Constructing The Roof Framework - Gradual Progress

At long last the frame work for the roofing has commenced. Two days into the framework being constructed I paid a visit to the site. I subsequently overheard the carpenters discussing how high the slope of the roof should be. Something did not look right. Standing away from the building, outside, you could immediately see that the spine of the roofing framework was going to be very high. The builder was due on site soon, but I decided to call him anyway. With no clear direction on the roof framework, the carpenters decided to halt on the work and wait for the builder to arrive. When the builder arrived it suddenly dawned upon all of us that the architect needed to be in the loop regarding this. The architect was called and and hour later he was at the site. After several minutes of pondering over the architectural drawings, Ebow [the architect] said he would return back the next day with correct measurements for how hight the framework of the roofing should go. 

The next day, Ebow arrived with "amended" measurements and work continued. I have always said a prayer each morning and evening regarding the building project. Like any other project, things do not go according to plan. There will be moments when a spanner will be thrown into the works and things get delayed. #GhanaDecides threw a spanner in the project. On the 7th of December Ghanaians went to the polls to elect a new president. Voting in Ghana works differently from what for example voting occurs in the UK. In some cases, voters have to travel long distances to the towns/villagers where they are registered to vote. Travelling from point A to B can be tiresome and difficult not to mention the number of hours it can take. The elections halted the rook frameworks for three days. Nothing could be done about it. Work immediately resumed when the carpenters returned from voting.

The roofing framework is completed and the next step is to get the electrician lay electrical cables before the actual roofing sheets are fitted.

Cleaning Up The Site.

I am currently in Ghana to inspect the building project and to gather funds for payment of the roofing works.

On my first day at the site, I must admit I was very disappointed. The place was in a complete mess. By this I mean the wood that had been used for the concrete works were still in place. Even though the concrete had been set long ago, I do not see why the builder had not organised his workmen to remove the wood and also tidy up the site. Then there were still slabs from the pavement when old building was knocked down. I immediately got on my phone and asked the builder to meet me at the site. On his arrival I immediately pointed out how untidy the place was and that it needed to be tidied up so that the site was more presentable. I also asked him to have the palmnut trees and the flower hedges surrounding the wall removed. Anything that was not serving a purpose on the site needed to be removed ASAP. I stressed to him that it was important the site was kept as neat as possible. As at the time of updating this blog, the site is looking much better. A truck arrived two days ago and collected all the pieces of wood and bamboo pools that were no longer needed. 

Last week, all the wood needed for the construction of the roofing frame was delivered on site. yesterday, the carpenter and his team stated on constructing the framework for the roof, however this afternoon, the carpenter noted that there was something in the architectural drawing that needed to be clarified with the architect Mr Ebow Swatson. This is how I understand the nature of what the problem is. So standing at the front end of the building, where the porch is, the 3D drawing of the project shows that the roofing for the front part of the building extends to the edge of the porch, effectively covering the porch from getting wet when it rains or providing some degree of shelter from the sun. Now the actual architectural drawings show the extension of the roofing over the porch to be around two feet short of the edge of the pouch. It does not appear to be a major problem but obviously needs to be sorted out ASAP. The carpenter should get a definitive response from the Mr Ebow Swatson first thing tomorrow morning. I am very keen on seeing all the framework for the roof completed before returning back to the UK.

Tiles produced by ACP Ghana

The next issue we need to tackle is what type of roofing material we want to use. Initially the plan was to use AluZinc. Apparently this is very good for houses that are prone to the effect of sea breeze. Nyaniba is not far from Labadi Beach, so AluZinc is the best choice. The problem with using AluZinc is that it tends to attract heat very easily thus making your house hot. I have been told that there are other materials out there, notably what ACP produce. Obviously this implies and increase in cost. I should get costing for this in the morning.

At the end of the day, it is a matter of choice and how you want you building to stand out from the rest. ACP tiles I have been told add "class" to your building. Providing you have the funds making a choice should not be too difficult to make.

