Part 2: Building a house with a monthly salary below Shs1m

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You will also need 4 trips of lake sand at Shs 220,000 and 2 trips of plaster sand at Shs 200,000 and after this, you will now have everything you need to start building. For labour, it is best to get a person who will charge you one wholesome fee for building the house up to the ring beam, at a point when it’s ready for roofing.

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This will cost you between Shs 3.2-4.3m, an amount you do not have to fork out in one go. You will also need iron bars, 12 in this case for this house all of them at a cost of shs 400,000. The sand, bars and labour charge will take you another year, but you will now have a house built to the ring beam at the end of four years.

This kind of house will need about 25 ordinary iron sheets each going for Shs 37,000. You will also need nails and timber, of which you can get used timber that is just as good at a cheaper price, and this will take you another six months. Save up for another six months for 20 bags of cement to do the floor and the plastering and you will have your shell house at the end of five years.

Three windows each going for Shs280, 000 will take another three months of saving. Excavation of a latrine will go for Shs180, 000, and you will also need about 1000 bricks, 6 bags of cement and three iron sheets for your exterior latrine and bathroom. Six years down and you will be staying in your own home.

Factor in another year for miscellaneous expenses and we are counting seven years down. At this point, though we strongly discourage the notion of taking a loan at any point in building a home, a loan can help to quickly roof the house, move in and then the money that you’ve been using to rent can be used to service the loan. So in seven years, you can enter your modest house.

Diversification yields quicker results

According to Décor Design Constructors, a company that deals n affordable housing, they have never built a house for anyone who is using the salary this way. Although they claim it is possible,

“It could take up to 15 years for someone who wants a three-bedroomed self-contained house, the ultimate definition of modesty for most people. Our advice; diversify.”

Poultry Keeping:

Save Shs3m in a year and start a poultry farm. Rent land at Shs 500,000, use Shs 600,000 to put up your chicken house, buy your first batch of feeds at shs 300,000 and use the balance to buy 600 layer chicks which go for Shs 2,500 each.

In six months, you can sell off these chickens at Shs 10,000 each after selling eggs along the way at a tune of Shs5m (I have used 500 assuming 100 died). You can buy the plot of land, lay a foundation, and using your poultry farm as collateral, get a loan and purchase 1,000 layer chicks this time and repeat your six months’ cycle.

Goat Keeping:

You can also buy a she-goat at Shs 100,000 each month and entrust them with someone in the village. Goats produce twice a year and in six months, a young one is ready for sale at the same price. You can achieve your dream faster this way.

In all, a dream home is achievable whether through disciplined savings or diversification.

Single Room self

This type is flexible it can fit even in the smallest piece of land. Depending on the size of the land and desires of a client all can work, however, the cost of construction can also be affected by the nature of the land.

Differences in cost occur where there is different topography of the land. For instance, if the land needs grading you may incur an extra price due to the foundation difference.

But a simple single self-contained house can go for approximately sh6.8m to sh8.5m.

You may need about 25 bags of cement for such a house if you lay a slab and about 20 bags without a slab to make it up to the ring beam.

You need around eight 3 meter iron sheet pieces for a minimal single self-contained house to be complete.

Let us take you through in the phases and prices

Building materials

One room can take 3,000 bricks and if each one costs sh300 then it will cost you sh900,000. Fine sand two trips cost sh220,000, coarse sand two trips sh220,000.

It can take 30 bags of cement and each costs sh28,000, dump proof membrane one roll will cost you sh90,000, gravel one trip at sh200,000.

In case you need hard core one trip cost will cost you Shs280,000, hoop iron one roll can cost sh95,000.

Roofing

Roofing timber can cost you sh750,000, iron sheets will cost you sh640,000 and roofing nails will cost sh30,000

Tools

You have to account for tools as well, a hoe costs sh14,000, a spade sh22,000, a wheel barrow sh120,000, a pick axe sh18,000, mortar pans sh10,000 and a panga costs sh13,000.

Other things

Scaffolding poles 15 can be enough and each costs sh4,000, nails 3-inch, 5 kgs each at sh4,500, nails of 4-inch the same price and 5-inch are also at the same price.

Builder’s string one roll is enough and it costs sh35,000, anti-termite treatment one item costs sh28,000. Water might cost sh150,000 and lastly, you may need a store that may cost more than sh300,000.

This one-room may cost approximately Shs13.86M up to the roofing stage. Add other Shs2.8M extra works.

Part 3 will be published in our next edition of homes

 

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