CEILING TYPES IN KENYA.

CEILING TYPES IN KENYA.

A house ceiling is the part viewed from the building interior upwards under the roofing material.
In recent years, new ceiling materials have emerged such as the uPVC, copper and vinyl suspended ceilings.

The budget, aesthetic taste of the house owner/user and the usage of the room will determine the type of ceiling to be used. Hospitals, offices, schools and residential houses have each a different type of ceiling.

uPVC ceiling.

This is relatively new in Kenya. It offers the lowest costs, going for around kes 450 per m2 for the ceiling and kes 300 per m2 for the labour to fix the ceiling.

Its labour intensive so there will be a slight increase in labour costs. It uses less timber support joists since it comes in form of interlocking strips which join each other.

Its water proof nature is a huge advantage since most roofs are prone to leaking at one point in their life.
They come in a wide array of colours.

Soft Board ceiling.

These are very common in Kenya though they are slowly being replaced by the uPVC ceilings.
They cost approx. kes 700per m2 while the labour is around kes 200 per m2. They use more timber support joists compared to uPVC ceilings. Their advantage is that they are faster to fix hence saving on labour costs.

They get frequently damaged by leaking water from the roofs hence require frequent repair.
They come in various embedded patterns and are mostly white in colour.

T n G ceiling.

These are made from tongue and groove hardwood timber. They cost approx. kes 1200 per m2 plus kes 300 per m2 for labour. They are labour intensive so the labour costs will be high.
They are mostly varnished to bring out the natural hardwood finish which makes the rooms warm and cosy. They are very common in high end homes in up market suburbs such as Karen and Muthaiga.
They bring out the Feng Shui aspect of comfortability and health within the interiors since they are natural.

Gypsum ceilings.

These are mostly used in kitchens or areas which have high risk of fires since they are fire proof. These cost approx. kes 1000 per m2 plus kes 300 per m2 for labour.

Suspended ceilings.

These are mostly used in offices and banking halls where the floor to ceiling height is high enough, at least higher than 3m, to allow for the ceilings to be suspended.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com
http://www.a4architect.om
+254721410684

EFFECTS OF MERGER OF MINISTRY OF LANDS WITH MINISTRY OF HOUSING IN KENYA.

EFFECTS OF MERGER OF MINISTRY OF LANDS WITH MINISTRY OF HOUSING IN KENYA.

The current set up by the Uhuru Kenyatta Presidency whereby the Ministry of Lands has been joined together with Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is a very good move that will enable implementing policy such as envisioned in the Land Commission.

Land is the single most important resource of any country. Urban Development is mainly about planning the land use in the most effective ways. Housing is a basic human need that is directly affected by Urban planning and land use.

IDLE LAND TAXATION.

The land commission can now effectively implement policy such as idle land taxation. Situations whereby people Land Bank, as in buy land then hold it for several years as they wait for it to appreciate, can be reduced. Land banking should be discouraged through implementing idle land taxation.
This will ensure anyone who owns land has to fully utilize it either for housing, farming, industrial use or any other use as may be prescribed by the Government.

This will in turn create employment in the farms, increase the number of residences for sale/rent and increase the number of industries as land owners try to avoid paying for idle land taxation.

DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF LAND.

This will solve the issue of lack of housing and lack of employment.
As land owners rush to avoid idle land tax, others will rent out or sell their lands to Kenyans with the entrepreneurial skill to farm or create industries . This will create a situation of high land supply hence low land price. This will enable land price to be affordable to the majority of hardworking Kenyans.

30% LAND APPRECIATION.

Currently, land in Kenya appreciates at a whopping 30% annually. This appreciation might seem to be profitable to the individual land owner who is selling and gaining from the appreciation but to the Fiscal economy, this translates to a loss for the whole country since potential Kenyans with the entrepreneurial zeal to use the land to productive purposes such as farming or manufacturing will have been denied the chance to do so hence unemployment and less tax collection.

HOUSING.

Once land banking is discouraged through idle land taxation, cost of land for housing will be reduced proportionately throughout the country. Kenyans will now be able to access housing at affordable costs as opposed to the current situation whereby land for housing takes out close to 40% of total housing construction costs in a middle class suburb.
We hope that the new Cabinet Secretary in charge of Lands and Housing will be able to boldly assist the Land Commission to implement such strategic policies so as to enable all Kenyans to benefit.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com
http://www.a4architect.com

PERCENTAGE OF COST BREAKDOWN BETWEEN LABOUR, MATERIALS AND CONTRACTOR PROFIT IN CONSTRUCTION.