Late last week, the builder and I had a meeting with the AirCondition contractor. The architects plans has far too many airconditioners for the whole building. We are planning of cutting the number down. On his initial inspection, the airconditioner contractor advised that instead of having say, three airconditioners in a particular area, he can install one powerful airconditioner which can do the same work as the three airconditioners. On many occasions when walking around Nyaniba, I see the piping for airconditioners all over the place. It is an absolute eyesore. So this is something I will be looking at the airconditioner contractor avoid.

I have been in Accra for 18 days now. I brought over my Bebop drone with me. I have taken the liberty of taking some video footage of the site for you to see. The footage below shows the drone flight taken from the back/rear of the building. I have another one taken from the front of the building. I have not edited that yet, but when I do, I will upload that for you to see. Once the roof goes on, things will be taking shape very fast. Plumbing and electrical installation will need to be done, then plastering and windows will be next.

Yay, It's Time For The Roofing To Go On

After almost a year now into the building project, the time has now come for the roofing to go on. The design of the roof has been sent to a specialised firm who will get the pieces all cut out and ready to be transported to the site and fitted up. At this point, I have planned to be in Accra to first inspect the current building progress and then arrange for payment for the cost of the roofing to the builder, aka Kwame Boadi. My initial plan was to transfer half of the payment for the roofing into Boadi's account, however I hit a snag. From my internet banking interface, I was informed that I can onlyIt is all exciting when you eventually hit a mile stone in any project that you are engaged in. Once the roof goes on, there will be lot of clearing up to do. From the updates Boadi has been sending me, I have noticed that I can only transfer a maximum of GHC10,000.00 into another persons account. Which means I would have to do this over a period of 4 days. Personally that is just inconvenient, not to mention the money the bank will be making off me in bank charges. So the next logical and sensible thing to do was to call Boadi, explain things to him and assure him that I will pay him on my arrival in Accra, which is very soon. One thing I forgot to get confirmation from him on was whether he has called the architect to have the current stage of the project inspected. I have stressed in my previous postings about the importance of getting an agreement in place whereby your architect has your building inspected by his mechanical/structural and electrical engineers. Lets face it, unless you have qualifications in these two disciplines and have the experience, you need someone to confirm that your building, at every stage of its build, is being built properly.

now lets talk a bit about the roofing, specifically the type of roofing that is going to be using on the building. Boadi mentioned in our whatsapp chat that he will be using "Heep Garble". Heep + Garble did not throw much light my why when I did a search on the internet. I then tried the search term "gable" and came up with this"

Gable Roof

Also known as pitched or peaked roof, gable roofs are some of the most popular roofs in the US. They are easily recognized by their triangular shape.

Pros: Gable roofs will easily shed water and snow, provide more space for an attic or vaulted ceilings and allow more ventilation. Their simple design make it easy to build them and cheaper than more complex designs.

Cons: Gable roofs can be problematic in high wind and hurricane areas. If the frames are not properly constructed with adequate supports, the roof can collapse. High winds can also cause materials to peel away from gable roofs. If there is too much of an overhang, winds can create an uplift underneath and cause the roof to detach from the walls.

If a gable roof is used in high wind areas, be sure proper braces are used and have the roof inspected after a large storm to ensure no damage occurred.

Ok so this made more sense, but I still had to find and understand what he also meant by "heep". Further search on Google suggested that Boadi could have been referring to "hip". At this point you are wondering why I did not just go back to Boadi for clarification. Well all this is a learning curve for me. I like to do the research as well and fully understand whatever terminology is being thrown at me. So I did find this definition for 'hip' on Wikipwdia:

A hip roof, hip-roof[1] or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus a hipped roof house has no gables or other vertical sides to the roof.

Hence my logical conclusion for 'heep garble" aka 'hip garble' is that it is a combination of using the constructional elements of both 'hip' and 'garble'.

