Where possible hire construction tools such as spades, hammers, wheelbarrows, and wood used as scaffolding or for support during construction. Recycle materialsĪlways keep in mind that every shilling is important and everything you buy adds on to the budget. The cheap materials might be counterfeit which will end up costing you more. If a supplier is offering you products at a price way below the average market rates, exercise caution because more often than not the ‘nice deal’ is a rip-off. Inasmuch as you want to save some money and are shopping around for cheap building materials, watch out for deals that are too good to be true. However, you will need some patience to shop around for bargains. Others buy cheaper substandard materials so they can pocket the difference. Some foremen work in cahoots with suppliers to con their employer by inflating prices of materials and backing the dishonest act with falsified receipts. If you can, source for building materials yourself instead of sending the foreman or fundi to do it for you. The use of unskilled labour has cost some homebuilders up to 40% of the total cost yet construction firms charge only a small percentage of the total cost.
#Best and cheapest construction takeoff software professional
While you might want to avoid hiring a professional in a bid to cut costs, it will cost you more to fix errors. Many people have lost money during construction due to poor workmanship. These technologies are readily available in the local market. RELATED: Kenyan Firms Bet Big on Prefab HomesĪnother great option is interlocking bricks which require less cement to hold together and less labour compared to brick structures. In a bid to lower costs, new technologies such as EPS panels which drastically reduce the amount of material and labour have been introduced into the market. The high cost of building materials and the intensive labour that goes into building conventional houses are key contributors to the high construction costs. Avoid making any changes to the design during construction because alterations will translate to additional costs. In addition, keep the roof lines simple and short since complex steep roofs necessitate surplus roofing supplies. Keep the number of corners on the exterior walls at a minimum since they are labour intensive and heavy consumers of materials.Ĭheap house designs usually stick to simple squares and rectangles which can be ornamented with fascinating architectural features such as a balcony or porch. The more complex a house plan, the more costly it will be to construct. While the design depends on factors such as the nature of your plot, choosing cheap house designs is easily the cheapest way to build a house. Picking a house plan is the first step when building a home. Luckily, building a house cheaply in Kenya is possible for those who implement the many low-cost building ideas that are readily accessible in the marketplace. Indeed, the average market price for a “low cost” three-bedroom house, considered to be the ideal size for most families is Sh4.8 million which is way out of reach for most Kenyans. High cost of land and a scarcity of cheap building materials have complicated matters for the prospective homeowner seeking to build a cheap house in Kenya.