In this trying economic times, those with the need and desire to own their own homes might have to revert to low cost home building techniques, a low cost home does not necessary mean a low quality home, rather it means a home that is structurally and functionally sound but may lack the fancy bells and whistles needed to compete in the” I pass my neighbors” category. The following ten ideas if dutifully followed would enable the average Nigerian teacher parents own a decent two or three bedroom home.

(1) Reduce the area of the home: there’s always the tendency to overbuild especially when building a home for the first time with the emotional attachment involved, but to keep costs down, there’s need for a clear headed analyses in order for the family to get the home they need and can afford rather than burdening themselves with the home they desire and can’t afford, thus they need to ask themselves basic questions like do we really need a third/guest bedroom, the dining room(experience world over shows that people hardly uses their dining room),ante room, visitors toilet, prayer room, exercise room, home office, en suite toilets etc? It’s ironic that the average size of Nigerian homes have been increasing due to these newly fangled additions while the average size of Nigerian families is falling due to lower birth rates. The simple truth is that a family of four with children of same sex can easily live comfortable in a two bedroom flat consisting of two bathrooms and a kitchen and measuring roughly 30’x30’.

(2) Well designed multi use spaces: a well designed bedroom with a good furniture plan can be a bedroom, study room and home office all rolled together into one, a dining room/area can also serve as a study room, home office and game room if well planned. What makes a home functional is the thought exercised in its design rather than its square footage or cost of construction.


(3)Avoid swampy soils: nothing pushes up the cost of construction more than building on swampy/waterlogged soils that need expensive foundations like raft and bored piles foundations.try as much as possible to buy land with dry and strong soils .

(4)Avoid site preparation costs: avoid lands that would need filling, grading and rock blasting. Such site preparation costs would push up the total costs of your new home.

(5)Simple roof design: aim for simple roofing styles with low pitch and less corners. The cheapest home to roof is a rectangular shaped structure without gables. High roofs look more impressive but cost a fortune. Aim for something simple.

(6) Less windows and glass: Glass looks good but it’s costly. Carefully place your windows to eliminate waste.aim for standard sized windows and eliminate any fancy glass.

(7)Fewer bathrooms: one of the latest fads of modern building designs is the advent of en suite bathrooms which means that each bedroom comes with its own bathroom. The most costly rooms to build in your home is the bathroom so reducing their numbers to the absolutely necessary minimum is a vital step to reducing the total cost of constructing a new home.

( Incorporate fewer corners into the design: the easiest house to build is a rectangular home with a rectangular roof. Incorporating corners, curved walls and slanting walls while been visually more pleasing would dramatically push up cost. Avoid these like the plagues if you’re intent on lowering costs.

(9) Go for a minimalist finishing and ornamentation: fancy roofing sheets, concrete fascia (so called parapet), window hoods, arches, tiled walls, decorated pillars, moldings, elaborate pop designs etc are all nice but not necessary features that would quickly push up the cost of constructing a new home.

(10) Hire professionals: it’s often a false economics to design and build your own home because there are always places where you commit costly mistakes that would cost even more to remedy. Likewise, the bricklayer is not an architect neither is he an engineer. Use the right professionals for the job to avoid costly mistakes.
Greenermodels Construction Company is a design and Build Company specializing in low cost and mass housing schemes. We can be contacted by email: greenermodels@gmail.com
Phone/whatsApp 08130953131

Good article.

Nice write up. Op please paragraph your article properly. See you in FP.

Modified.

It was all good until #10 and that's where I got off the bus

It's a total hogwash.

EgunMogaji:
It was all good until #10 and that's where I got off the bus

It's a total hogwash.

I'm 100% aware that you bought your building plan online from an architect and hired a nairaland architect to modify it for you. any knowledgeable and experienced person can be a general contractor but you need specific professionals for specific roles.

greenermodels:
I'm 100% aware that you bought your building plan online from an architect and hired a nairaland architect to modify it for you. any knowledgeable and experienced person can be a general contractor but you need specific professionals for specific roles.

Listen, you want to promote your business, that I get but you don't have to insinuate that it's the only way to go.

There are tons of good builders on here who shares their projects and let it speak for itself.

I'm not opposed to professional builders but don't put down bricklayers.

I'm out.

Do you know roof can seriously affect the Beauty of a house. Look around you in nigeria the most common type of roof is the Gable roof. Gable roof is just too simple. No design. Nigeria carpenters can make your roof as high as heaven. This is why most nigerian homes are not beautiful. Avoid this Gable roof. If a carpenter cant give you a better roof design, look for another. Your roof is your home . The difference between homes in nigeria and other part of the world is roof design. If you doubt google homes outside nigeria. The roof makes all the difference

Copy and paste

Not applicable in Nigeria

Nice post

Great post.
You should add that bathrooms and kitchens should be close to each other and share walls as much as possible to save on plumbing works and materials.
Best wishes for your hustle.

My oga, I know you are trying to sell your self with this post. God bless your hustle. But you should not spoil another man's own when building your own. How?
You said brick layers are not professionals. Then what are they? These stereotype you people have of brick layers as Illiterate should change. My brother studied in city and guild as a professional mason. He can do anything a civil engineer can do.

I'll contact you whenever I'm ready.

Thank you.

So make I put mind for rectangular house sha, make I no reason like them p square.

It's OK, it's OK

hardywaltz:
Copy and paste

Not applicable in Nigeria

All the 10 points or some of the points

Abeg all this write up na jagbajantis. Build your house to your tastes and specifications. Not later you will be singing hiw I wish.

Nice one Op

I remind myself every year on this special day how blessed I am to have been given another year to experience the wonders of this beautiful world! God is good! My birthday is a day I cherish and love. After living another year, I’m thankful to God that he has blessed me so much- and that I’m a real blessing to others. Happy birthday to me.

Yay for me! I finally have an excuse to wear as much glitter as I want. It’s my birthday show some love with like

How much is to build a 4bedroom flat as of today, I mean total cost.

anonimi:


All the 10 points or some of the points

Most of the points. will modify this post when I get to the office

Of course, you need to get off the bus because that's where the journey ends. Abi u wan folo the OP go home before?

EgunMogaji:
It was all good until #10 and that's where I got off the bus

It's a total hogwash.

Samhay is typing

Godiloveu, do you copy?

Points raised are applicable to rural areas. What is the essense of working hard if you can't build and live in a beautiful home? Even God himself loves beautiful homes thus gold and sapphire are materials used for building mansions in heaven. OP please don't take us back to 1570s, Nigeria is currently setting the pace in the construction industry. What do you tell a client who has a piece of land on the Iagos Island? If people were to adhere to your advice I wonder the kind of houses we'll be building.

Sebastine1994:
My oga, I know you are trying to sell your self with this post. God bless your hustle. But you should not spoil another man's own when building your own. How?
You said brick layers are not professionals. Then what are they? These stereotype you people have of brick layers as Illiterate should change. My brother studied in city and guild as a professional mason. He can do anything a civil engineer can do.

i didn't call them illiterates and non professionals.i only said people shouldn't ask them to design homes for them. they would only sketch it and when its time for laying the foundation, youwould realise that the house is not buildable due to non alignment of the walls.