Pictures and video clip show current stage of building.
Picture and short videos sent to me by: Agbeko Dzamasi
Videos edited using DaVinci Resolve Studio

Beam of the Week: Check up on your Construction Project in Ghana

Overseeing your building project can prove tricky when you’re not in Ghana. Regular check-ins are key to protect yourself from unpleasant surprises, yet often require your physical presence on the ground. The Beam Crew can help!

...continue reading article from LINK

I came across this on the internet this morning. I find it interesting in that it would be something someone would engage in for two reasons. There might be more reason but I feel these are the two main reasons. The first would be if you did not trust the building company you had come to an agreement with to build you house, and secondly if you had absolutely no one as a backup to provide the services Beam are offering. Based on the culture of getting even a relative to assist you in anything, I find the services of Beam very valid. As someone living abroad with friends or relatives living in Ghana, it can become very difficult and frustrating to rely on them to assist you with your building project. Lets break this down further. Lets say you ask your relative to keep an eye on your project by providing you with update via pictures and any other form of communication. Initially, the task you have given will be carried out as expected, but as time goes by you then find out that the updates you were expecting trail off either slightly or drastically to a point whereby the stop completely. I should point out that, as expected you would not engage your relative in such a task without providing some monetery incentive. How else would you expect him/her to travel to the site and/or buy credit to send you those all important pictures. There is also the possibility that you will be getting phone calls asking for additional money to cover ridicolous expenses. 

Out of curiosity, I have sent them my whatsapp number. Someone should contact me later today. I will be interested in finding out how much their fees are. Update to follow.

Bit By Bit - First Floor Concrete Done

Finally, after about four days of delays, the builder was able to get his crew together and start on the first floor concrete works. The delays were caused by the structural engineer delay in approving certain aspects of the work that needed to be done before the concrete could be cast.
With the concrete now act, there will be a period set aside for it to set properly before the block work is done for the first floor. So far so good. I must admit, I am very excited. Not being there during the build process "saddens" me, but I do plan of making a trip back to Accra very soon and God willing I will be able to spend some time watching the rest of the building progress.

I have asked for a revision of the Project Timeline. I expect that to be ready by Monday [13/06]. The builder roughly estimated August as the month in which the roofing works will be done. In the past, I have paid the building each segment of the payment plan presented by him in full. The payment plan has been divided into four sections. The roofing payment represents the third part of the payment plan. This time I plan of paying him half of the full amount and pay the rest when I get to Accra.

Was usual, the builder has sent me some videos and pictures of progress being made at the site. I have done something different this time. Using FotoMagico, I have put together the videos and pics sent to me by the builder and used that to tell a short story. 

Communication Is Vital [For The Success Of Any Project]

There is one thing which I have never been pleased with since the commencement of the Nyaniba project at Osu, and that is the frequency the builder communicates with me and also his attitude towards communication. It is absolutely very bad. Upon reflection I released that I was the one always calling the builder and asking him to send me updates on the progress of the building. Two weeks ago, I decided that this had gone to far and that I needed to explain to him my expectations from him in terms of his communicating with me on the progress of the building. So i picked up the phone, called him and told him that moving forward, this was what I expected from him. Last week I heard nothing from the builder. I had to send him a "whatsapp" message and a text message for him to check his "whatsapp" message. On Friday, I still had not had any word from him. I spoke to my brother in Ghana and asked him to see if he could get hold of the builder. He [my brother] was actually surprised because he had himself stressed to the builder that it was important for him to provide me with updates regularly. Finally, two days ago, the builder got in touch. He, apologised for the silence, but went on to say that there had been no progress on the building project because the structural engineer had requested that the materials the builder had purchased for the plumbing were not what was on his architectural drawings. It appears the structural engineer had different drawings from what the builder had. I managed to keep myself from exploding in anger. I told the builder that this should have been mentioned to me immediately.