PERCENTAGE OF COST BREAKDOWN BETWEEN LABOUR, MATERIALS AND CONTRACTOR PROFIT IN CONSTRUCTION.

PROFIT.

In large constructions costing kes 500m and above, a modest profit of between 10 to 20% is desirable. These are projects such as 6 storey and above high rise buildings in major towns such as in UpperHill area and over 10km long bitumen standard tarmac roads projects around the country.

In smaller construction projects between kes 20m to kes 500m, a profit margin of between 15 to 25% is desirable. These are mainly murram road projects and high-rise buildings less than 6 storeys in height.

In projects costing less than 20m, profit margins of between 20 to 35% is envisioned.
The larger the project cost, the smaller the % of profit.

LABOUR AND MATERIALS.

In most projects, labour costs approximately 25 to 35% of the total project costs, with materials taking the rest.
In interior design projects, the labour required is intensive and the tasks take longer and have to be carried out by highly skilled workmen e.g wood works requiring carpentry and joinery, art work, electrical/mechanical works.
Such works usually have a 50% ratio between labour and materials.

An average residential house construction will tend to have the usual 30% labour versus 70% material costs. Within the construction, some tasks will have more % of labour than others.
For example, foundation works are mainly labour based during excavation and backfilling. Walling, windows, doors, plaster will have less % of labour compared to materials, approximately 20% labour. Roofing, fittings, fascia board, paint, electrical works, plumbing works will mainly have more % of labour compared to materials, approximately 40 to 50%.

The total works will bring the average to 30% for labour and 70% for materials.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com
http://www.a4architect.com

Unique furniture at Hurlingham office.

Office desk

Office desk and office waiting bench

Office wall shelf

Unique furniture desisn at Hurlingham office

JOINT VENTURE PROJECT, NGONG ROAD BEHIND UCHUHI HYPER.

Joint Venture Project along Joseph Kangethe road, off Ngong Road, Nairobi.

2 bedrm units @ 110m2 each.kes 11m sale price.
Cost Item	Kshs	%
Land	55,000,000.00	34.47843531
Preliminary	400,000.00	0.250752257
Construction	77,000,000.00	48.26980943
External Works	3,850,000.00	2.413490471
Contingency	1,540,000.00	0.965396189
Professional fees	3,850,000.00	2.413490471
Project Management fees	770,000.00	0.482698094
Marketing	3,250,000.00	2.037362086
Financial Charges	13,860,000.00	8.688565697
Total	159,520,000.00	100
Financing Plan	Kshs	%
Developer	82,520,000.00	51.73019057
	0.00	0
Debt Finance	77,000,000.00	48.26980943
Presales	22,000,000.00	13.79137412
Total	159,520,000.00	113.7913741
PROFIT
TOTAL SALES FOR 20 UNITS	220,000,000.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	159,520,000.00
NET PROFIT	60,480,000.00
% Profit Margin	37.91374122
Take home ammount.	115,480,000.00

Site location

Unique Furniture design at Hurlingham office.

JOINT VENTURE PROJECT, NGONG ROAD BEHIND UCHUHI HYPER.

Joint Venture Project along Joseph Kangethe road, off Ngong Road, Nairobi.

2 bedrm units @ 110m2 each.kes 11m sale price.
Cost Item	Kshs	%
Land	55,000,000.00	34.47843531
Preliminary	400,000.00	0.250752257
Construction	77,000,000.00	48.26980943
External Works	3,850,000.00	2.413490471
Contingency	1,540,000.00	0.965396189
Professional fees	3,850,000.00	2.413490471
Project Management fees	770,000.00	0.482698094
Marketing	3,250,000.00	2.037362086
Financial Charges	13,860,000.00	8.688565697
Total	159,520,000.00	100
Financing Plan	Kshs	%
Developer	82,520,000.00	51.73019057
	0.00	0
Debt Finance	77,000,000.00	48.26980943
Presales	22,000,000.00	13.79137412
Total	159,520,000.00	113.7913741
PROFIT
TOTAL SALES FOR 20 UNITS	220,000,000.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	159,520,000.00
NET PROFIT	60,480,000.00
% Profit Margin	37.91374122
Take home ammount.	115,480,000.00

Site location

Hurlingham. Unique furniture design construction.

Hurlingham furniture construction process

table

office desk