Building a house in Kenya in stages: plan it with the money you have
Few Kenyans build a house in one go. Most build the foundations when the money is there, the walls after the next bonus or harvest, and the roof the year after. Done well, this is a sensible way to build without debt. Done badly, it leaves a slab or a set of walls standing in the rain for years. The difference is a plan.
The stages a house is built in
A house is built, and paid for, in a fixed order. Each stage has to be finished before the next can start:
- Approvals and setting up: county approval and permit fees, the NCA levy, clearing and setting out the site, and temporary water and power.
- Foundations to floor slab: excavation, footings, foundation walling up to the damp-proof course, hardcore and the ground floor slab.
- Walling, frame and upper floors: walls up to the ring beam, columns, beams and, for a storey house, the suspended slab and stair.
- Roof: the trusses, purlins, covering, fascia and gutters.
- Doors, windows and services: frames and shutters, windows and glazing, and the plumbing and electrical first fix.
- Finishes and fittings: plaster, floors, ceilings, paint and sanitary fittings.
- Plot works: boundary wall, gate, driveway, septic tank and soak pit.
Two of these matter most when you plan. The roof is the stage you most want to reach in one go, because once a house is roofed, the rain stops damaging it and you can finish it slowly. The plot works are the ones self-builders most often leave out of their budget entirely.
Pay for each stage in full before you start it
A fundi is paid by stage, and materials are ordered by stage. Starting the walls with half the money means stopping halfway, with exposed steel rusting and half-laid courses weathering. A plan that starts each stage only when it is fully paid for takes a little longer on paper, but it gets finished.
How to work it out
- Get a measured bill. A figure per square metre cannot be split into stages, because it doesn't say what the roof costs. A bill of quantities can.
- Add a contingency. Prices will rise over a build spread across years, and the ground may hold surprises. Add your own percentage to every stage.
- Match the stages to your money. Add up what you have now and what you can put aside each month, then see when each stage is paid for.
JengaCost does all three. On the compare page, enter your cash in hand, your monthly savings and your contingency, and each house you are considering gets its own timeline. For a project you have saved, open the bill and press Build in stages.
| Stage | Cost | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Approvals, permits and setting up | KES 273,576 | month 1 |
| Foundations to floor slab | KES 713,776 | month 1 |
| Walling, frame and upper floors | KES 618,225 | month 2 |
| Roof | KES 746,089 | month 6 |
| Doors, windows and services | KES 733,550 | month 11 |
| Finishes and fittings | KES 838,459 | month 17 |
| External works | KES 1,128,804 | month 24 |
The house is finished in about 24.0 months, of which about 18.0 are spent saving between stages. The cash in hand pays for approvals, permits and setting up, foundations to floor slab, 83% of walling, frame and upper floors. Try it with your own figures.
Choose a house you can finish
Phasing also helps you choose. Two houses can be close in price but very different to build in stages: one may need much more money before it is roofed, or may take a year longer on the same savings. Put two to four houses side by side on the compare page and look at each timeline. Often the right house is the one you can roof soonest, not the cheapest.
Try variants as well. Each card on the compare page offers the same house at another finish level or with a different roof form, and the timeline shows how much sooner each one is roofed and finished.
What to budget for separately
- Professional fees for the architect, structural engineer and quantity surveyor.
- The land, and its search, survey and transfer costs.
- Water and power connection fees.
- Furniture, curtains and appliances.