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The platform “guardian constructors” is known for considering the cost of various aspects of building a house in Nigeria, Africa. In recent times, the platform has helped a lot of Africans living within and outside the shores of the continent reach their construction goals without wasting their scarce resources and today, we’re looking at the most costly aspects of building a house in Nigeria as we know this would encourage a lot of people kickstart their project this year without fear.
The Costly Aspects of Building a House in Nigeria
Below are the various aspects of construction that night pose a little challenge for you as far as Nigeria is concerned.
Buying a Plot of Land
The most Costly Aspect of erecting your home would be buying a good plot of land and by “Good plot of land” I mean a plot that’s within a developing area (mostly an area where there is at least 3 to 5 building projects either going or or already completed) often referred to as “Buy and Build area”
Once you’ve secured this plot, the next hard and expensive phase would be;
Hiring An Architect
Hiring an Architect to produce an architectural plan that suits your TASTE and POCKET (Don’t take up a project you can’t afford)
After getting the plan from your architect, the next expensive phase is buying the materials for foundation;
Materials for Foundation
First you’ll need up to 10 trips of Sharp sand to start molding blocks (10 trips of sand should completely mold 50 bags of cement and would produce up to 2100 blocks required to kick start the project
It costs NGN1,000 to mold a bag of cement (gives you 35 – 40 solid 5-inch blocks if you buy the right Sharp sand and hire the right hands)
We know a trip of sand costs around 25,000 depending on where you’re sitting your house. And from experience, I’ll always recommend molding your blocks as it ensures your blocks are strong and saves you a lot of money (for every 500 blocks you buy, you lose over 70 blocks )
By the time all 30 trips of sand is molded, you’d have at least 2100 blocks and fully ready to start the next phase which is excavating the foundation.
The cost of excavating your foundation would depend on your negotiation power with the engineer and his team.
In most cases, the digging is paid per Partition. A partition is about 10 – 12ft long depending on your location.
The Engineer charges either for his daily work or negotiates a lump sum for the entire DPC phase.
For the foundation, you’ll need granite, Sharp sand and cement (Quantity depends on the scope of your project and the specifications set by the building codes)
You’ll need to pay for all partitions excavated and also pay for casting of foundation concrete
Once you’re done with the foundation works, the next is bricklaying.
Bricklaying
The bricklaying stage is scary, but it’s the cheapest and as long as your contractor and his team are not drinking Kai Kai and Igbo at the same time, you’re guaranteed to achieve your goals without breaking your bank.
Just ensure the Engineer on site is good at what he does and knows how to direct his workmen as a wrong team could mean walls that are not straight. If block work is wrongly done, whatever errors that were made would be corrected during plastering stage and this could make it more expensive than expected!
I wasn’t done sir.
The other costly sections are;
Roofing
Depending on the type of roofing structure you desire and the specific roofing sheets to be used also differs. The cost of your roof would be determine by the volume of timber required which is dependent on the type of roof and the type of roofing sheet you chose.
Electrification Of the Building
The cost of building a house in Nigeria is also influenced by the total cost required to wire the entire house. The buying of wires, switch and sockets, Switchboards, conduit wiring, and wiring the entire house would cost you money sir. Always ensure the wires are at least 2.5mm in order to carry stuffs like Pressing iron, water heater, fridges and as well as your AC. Working with wires lesser than 2.5mm from my experience has always led to a repeat of the process which is costly.
Doors and Windows, Burglary
Aside the various and most popular aspects we have been mentioning, another aspect of building that will cost you so much money is the burglary and windows. The Glass windows and doors would cost as much as the quality you desire.
Everybody understands that Quality wooden doors can never cost as much as security doors. Also, when it comes to Glass windows, the quality differs and you must ensure the project is handled by a qualified and experience expert to avoid wastage or loss of money.
Tiling of the House
Of course, everybody wants to live in a tiled apartment. Buying tiles, installing them is another thing that’ll cost you a lot of cash. You are going to learn how to estimate tiles yourself here so as not to waste money over buying what you do not need!
But just understand that since tiled walls don’t need plastering, whatever you didn’t spend in plastering could be used to achieve this section of the building.
Other aspects includes the POP and burglary installations which has to do with steel and welders, we also have windows and doors whose cost would depend on your taste and quality of materials you chose. Remember there might be need to install Steel towers for water tanks too!
So by now, I hope you’ve understand the various sections of a building that influence the cost of building a house in Nigeria.
Well, just before I close, understand that you’re erecting an edifice that is expected to last for at least 20/25 years. So it’ll need quality materials that are durable.
But if you’d like to be repairing ceiling and cracking walls, no wahala o.
Bonus Suggestion
If you’re building a home on a very tight budget this year, try as much as possible to know the quantities of the different materials required. Divide all by 12 months is the year.
Now you’ve known the quantities you have to work with monthly right.
Next is highlighting the percentage of your monthly income that’ll help you achieve this monthly quantity.
Once you’ve decided the portion of your income, the next is to find a good construction engineer to execute the project for you (please avoid quacks or Oga Uche in order not to cry in your dreams)
This is how majority of your friends that accomplished theirs did it, they won’t share the secret with you at all.
I’ve shared with you today
Enjoy
