diff --git a/nipap/Makefile b/nipap/Makefile
index fec4cf90c..c28435c34 100644
--- a/nipap/Makefile
+++ b/nipap/Makefile
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ buildrpm:
 builddeb:
 	# build the source package in the parent directory
 	# then rename it to project_version.orig.tar.gz
-	$(PYTHON) setup.py sdist --dist-dir=../ --prune
+	$(PYTHON) setup.py build sdist --dist-dir=../ --prune
 	rename -f 's/$(PROJECT)-(\d.*)\.tar\.gz/$(PROJECT)_$$1\.orig\.tar\.gz/' ../*
 	# build the package
 	debuild -us -uc
diff --git a/nipap/setup.py b/nipap/setup.py
index 31c0cf3d0..44228f110 100644
--- a/nipap/setup.py
+++ b/nipap/setup.py
@@ -1,40 +1,42 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 
+from distutils.command.build import build
 from distutils.core import setup
+
 import subprocess
 import sys
 
 import nipap
 
+data_files = [
+        ('/etc/nipap/', ['nipap.conf.dist']),
+        ('/usr/sbin/', ['nipapd', 'nipap-passwd']),
+        ('/usr/share/nipap/sql/', [
+            'sql/upgrade-1-2.plsql',
+            'sql/upgrade-2-3.plsql',
+            'sql/upgrade-3-4.plsql',
+            'sql/upgrade-4-5.plsql',
+            'sql/upgrade-5-6.plsql',
+            'sql/functions.plsql',
+            'sql/triggers.plsql',
+            'sql/ip_net.plsql'
+            ]),
+    ]
 
-# return all the extra data files
-def get_data_files():
-    # generate man pages using rst2man
-    try:
-        subprocess.call(["rst2man", "nipapd.man.rst", "nipapd.8"])
-        subprocess.call(["rst2man", "nipap-passwd.man.rst", "nipap-passwd.1"])
-    except OSError as exc:
-        print >> sys.stderr, "rst2man failed to run:", str(exc)
-        sys.exit(1)
-
-    files = [
-            ('/etc/nipap/', ['nipap.conf.dist']),
-            ('/usr/sbin/', ['nipapd', 'nipap-passwd']),
-            ('/usr/share/nipap/sql/', [
-                'sql/upgrade-1-2.plsql',
-                'sql/upgrade-2-3.plsql',
-                'sql/upgrade-3-4.plsql',
-                'sql/upgrade-4-5.plsql',
-                'sql/upgrade-5-6.plsql',
-                'sql/functions.plsql',
-                'sql/triggers.plsql',
-                'sql/ip_net.plsql'
-                ]),
-            ('/usr/share/man/man8/', ['nipapd.8']),
-            ('/usr/share/man/man1/', ['nipap-passwd.1'])
-        ]
+class MyBuild(build):
+    """ Customized build command - build manpages.
+    """
+    def run(self):
+        try:
+            print('Generating manpages...')
+            subprocess.call(["rst2man", "nipapd.man.rst", "nipapd.8"])
+            subprocess.call(["rst2man", "nipap-passwd.man.rst", "nipap-passwd.1"])
+            data_files.append(('/usr/share/man/man8/', ['nipapd.8']))
+            data_files.append(('/usr/share/man/man1/', ['nipap-passwd.1']))
 
-    return files
+        except OSError:
+            print('Warning: rst2man was not found, skipping the manpage generation.')
+        build.run(self)
 
 
 long_desc = open('README.rst').read()
@@ -52,7 +54,8 @@ def get_data_files():
     packages = ['nipap'],
     keywords = ['nipap'],
     requires = ['ldap', 'sqlite3', 'IPy', 'psycopg2', 'parsedatetime'],
-    data_files = get_data_files(),
+    data_files = data_files,
+    cmdclass = {'build': MyBuild},
     classifiers = [
         'Development Status :: 4 - Beta',
         'Intended Audience :: Developers',