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Growing house: building in phases
Building in phases while staying in your house cuts rental costs.
A growing house is built in such a way that a particular room is roofed so that one can live in it immediately while other expansions proceed, writes Lydia Namono.
When one talks of a growing house, you might think it is some sort of structure that keeps on expanding, which is not so far from its actual meaning. When you decide to construct a house, you might not have the wholesome amount of money needed to complete it in the shortest time possible. But that does not mean that you can not construct it after all.
You can decide to build a house in phases depending on your needs and that’s what a growing house is all about. According to Mr Deo Harton Kateregga, the manager at Data Plus, a consulting firm in architecture, engineering and construction, “A growing house is one that’s constructed in several utilisable stages. It is basically a start small home project,” he says.
What differentiates this from the usual process of construction is that people build a complete structure without being able to reside in it. In such cases, you have the client building a foundation and the walls of different rooms simultaneously until he or she gets stuck before roofing. With this, it becomes difficult for you to reside in it in case you are renting and want to stay in your own house.
The benefits
But the growing house is built in such a way that a particular room is roofed so that one can live in it immediately while other expansions proceed. The expansions here depend on the client’s income and needs.
The good thing about building in phases is that you can divert the money you would have used to pay rent into your project. Mr Kateregga explains that the money you would have used for rent is automatically placed in this project; meaning you would have a lifetime investment. More to that, when your income or tastes change, the designs are flexible and cost-effective, especially if you use the same architects and engineers throughout the project.
Since the home owner is living on the site, he or she can closely supervise the project. However, it is also advisable to bring in a site supervisor who may be a sub-contractor to oversee the project in case the home owner is not there.
This system is not as rigid as the mortgage which would require one to have a certain amount of money on their account. In this case, one needs to have at least Shs1m per month.
Challenges encountered
Nevertheless, Mr Kateregga who once lived in a growing house in Ndejje shares the challenges. “Living in a growing house is not as comfortable in the early stages though. During this stage, one has one or two rooms and property that can not comfortably fit in these spaces,” he says.
Privacy is also limited since the space has to be shared with different people like parents, children, relatives and helpers. Also, there could be dangers caused by falling debris, especially when further construction has to proceed. With such inconveniences, one has to act fast in an effort to live comfortably.
The Procedure
Mr. Kateregga gives some guidelines on how to get a growing house.
* Get enough land at least 50 by 75 feet.
* Get a house design that fits in your desires; one that will expand without necessarily disrupting the first stages. This means that you should have a bigger picture of what the entire house should look like.
* Get the house plan approved by the relevant authorities with the required documents like the bills of quantities, certificates and soil tests.
* Start construction by giving priority to the most essential spaces like the bedroom, toilet and bathroom which comprise the first stage.
* From here, the expansion can kick off depending on your needs. You may put another bedroom which may temporarily work as a sitting room. This is the third stage.
* At the end of the project, you may add a third bedroom and garage if necessary.
A growing house requires you to plan ahead in order to avoid demolishing a structure that you tirelessly put up after changing your mind.
Completing a whole project may take about five years and two months with the initial stage taking about 15 months. The materials used also depend on what the client can afford.
The cost
On average, one needs about Shs500,000 per month. The growth takes place every after a 2-3 months interval; although this depends on the client’s income and commitment to the project. On the whole, completing the project would take about four to five years at an average cost of Shs30m with the cost of labour and materials included.
When you talk of building a house, most people would think that you need large sums of money to get started. But that’s not it with the growing house which encourages everyone to start with whatever they have to live in your dream house.
