WHAT IT TAKES TO CONSTRUCT A HOME IN KENYA WHEN
YOU ARE FROM THE DIASPORA
There is nothing as satisfying and fulfilling as owning
your own dream home. However, the process of
building one’s own home or building real estate for
rent or sale is often a nightmare. In this article, a
summary of the construction process will be outlaid.
1.
Acquiring of Land.
Acquisition of Land is the first step in construction.
Critical aspects in choosing land are location, soil type,
terrain, proximity to amenities among others.
2.
Apply for change of user.
This is done to enable the desired development to be
undertaken, depending on what the client intends
to do, be it; institutional, industrial, commercial or
residential.
3.
Site visit by the Architect.
A site visit is made by the architect to ascertain on
certain site conditions like:
Site terrain
Soil Profile
Orientation of the sun
Prevailing wind direction
Infrastructure systems like; Sewer disposal system,
roads infrastructure, water connections, electricity
4.
Brief development.
At this stage the client will paint out to the Architect his
/ her vision.
At this stage is where the client also advices on their
intended budget, to allow the design to take place
within the budget.
5.
Design proposal.
This is a consultative process between the person that
wants to build and the architect. At this stage the dream
painted by the person who wants to build is made
to a design reality.
This also at this stage that the other consultants are
involved namely;
Structural Engineer
Quantity surveyor
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer.
6. Presentation of the final Design to the client.
The final design is presented to the client for signing off.
7.
Submission of the Drawings for approvals.
The drawings are submitted to the respective local county
authorities to seek for construction approval.
IDEA DIASPORA 8
8.
Tendering Process.
Tendering is basically competing to give the lowest (but most
realistic) price to actualize the construction. The tenderers also
specify how long they will take to execute the works.
9.
Tender Award and Ground breaking.
Once the most suitable contractor has been identified he/ she is
awarded the job and proceeds on for a ground breaking ceremony.
10.
Construction process.
The Contractor takes possession of the site and proceeds with
the construction which can be summarized in the following stages
Setting out
Foundation
Slab casting
Walling
Roofing
Internal finishes
External finishes
External work.
11.
As built drawings / Occupation certificate
Once the works are complete the client is furnished with As
built drawings, the occupation certificate and the buildings
keys at a small site handover ceremony attended by all those
who were involved.
This report was written by Roy Mike Maina who is a Director
at Wanda Synergy Limited an architectural firm based in
Kenya. His core focus is providing House/Building plans and
construction solutions to Kenyans living in the Diaspora
Contacts: -
[email protected]
www.wandasynergy.com
https://www.facebook.com/wandasynergyltd