Set plans before you construct a house

House construction is one of the ventures that entail prior planning. Constance Obonyo finds out steps to follow.Constructing a house begins long before the budget or plan is drawn; it begins with the concept. There are factors a person thinking of constructing any type of building must consider before they begin the venture.
According to Engineer Andrew Tadhuba of Tamp Engineering Consultants Ltd, building any type of house has several stages. “You have to develop an idea as to where you want to build. There must be a purpose for the building and you have to choose the right location for that purpose. Also, you have to carry out some site investigations,” he explains.

The location
Putting up a building in a swampy area for location is not a good idea, because a swamp is not supposed to support buildings, neither is it attractive to people. Also, a swamp is too soft to hold certain types of buildings like warehouses or container terminals. Swampy areas also require expensive materials for stable foundations. So they are not cost-effective locations for buildings.

Mr Tadhuba says if one wants to build a hotel, it should be located on a hilly area, if possible. “The people of Aya Investments told the authorities that they wanted the highest point in the city and that was the site of former Radio Uganda. They wanted something that could easily be marketed.”

Architectural work
According to Mr Mark Bwambale, an architect practicing with Darc Group Limited, a person would then go on to engage the architect and explain their needs to him such as the type of house they would like. That would be the normal course to take, but sometimes clients approach architects when they have already bought their land. “After agreeing with the architect that he will do your work, it is important to take them to the site so that they can plan a building that is customised to that location,” he explains.

There is a misconception that what they call a building site is a place that has been leveled, that is why most of the hills are being graded. It is because people think that planning starts after grading. But the best houses, those that are even attracting tourists, are those that are customised to the topography of the environment in which they are being built.

Mr Bwambale stresses that an architect is a person who helps a client realise their dreams. He is not a god who performs magic and the person ends up with a good house. People need to sit down and define their needs. Architects can also provide interior design services, landscape design services, design furniture and can even be fine artists. It all depends on what the architect decided to major in. However, landscape architecture hardly exists in Uganda.

Soil type
The type of soil at the building site is another factor to take into consideration. “You have to carry out some soil investigations. Make sure the ground can hold the type of structure you are going to set-up,” he says. A person planning to build should be able to acquire land. “It would be helpful for them to approach an architect to identify options of the kind of land they might want to buy. An architect will be able to advise them at that time, of the suitability of the land according to the kind of development they may want to undertake,” he says.

Then the person can go ahead and develop their building plan. The plan must match the purpose. To develop the design, that person must also consider the type of soil, its properties and the type of area. For instance, if it is to be on a hill, the design has to be suited for hills.

Signing contracts
Mr Bwambale also says it is advisable to always sign a contract. “One of the problems here in Uganda is that clients themselves do not want to commit themselves. People always want to have an opportunity to cheat others. So many clients fear to sign contracts and yet the contracts are there to help them, not only the architects.”

The contracts signed are for the architect to draw a design for the client. The architect is then supposed to submit it to the local authorities for approval. The local authorities look at the technical side of it and may put down some technical comments.

There are situations where a client may say they know somebody at the local authority who will help them see it through. But that is not advisable, because in the event that there are comments that need to be addressed, the architect may need to work on them. Sometimes comments are made and the architect never gets to know about them and approval delays. The client may end up thinking that the architect did a fake design.

Other professionals
The structural engineer will look at the design and calculate the weight it is going to carry to ensure that the different structural elements are enough to carry that load. There are other professionals a client may need whose services the architect may recommend. If there are advanced electrical complications and mechanical systems, the client may need an electrical engineer and a mechanical engineer. If the construction is to be tendered and the client is going to choose between different contractors, they will need to know what a fair price for doing that work would be.

In that case, the client will need the services of a quantity surveyor. These professionals specialise in estimating the cost of construction. These professionals can also be sub-consultants of the architect and if a client already has a working relationship with other professionals, the architect should be open to working with them.

Planning process
According to Mark, a homeowner there is formal and informal planning. “Formal planning is where you take the architect to the site and he sees it, so that he can design a house which will suit the landscape,” he explains. He adds that for informal planning, one needs to ask people to advise them on what to do; say where to get the materials, casual labourers and water. Mark employed both the formal and informal planning. “I got an architect and he made a plan, though the planning process is also another hard thing. Because after you get an architect, he has to take the plan for approval. It takes a lot of time

Construction stage
This depends on different issues. The time in which you want to implement the project matters. The time at times determines the cost. If you want to construct a house in a short time, the cost may be a bit higher, because you have to perform different activities at a time. Sometimes the weather may be bad, so you have to do a little more to beat the deadline. If you are in a city, the best time would be to build at night, so the costs will go up because of the time element.

Choosing materials
The other issue is where to get construction materials. You may be forced to use expensive materials which are readily available instead of using that which is cheaper but got from far. Trying to procure such materials would slow down the work.You will need human resource in terms of casual labour and technical people like engineers. Sourcing them will also have an impact on the cost.

Finish phase
The finishing will also depend on the purpose of the building. The finishing of the hotel varies from that of an office. A hotel has to have a calm atmosphere, attractive to people in their resting periods, whereas an office does not need finishing that glitters a lot. One will need professional painters and designers to do a great job.

Costs involved
If an architect says making a plan costs Shs400,000; taking it for approval is Shs600,000. It takes about Shs1m for you to be allowed to start building. It is very disturbing, because you are spending money on things that are not part of the house. Mark had already bought the land on which he built the house. I bought land at Seguku when it was still cheap, but now it is expensive. At that time it was Shs12m. It is about 30 Decimals.

Challenges encountered
Mark faced many challenges in the planning process. Financing was one of them. “The good thing is that I had already gathered sand and stones. The sand is used for constructing; the stones for the foundation and also the slab. You also give him (the contractor) cement,” he says.

For the amount of cement he used, Mark could not give a definite figure. “In the beginning, I gave him about 13 bags. Then I kept adding onto that. I used to go to a hardware store, buy about 10 bags and keep them at home,” Mark explains.

There may also be changes in the design. He says when building there has to be a lot of breaking as well. A wall may turn out crooked and has to be broken. Sometimes the architect’s drawing may not reflect the client’s tastes, so they have to change it by breaking.

So, even before going out to buy land, a person must consider the purpose for which they want the land for first. Then from then on it is careful planning all the way. Otherwise, rushing out to buy the cheapest piece of land available without a plan in mind may turn out to be counter productive.