Owning a dream home is most people’s dream. There are various ways to achieve this. One of them is getting involved in construction. It is advised that one gets to know what exactly the involved expenses are before committing.

The cost of building a house in Kenya varies depending on many factors such as the size of the structure; square footage, type of the house; design, location, and specification of materials; quality of finishes among other elements.

By considering the above elements, it is possible to get a rough estimate of the amount of money needed for your new house project. However, for an accurate estimates of total costs of your project, you will need to engage the services of a qualified quantity surveyor (one’s that qualified and registered by The Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya).

 

Below are the various aspects elaborated:

• The size of the house (square footage)

Building cost per square metre is often higher for a smaller home compared to a larger home. This is because, when putting up a bigger house, the cost of pricey items such as a bathroom or kitchen is distributed over more square footage.

Calculate cost by establishing the price of a newly constructed house that is similar to the one that you envision, subtract the cost of land and divide the amount by the size (square footage) of the home.

Again, it is essential that the kind of building you use its costs to estimate should be similar to the design you want to build in order to achieve a realistic figure.

• Quality of finishes

High quality finishes significantly increase construction costs thus a key determinant of cost.

Building fittings like cupboards, mirrors, bathroom fittings, lighting fittings etc. also add on to expenditure.

High quality finishes paired with bad or poor workmanship is an outright loss. Thus good workmanship is mandatory. Perfect installation is paramount to avoid incurring correction costs after completion.

• House features

The internal and external features of a house are also key determinants of building costs. Reducing the size and number of features will lower the costs while increasing them will only increase costs.

• Location

The location of your house is a key consideration. Price will be dependent on if the area is rural or urban. Owning land already before construction as opposed to starting from scratch is also another cost element. If you are looking for a plot on Kagundo road, consider Denver Group’s affordable plots. Ensure too that you have a no-contest title deed.

The topography of the land is also important. Some areas will require lots of work at foundation stage to ensure stability of the building thus raising costs.

Access to amenities also contribute to expenses. Are there good access roads for transporting materials? Proximity to the hardware store. Can the masons easily commute to the site? Essentially, the less developed the area, the higher the expenses.

Remember, the above elements are just key determinants but actual costs vary from one project to another.