I am surprised at the builders lack of concern on the issue of communication. Is it a "Ghana" thing? I mean, it is alright as a client if you live in Ghana and therefore have the flexibility of popping over to you building site whenever you feel like it. At least that way you have the option of getting updates for yourself. For his own sake, I think I will need to have a "teacher/student" chat with him on this. I do not think he has had the privilege of putting up a building for someone living outside Ghana, because if he did, he would have some sort of "template" that would enable him to provide updates to his client[s]. I have another telephone meeting with him tomorrow and my plan is to get him to email me with detailed updates twice every week. I do not think that should be too hard for him.

Lessons learnt - make sure that you as a client, sit down with your builder to agree on some form of communication by which the builder shall/will provide you with detailed regular updates. These updates should include pictures and/or videos showing progress of the building.

Building Update for March 30, 2016 - Completion Of Iron Rods, First Floor

It appears, this phase of a building seems to be the most time consuming part for this building project.

What I am referring to is the bit where all the iron rods for the first floor have to be "knitted" together properly. Not only has the job got to be done properly but there is also the issue of making sure that the correct iron rods are used. Now this is the case I am not there to check, and even if I were to check I have absolutely no knowledge of what type of iron rods needs to be used. If you have been following and reading this building project blog, I mentioned earlier on about engaging the services of the Architect to make regular visits to the site and also be in constant communication with the builder; making sure that the builder only progresses to the next stage of the building when the Architect has given his approval. So at least I have that aspect of the building project protected.

With the iron rods now all in place, the Architect with visit the site with his Structural Engineer inspect and based on their recommendations give the go ahead for the next phase of the work to continue.

Setting Up And Preparing For First Floor Works.

Next week, the electrician will be doing some work before more construction work can be continued. The building project is shaping up as per the project time line.

I have created a picture movie time line which shows, starting from the architects 3D drawing to the current state the project is at. Enjoy

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Current State Of Building Works

Work is progressing according to the Project Timeline.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

The concrete for the pillars are set and now work will be done on setting concrete for the beams.

Always Double Check Your Bill Of Quantity

It all started with me working out my expenses related to the building project  and planning for future payments on my building project. Part of the money set aside for the building project has been invested in Treasury Bills. These are running on a three month cycle so I needed to work out when exactly to stop the next payment was due into my account and when to stop it from being "issued" for the next three months. Looking at the builders payment plan, I noticed that he had put down a figure of GHC65,000 for the cost of the roof. That looked OK to me, but I retraced my payments back for the substructure and the superstructure. I compared the figures with those made in the Bill Of Quantity [BOQ] and noted that the cost of GHC65,000 for the superstructure had not been included in the BOQ. So instead of being costed GHC500,000 for the building, in actual fact I would need GHC565,000 to get this project completed. This was not good. I knew I was to blame for this error. I should have checked everything thoroughly first before agreeing for the project to commence. I immediately emailed the builder, explained to him what the issue was and questioned him as to why he did not notice the difference in figures [BOQ and his payment plan].

After several days of Builder and his Quantity Surveyor going through their figures, the response I got back was that they, well the Quantity Surveyor, had made an error in not adding the figure of GHC65,000 for the cost of the superstructure. Now I have to work out how I am going to find GHC65,000 to complete the project.

Lesson Learnt: Always go through any figures presented to you as costs with a fine tooth comb. 

Start Of Super Structure

So, we have kicked off with what I call phase two of the building project - building of the super structure. Most of the block work representing the base of the super structure is in place. The steel bender is busy completing the additional iron rods for the pillar columns. I have also received an updated copy of the project timeline. The project timeline is very important. For obvious reasons you need to keep tabs of how the building project is progressing. As an added precaution, I have engaged the services of my Architect who will get his Structural and Electrical engineers to visit the building site at certain times during the project phases and make sure that the specs in the building drawings are being followed.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Click here to download a copy of the Project Time Line. Please note that the file format has an extension - mpp.

