Fine View Builders

30/01/2025

The Process of Building a House:Phase One

I will provide a brief overview of the house-building process. As a developer, you will need to hire at least the following team before starting construction:
1. Architect
2. Structural Engineer
3. Electrical Engineer
4.) Mechanical Engineer
5.) Quantity Surveyor

Additionally, depending on your budget, you may consider hiring:

1. Interior Designer
2. Landscaping Architect

Step 1:Design the House

As a developer, you should meet with a licensed architect and provide a checklist of the features you want to include in your building. The architect will create a proposed design based on your specifications, which you will then review and approve.

Once you approve the design, the architect will proceed to develop all the necessary project drawings to bring your project to life. These drawings include:
1. Large-scale drawings of the scheme design
2. Detailed foundation plans
3. Detailed floor plans
4. Detailed section diagrams
5. Detailed elevation diagrams
6. Roof framing plans.

The cost of these drawings will be at least 2% of the total construction costs. If you are renovating an existing building, expect to pay a minimum of 3.75% of the renovation costs.

Your obligations do not end there. As the architect works on your project’s contract drawings, the other design consultants will also be busy producing complementary working drawings.

Quantity Surveyor:
The Quantity Surveyor will analyze all the elements and dimensions in your proposed building to generate a detailed bill of quantities.

Structural Engineer:
The working drawings from your structural engineer will include plans, sections, and elevations of the structural layout. They will also provide reinforcement drawings detailing the reinforcement bars and materials used in the foundation, slabs, columns, beams, and roof, as well as the construction details for column bases, pile caps, beams, concrete box culverts, and expansion joints.
Mechanical Engineer:
Your mechanical engineer will provide detailed diagrams for the plumbing layout, drainage layout, ducts, and systems for ventilation and air conditioning
Electrical Engineer:
The working drawings from the electrical engineer will include explicit technical details of the building's electrical circuits and power points.

The combined working drawings from the architect and the rest of the design consultants are essential to guide your contractors and subcontractors throughout the construction process. If you proceed without these drawings, your contractor will be left to guess most of the specifications, and you may be unable to hold them liable for their work

Step 2: Approval

The house layout must receive approval from various authorities, including the county government and NEMA. Fulfilling these statutory requirements can be time-consuming, which is a significant reason for project delays.

For a residential project, both state and county governments specify the necessary statutory requirements. Some of these approvals include layout approval, as well as connections for water, electricity, and sewerage, in addition to rainwater harvesting systems

26/09/2023

Testing the hob

24/09/2023

Tip To Reduce Construction Cost Of House Or Building

Hire Specialists Who are Qualified and Experienced

It is always a good idea to select certified and experienced individuals who have been in the company long enough to be thoroughly skilled and know the finest and current techniques in the market, whether you are searching for building contractors, architects, or interior designers.

24/09/2023

8 Tips To Reduce Construction Cost Of House Or Building

1. Square shaped structure has more advantages than a rectangular-shaped structure. It saves almost 15 -20% of walls than a rectangular shape of the same structure.

2. For a 2-storey building half number of rooms should be constructed on the ground floor and the other half rooms on the upper floor. Because construction on the upper floor is about 25% cheaper than on the ground floor.

3. The cost can be reduced by making the outer walls thicker than the inner walls.

4. Time should always be maintained. The work should be started in due time without any delay. A delay in starting the work will increase the total cost of the project.

5. Avoid unnecessary structural members just for beautification in architectural design. It will increase your overall cost.

6. Hire good Civil/Structural Engineers/Architects.

7. Construction work should be done by skilled workers.

8. Make sure the building design layout is easy to understand for the contractor and workers.

24/09/2023

House Construction Procedure

Every project goes through five stages, i.e., initiation, planning, ex*****on, monitoring-controlling, and closing. The construction project of a house also goes through the same five stages.

The five stages of a construction project are categorized under three heads, i.e., pre-construction, construction, and post-construction. The pre-construction stage involves conceptualization, designing, planning, contractor finalization, financing, etc.

The construction phase involves procurement of raw materials, work ex*****on, quality checking, etc. The post-construction activities deal with the project closing and handing over for its use.

21/06/2023

Concrete mix design is the process of finding right proportions of cement, sand and aggregates for concrete to achieve target strength in structures.

09/06/2023

24/05/2023

Project Comparison Estimates

Project comparison estimates are prepared by comparing the cost of a proposed project to a completed project. When preparing an estimate using this method, the estimator
starts with the costs of a comparable project and then makes adjustments for differences in the project. For example, an estimate for the buildings in an apartment project may be
prepared from a project built using the same plans during the previous year in a nearby city. In this example, the prices from the completed project need to be adjusted for inflation, changes in the availability and cost of labour, changes in the plans made to meet city codes, and so forth. In most
cases, the site should be estimated using another method because of the many differences in site conditions. As with
other estimating methods that do not prepare a detailed list of materials, care must be taken to ensure that the proposed project is similar to the completed project.

23/05/2023

External site survey checklist
√Boundaries
√Any evidence of dampness, or moisture in the walls externally?
√Steps - changes in the level
√Chimneys
√Electricity and gas meters
√Rainwater pipes
√Foul drainage pipes
√Manholes and other drainages
√Hazards on or near the site
√Tree locations in relation to the house
√Signs of water/dampness close to the house
√Access
√Highways and visibility to the road