Everything You Need To Know About Building Your Own House In Zimbabwe (in 2022)

There is that pride that comes with building your house, your home. If you're looking into building your own but don't know where to start, here is a poor man's guide to build your own home.

Budget

This is a bit obvious but important part of the whole process. Your budget will determine how your will be built, who will build it, the type, the size and everything. Think about how much you can afford to spend and how much building the house will cost. If your budget is not right it is best to wait until your financials are in order. Most people make a mistake of going for the cheap solutions which will endup cost more in the long or endup with a house you don't like. Remember this is a house you will likely live in for the rest of your life.

Planning

This is the part where you decide how big your house is going to be. The layout of the house, the number of rooms and other amenities.You will be working with an architect to draw your plans or chose stock plans. These are ready made plans made for everyone. You can build as is or you can customize it. Usually you should consult an architect to help you pick the best house plan depending your preferences.

Custom plans are great to get the house of your dreams, everything made to your specification. For this part you will need to hire an architect to help you with drawing.

Engage Engineers

Your house will need a structural engineer to help you with engineering drawings otherwise your contractors will not know what to put where. Usually your architect has their own engineering team they can consult on demand but if you have your own engineer they can alway work with your architect for engineering drawings. At this point you should also consult a quantity surveyor to get a bill of quantities. This is a list of all the materials needed to complete your structure.

Contractors

Now that you have everything you need, it is time to get quotations from contractors. Get at least 3 quotations from different contractors and compare their offering. There is a delicate balance between picking a contractor who is affordable and one who does quality work using good materials, you usually get what you pay for, so chose wisely. It is a good idea to get references from people you know who were satisfied with their builder, then carefully interview at least three.

Lastly you should now source the materials from the bill of quantities so that your contractors will start to work on site. Most people buy general material up front before consulting anyone then continue to buy other things they get from the bill of quantities. I hope this was helpful start to build your own home