Foundation Concrete Works Commenced

So, after prepping the foundation, work has started on applying concrete onto it. By the end of this week, All the concrete works for the foundation will be completed and left to set before the super structure is tackled.  I have been in constant communication with the builder [Boadi] and he has been updating me with videos and pictures of his progress. My brother, Agbeko, has also paid a visit to the site and has sent me recent pictures of the building progress. With the issue of LaDMA stopping us from carrying out building works at the initial stages out of the way, the Boadi is making good progress. I have asked him to send me a revised copy of the Project Time Line.  According to the terms and conditions of our agreement, I will now need to make my next payment to Boadi before he can stat with the super structure. I will set the ball rolling for this to take effect next week. In the meantime, I have below a video and some pics of the current concrete works on the building foundation.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Current Status Of Building Project

Foundation is almost completed.

Building Works Resumed

Three so or so weeks ago, LaDMA issued a final warning that all building works on my project be put on hold, even though my application for a building permit was being processed by them. Last week I got word from my contact in Ghana that the Building Permit was ready and that a fee, which included that for starting the project without a permit was issued

I am not too bothered about paying the penalty as I have achieved a lot of work in the time that would have taken me to get this permit issued. Unfortunately nothing in Ghana works even close to clockwork, so a decision to wait can cost you a lot of money and progress. From what my contact has informed me, once the receipt is issued LaDMA will endorse the receipt indicating that payment has been made and building works can be continued until the actual permit is issued. I think I have touched on the issue of Building Permits somewhere in this blog. A friend informed me that he never applied for a building permit. When I asked where his building was located it dawned on me why he did not apply for one. His building is on the outskirts of Accra. In popular areas like Nyaniba Estates, Labone, Cantonment, Airport Residential Area you cannot get away with not applying for a building permit without being hassled by the Metropolitan Authority that manages these areas. The local metropolitan authorities have dedicated officers going around these areas  and looking out for any new building being erected. 
Lessons learnt:
Depending on the location of your building project, make sure that you acquire a valid building permit before you start your building.
Get written down clarification from the local metropolitan authority what you are paying for, and what payment constitutes what.

Currently this is what the site looks like - Two short videos.

Digging The Foundation And Concrete Works

Work has now started on digging the foundation for the building. So far there are only six people assigned to this job which seems a bit worrying. It appears these six workers have been awarded the contract of digging the foundation. I would have thought getting more workers involved in this would have been the best option, however it seems the "leader" of the six workers wants to maximise his profits hence the small number of workers assigned to this. I think I will have to speak to the builder about this.

Three days into digging the foundation and the problems have started to show. Today I was at the site and noticed that only three workers were digging the foundation. No one seemed to know where the other three workers were. Just as I was about to call the builder, I noticed him walking down the road. Yes, he was aware of the issue. His foreman had rung to let him know. After our "good morning", he was on his phone organising more workers to be on site. Within an hour he had 15 workers on site digging the foundation. Within the next three days, all of the foundation had been dug out. A lot of laterite soil from the foundation had to be transported across the road. This is necessary as easy access to various of locations on the site is needed. Once the concrete has been laid and block work set, the soil with be used to fill the foundation before the concrete is finally cast to form the substructure. To enable workers move around on the site, planks of wood have been laid down. The whole setup looks dangerous, but I suppose these workers are used to this.  Also, the cement mixer arrived onsite. Due to its size, it had to be position just at the entrance of the property. 

Video Block

Double-click here to add a video by URL or embed code. Learn more

Profiling The Site

I figure that by the end of this project, I would have learnt as much as I need to enable me set myself up as a building contractor. Honestly, I am learning new stuff every day. It certainly pays to be onsite when you are building a house. Be on site every day. You do not have to be on site from morning to closing time. At least make it a point to show your face for at least 4 hours. You will be amazed by what you can learn from just asking questions. The questions do not have to be directed to the building contractor. For example, today I arrived on site around 11.00am. The builder, his architect and a few other workmen were already on site sorting out the profile for the site. Under the shed, the "steel bender" was busy shaping the 12 mm iron rods which he had cut the previous day. Whilst I watched him in fascination I realised that there were some actions he was performing which I quite did not understand. For instance, how did he know at what length he had to bend the end of the iron rod? 

