinc nail  Zinc nails are mostly used to roof buildings with metallic zinc. Metallic zincs are old-fashioned  roofing sheets  and aren’t mostly used in modern-day’s roofing. A zinc nail looks like an umbrella, the idea behind that umbrella-like design is to avoid leakage. The current price of zinc nails is N3,500 per pack and N700 per kg Copper Nail Copper Nails have a very high resistance to corrosion, this is why it’s very popular and one of the most preferred in roofing projects. A kg of copper Nails costs about N700 naira. While the pack costs N3,500 and...

  The enormous uses of wood in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. We use wood in furniture designs, the building of houses and other structures, etc. Wood in Nigeria today is of very good economic importance and contributes heavily to the economic growth of the country. The cost of wood depends on the type, either hardwood or softwood and also on the finishing. There are also different kinds of wood based on the finishing, they are; Plywood, 2 by 2 and 2 by 4 planks, facing boards, tie rods etc.   During roofing, hardwoods are always the best for roofing. There are many hardwoods available for roofing, the best among them is cedar woods. Cedar woods are strong, durable and have very high resistance to weather. Plywood  Plywood are finely finished woods used for beautiful constructions such as word-ropes, office tables, Chairs etc. There are two 4 different kinds of Plywood, they’re; MDF Plywood HDF Plywood Marine Plywood Ordinary Plywood The HDF Plywood are the product of ...

  Wire mesh is a net-like material (usually metallic) used extensively in construction works. It is a flexible and malleable   wire cloth   which may be woven or welded to a specified spacing or shape into a square or rectangle. They can easily be used in varying ways from   heavy-duty rigid screens   to  the  finest sheer gauze fabric . Of all materials used in its making, stainless steel remains the cheapest and most popular. In the construction industry, for example, British Reinforcement Company Ltd ( BRC ) has established its name as a founding manufacturer of wire mesh which is gainfully used in casting concrete for slabs, walkways, ramps, pavements or driveways. It is also called  welded steel wire mesh , thanks to its quick and less costly usage in place of rebar. Table of Wire mesh cost in Nigeria Mesh Sizes Thickness Current Price 40×2.1m BRC 4mm ₦18,000 3.7×1.2m Galvanized 2mm ₦4,500 20×2.1m BRC 3.5mm ₦18,500 2.4×1.2m Expanded mesh...

  The rate at which cement prices in Nigeria change these days without prior notice, concerned Engineers, Builders Quantity Surveyors and Developers are left with no other option than to follow the trend of cost fluctuations so as to keep tenders and quotations current. This is because most of the houses constructed in Nigeria make use of a good number of cement bags from Substructure to Superstructure and this, therefore, contributes a reasonable quota to the cost of building projects today. In the Nigerian Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, the  most popular cement  produced by  top cement manufacturing companies in Nigeria  is the  Ordinary Portland Cement  and it is mostly used as a masonry adhesive or binding material in combination with fine and coarse aggregates in a given mix ratio to reduce the cost of Mortar used for moulding,  laying of blocks , plastering of walls etc or in Concrete for casting of beams, columns...

  Sand is a prevalent building material that accounts for about 75% content of most buildings currently in Nigeria. Although the usage of its alternatives is there, they are not rampant compared to the application of soft and sharp sand in the moulding of blocks or bricks, Earth filling, laying of blocks, wall plastering and many other uses of this common building material in a typical construction project. On the other hand, stones or chippings as they are called are coarse aggregates which are more than 4.75 mm in diameter. They may come as gravel, cobbles or boulders. In a mortar, sand serves as a fine aggregate mixed with the binder (usually Portland cement or Lime) in a given ratio so as to provide the outcome with an adhesive surface area,  prevent it from cracking & shrinking and increase the volume so as to reduce cost. While concrete, it does more of the same work along with coarse aggregate (Gravel or Granite) and cement in a specified mix ratio which varies depe...