Constructing a house in Uganda is not a hard hustle as long as you know what you want and make necessary research before constructing a house. One needs to look for a place where they will be comfortable and how much money is needed.
We all want to own a building one day in our lifetime but it is not as easy as it seems and there are a few two things that I believe you need you definitely need before you even think about construction and these include the following:
Land
Land is sold everywhere in Uganda and at different prices but this all depends on its accessibility to the city and the nearest towns. You can purchase 50 by 100 feet, an acre or 100 feet by 100 depending on the size of land that you require.
Acquiring land depends on what is needed for the building that is if it’s a home or a commercial building and this greatly determines where you are going to purchase the land.
A budget
You need to make a budget of the things that you will need when you start constructing the house. This budget will help you know which type of design, size of the house and the type of materials that you will need. A budget will help you to save some money while constructing.
Steps involved in construction in Uganda
Building in Uganda and everywhere else in the world has a few steps that are involved when constructing and these include the following:
Purchasing of the materials
Before building takes place, you need to first purchase the necessary construction materials. The materials need to be bought prior to the start of construction to make it easy and if possible you should buy them in bulk to save on money.
The foundation
The foundation step is one of the first things that one needs to do when constructing. The step involves excavating, clearing the land and digging up the foundation walls. There is no permanent price that can determine the cost of the foundation process since it depends on the size of the house.
Construction of the walls
After making the foundation, the construction of the walls is next and these can be constructed up to the beam. The beam is where the roofing of the house starts and at this stage the building is almost complete.
The finishing step
This is the last step on finishing the building process. It involves roofing the place, applying the tiles, applying paint and plastering the walls.
It also involves placing windows and doors in their needed spaces, and if you are putting up a ceiling in your building you will need wire mesh, sand and cement to set up the ceiling and for the gutters you will need brackets, pipe clips and connectors.
The mechanical details
This will need an expert to carry out and it involves indoor plumbing, water tanks, and kitchen water pumps. They might be expensive but fancy to use in a modern day to day building.
Factors that affect the cost of construction
The cost of constructing a house depends on a number of factors and they are listed below:
The soil or ground conditions
This greatly affects the cost of building in Uganda. If the site has poor soils like clay or sand soils, it will need more engineering to stabilize the land before construction and this will hike the prices and cost of building.
The plan of the house
When dealing with a plan of the house most people don’t know what to go with so it is better if you get architecture and create a good and reasonable plan. It should be noted that all plans cost differently and before you go with a plan you need to look at your budget.
The economic conditions
This majorly depends on how busy the construction industry is. If the construction company is busy that is there is a period where almost everyone is constructing, then the price of the labor and materials will hike and increase the cost of construction. But if the economy is slow then the cost of building also goes down.
The access to the site
If the place is easily accessible, it reduces the costs because everything from the water to labor will be easily got and cheap but for those areas that are not easily accessible, transportation of the materials becomes expensive and so does labor.
The design of the house
The cost of construction can also be affected with the design of the house that one needs. If you want to minimize costs when it comes to construction of the house, you need to go with a simple design as this will reduce on the costs of construction materials needed. A complex house design will take a lot of material and the labor will also increase therefore one needs to be realistic when it come stop choosing the designs that they want.
The size of the house
This is a big factor that affects the cost of building in Uganda. A bigger house will see one spending more whereas with a moderate house one can spend averagely when it comes to buying of the material and paying off labor. Constructing and maintaining a big house is quite expensive and this leads to having spending on construction.
Use simplified roofing
Construction of the roof for a building is the hardest part of construction but the mire complex the roofing style that one has the more they are going to spend on putting up the roof. But if one chooses a simplified roofing style that is of good quality, they can save on future leaks and replacement in the near future thereby saving on the costs.
Hire an engineer
An engineer will help you with shopping of the different materials on the market since they know where to get the good quality materials at a cheaper price and also get you good cheap labor. This helps in saving on the cost of construction in the country.
How to save when constructing
There are different ways that one can save when it comes to constructing in Uganda and below are some of the few things that one can do to minimize the costs and save.
Low cost of the materials
You need to use materials in order to save on the costs. Most people believe that materials that are low are always bad and fake but it all depends on how the builder is going to design and use those materials. The low cost materials should be bought and at least used in places that are not easily seen by the public eye and use the expensive one where people can see them.
Time taken for construction
It is advisable that before you start construction, you should put up a time frame on how long it is going to take for the construction to end. If possible you can construct faster since this reduces the materials being used on a daily basis and the amount of money paid to the labor. A longer period of time leads to usage of a lot of materials and the money used to cater for the labor.
Buy in bulk
When you decide to start building, you need to shop for the materials in bulk. Buying these things in bulk helps to save in a way that you purchase all the materials at once and if they get done you can easily purchase others. But if you purchase all these materials per day then you end up spending more since it is easier to bargain to bargain if one is buying in bulk than when you buy in small quantities.
Choose an affordable neighborhood
Determine the neighborhood that you are constructing in before you start. Construct a house that will be easy to resell without making a loss because it is graded with the neighboring houses in case of an emergency. If you had plans of constructing in a place that is more than expensive, choose an urban rural area that fits into your budget to save costs.
Minimize the expenditure
Try and track the expenditures that are being made daily on the site and determine what is needed to be done if they are overboard. Talk with the builders and ensure that what you wanted is actually what is being done and paid for. This saves on the money used for construction.
Supervise the works once in a while
When spending during construction, make sure you spend on what is necessary and avoid buying exaggerated things that you will not need for the house so that you can save on the costs. It is always good to do supervision on your construction to make sure that everything is going on fine.
In conclusion, every stage in construction has a completely different cost and you should be aware before you start construction.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