The whole process of Profiling the land as per the architects drawings is very interesting. The use different colour nylon strings, nails, flat boards and wooden pegs. Along the edges of the boards, at varying lengths 5 nails are hammered into the wood. Measurements are taken and 5 more nails are driven into the edge of the plank of wood. This is what I learnt. The two outer nails represent the width of the foundation and the two inner ones act as guide for the block work.

LaDMA Finally Catches Up With Me

Somehow I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. I had gone to the State Housing Company to sort out my permits from them when I got a call from the site foreman. He said there were a number of LaDMA officials at my property. Fortunately for me I was done at the SHC and was jus about to make my way home. When I got tho Nyaniba Estates, the guys from LaDMA were waiting for me. I immediately noticed that they had written a "Stop Working" notice on the wall inside the property. I explained to them that I having issues in getting building consent from SHC. The process was taking longer than I anticipated. Without the building consent from SHC, I could not apply for a building permit. I further mentioned that since things took so long to process in Ghana, I was obviously delayed in any progress with the building permit. Anyway the chap was kind enough to give me an extra 7 days to have my application submitted to LaDMA

Some Good Advice

I am always seeking advice on my building project. As much as I can I keep asking as many people as I can on what they have by way of advice on this project. If they had the opportunity to build another house, what would they do differently. One persons advice I have always adhered to is that from Mrs B. Today I went to see her at her offices at Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Actually I have not seen her for quite a while. My visit was a surprise, so we were both very glad to see each other. After I had settled down in her office and quenched my thirst with a cold drink, she asked me about my building project and how things were getting on.

After filling her in on where I was currently with the project, she offered me two crucial pieces of advice.
1. Engage the architect in your building project. Obviously, this will come as an extra cost, but it will benefit you from doing this. Her reasoning for this was that you [the person who has engaged the services of a building contractor] gets the added assurance that the builder follows the architectural drawings to every detail. Initially you will introduce the architect to the builder or vice versa and from then on the architect makes regular trips to your building site to make sure that what has been drawn is actually what is being built. And if there any changes you want to make to the building plan, the architect will assist the builder in how best to make the changes. She went on to mention that there have been cases where by builders have not quite understood the architects drawing and subsequently messed up the building thus creating an extra cost to the owner in rectifying the mistake[s]. With the architect making regular visits to your building site, at least you had that added security that an extra pair of eyes is monitoring what is being built.

2. If you are like me and live outside Ghana, then it will be prudent to invest in renting a one bedroom self contained apartment for a year. I say a year because in my case I estimate that the project will be completed in one year. This is a small price you will need to pay for peace of mind. Initially it is OK to seek that help from a friend or relative to provide a roof over your head whiles you monitor your project. However this cannot be a service you can rely your relative or friend to provide when you need to return to Ghana and carry on with the project. On your next trip to Ghana and when you need to stay with your friend or relative, do not be disappointed to be informed that the room you were hoping to sleep in has been given to another visitor or is being used for something else. 

All Hands On Deck - Clearing Up and Delivery

Today has been a hectic one. I arrived on site to find an escalator filling up a truck with the rubble generated from the demolition of the main building and boys quarters. The sight of this came to me as a massive relief. The escalator, I was told had tried to do some work on the site itself, but the ground was not firm enough to support the weight of the machine. So the builder had to get lots of workers to transport the remaining rubble across the road so tat this could be loaded onto the truck. Everything had to be done quickly as the cost of hiring the escalator was tagged at GHC200 per hour. Anyway things are looking better now. I will not be getting complaints from any of my neighbours. 

Two lots of building blocks have been delivered and stacked across the road. The location for offloading these blocks does not look safe as my main concern was that they can be stolen. However the builder assured me that no one was going to steal them.

View fullsize

View fullsize

I suppose he is right as they are very much exposed and anyone trying to move them would be questioned immediately.

The steel bender - Mensah - was also onsite. He spent the best part of today straightening the 16mm iron rods and cutting them into three equal parts. These will be used to construct the pillars for the building structure. Currently, two sets of iron rods have been purchased. 16mm and 12mm. Mensah told me that some more people will be joining him tomorrow to construct the frames for the pillars and also sort out the rest of the iron rods.

I try to be on site as much as possible so that if there are any questions I need to ask, I can do that. I feel it gives me a better understanding of the process and reasons why things are being done they way they are. 

This afternoon I had to dash to Barclays Bank Osu branch on Oxford Street. When I got back to site, the builder informed me that he had a visit from "Land Guard" people. They are also referred to as "Asafo". I am not entirely familiar with their activities, but a quick poking around on the internet gave me the below results. You can draw your own conclusions.

“Land guards in Accra appear invincible. Since their bloody services began, they have ruled Accra lands, especially the new settlements, with iron fists, remaining largely impervious to the efforts of the police.

Many have fallen to their swords, with others losing money invested in the property which brought them face to face with the red-eyed hoodlums.

They are ruthless and would press the trigger at the least provocation, with little or no regard for the laws of the land. Some of them have done time in prison and therefore not scared of returning there.
”

— http://www.modernghana.com/news/350618/1/the-rule-of-land-guards.html

Carrying on, the builder said the Land Guards demanded some money and a bottle of Schnapps from him, as it is something demanded from people erecting buildings. The builder confirmed that this was a common practice and that he has had to give in to their demands several times when working on other clients properties. Apparently if you fail to give in to their demands, the next course of action by them is to harass you and confiscate any tools on site. So beware, if you are putting ups a building, expect to get a visit from these Land Guards.

Demolition of Boys Quarters - Day thirteen

Current demolition Progress…
I moved out of the boys quarters last week Tuesday, on the 3rd of November, to be precise. Since then, the boys quarters has been completely demolished. Lets say 95% of it. The 5% remaining represents the concrete floors. To date all the rubble from the the site has been transported over the road and dumped on the patch of land that separates Nyaniba from the Ring Road. I was assured by the builder that starting last week, he was going to organise a truck to start removing the rubble from where it currently sits. I travelled up to Tamale to visit some friends and returned on Saturday afternoon. This morning I was on site and was very disappointed to notice that the rubble is still sitting where it is. I am not particularly happy because firstly I do not want another visit from LaDMA, as they have already clocked the presence of the rubble and agreed for it to be there for a limited time only. That was 3 weeks ago. Secondly, it is an eyesore for the other residents and businesses that are within a certain radius around me. I am sure they can put up with all the rubbish for a period of time, however when the presence of the rubbish seems to be prolonging, they will start raising concerns to me and the proper authorities. This I certainly do not want to happen.
The have called the builder this morning. Apparently he is going to be on site today and I will have to sit him down and have a chat. We also need to go through his initial project time scales he presented to me. 
I can see that the workmen - 5 of them - are struggling with the little work that is left with breaking of the concrete of the boy quarters. Before vacating the boys quarters, the builder assured me that the demolition of the boys quarters would be done in no time as he was going to hire a couple of drilling machines to assist in the work.

I have made it a habit to talk to as many people as possible just to get as much advice as possible. My initial concerns I have been told is pilfering by the work men. Obviously the only way to curb this is to have a dedicated "watchman" on site. Even then, what is there to prevent this "watchman" from forming an alliance with the work men and stealing from the site. My other option is to have dedicated "spotters" to keep a look out for any unusual activity. Fortunately I have been able to source three people who live to the left and right of me as my spotters.

Currently I see that there are a lot of bits and pieces lying around on the site. By bits and pieces I mean stuff that has been salvaged from the two building - roofing sheets, old wiring, pieces of iron rods, wood, recovered tiles from the floors  etc etc.  One thing I will ask the builder to do is to get those who have put this items aside to have them removed by the end of this week. I feel that if these items are still there when materials start arriving on site, the pilferers will use the excuse of removing items they have salvaged from the demolition to steal materials from the site.