HOW TO ESTIMATE THE COST OF BUILDING A HOUSE (page 3)
COST OF PAINT AND PAINTING
There are basically two types of paints that are mostly sold in the Nigerian paint markets, they are oil paints and water paints. Oil paints are mostly used for the painting of iron and other metallic materials as well as wood and other places that water paint cannot be used due to the possibility of washing away.
Meanwhile, water paints are used mostly for houses and other civil works, due to their ability to stick to the plastered walls and concrete walls.
The cost of painting a house can vary from one painter to another likewise the cost of the paint itself.
There are many brands of paint on the market and their prices depend on their quality. The paints are usually sold in the market in the quantities of different sizes of buckets ranging from 4 liters buckets to 20 liters buckets and the quantity determines the price for any particular brand.
In most Nigerian markets small sizes of 5 liters buckets of water paint may cost from N1000 to N4000 depending on the quality and brand of the water paint. While the 20 liters buckets may cost from N5, 000 to N15000 depending on the quality and the brand name.
When it comes to the cost of the painter’s workmanship; some painters can charge the painting of the whole building according to the sizes of the walls and areas that need the painting.
Basically, most builders may prefer charging according to the quantities of paints may be the cost for painting a bucket of 20 liters of paint but whichever way possible this section would be strictly in agreement with the painter.
But for a building of total lengths of its wall put together does not exceed 500 feet in widths and 12 feet in heights both outside and inside the cost of painting may not exceed N200, 000.
COST OF ELECTRIFYING THE HOUSE
The cost of electrifying a building can be properly obtained by carefully analyzing all the electrical appliances required in different locations in the building.
For instance, if the building is a three-bedroom apartment, two pavilions; one in front and the other at the back, one parlor, one dining room, three toilets, three bathrooms, one kitchen, and the building has four sides that require lights on its walls facing outsiders.
Then the simple logic is to note that each of the places listed above must have a particular number of bulbs, lamp holders, wall switches, ceiling fans, and ceiling fan regulators.
Assuming each of these places will be having one bulb, one lamp holder, one wall socket, and one ceiling fan and its regulator, it means summing up all the number of bulbs, lamp holders, and switches.
A packet of lamp holders is 12 pieces inside and costs about N1200 for the substandard brands but original types could cost up to N3000 per packet while the sockets cost N200 each piece and the bulb costs N100 for one while the energy-saving types cost from N400 up to N1500 for one.
The quantities of wires required can be obtained by taking the measurement of the entire places the wire will pass through and approximating it to obtain the actual bundles of wire needed for the electrification.
A standard 1mm wire cost up to N10, 000 for a bundle and has a total length of 100meters. While the superior quality of the same length can cost up to N20, 000.
So, obtaining the number of bundles of wires needed and the appliances and multiplying them with the listed prices above can give an estimated cost of electrifying your building.
COST OF TOILET SEATERS
Toilet accessories and their seater are another part of the building project, the cost of a toilet seater in the Nigerian market currently is N13, 000 while its accessories such as wash hand basin and water channels, etc. should be within N10, 000.
To fix them will require the service of a plumber, which the cost for installation is usually charged within N10, 000 to N5000 for each toilet.
COST OF SAND FILLING
During the foundation process, the level of the building is determined and the specified level can be obtained by filling it up with sand.
The sand used for sand filling may not necessarily be sharp sand due to its cost, rather ordinary sand excavated from another location can be used for the sand filling.
Most builders that cannot afford to buy ordinary sand from the sand suppliers use it to dig the sucker pit hole and use the sand obtained to fill the foundation to the required height.
For the standard way of building a house the filling of the foundation with sand is usually done by buying the sand from the sand suppliers. The cost for a trip of such sand is usually N10, 000 for single loading which is lesser in price when compared to the cost of sharp sands.
The quantity of sand that will be used to fill the foundation of a particular building depends on the level that needs to be filled and the size of the foundation.
COST OF GERMAN FLOORING
To floor a house is among the initial things done during the foundation preparation, it is just a process of making the floor to be solid by the use of concrete.
To floor a house you need marbles or limestone or granite, sharp sand, and cement, these building materials are mixed in the ratio of 10 wheelbarrows of the granite or marble or limestone to 5 wheelbarrows of sand and 1 bag of cement with enough water to moisture them.
The concrete is usually applied to the floor after a thorough compacting of the floor with water followed by hammering with a stick or heavy tools on the floor simultaneously.
After the concrete has been poured another hammering action will be done and a plumbing tool will be used to ensure that the floor has a uniform level in all the locations of the floor.
The cost of flooring depends on the quality of the house the builder wants to have, the most standard building can have each room floored with 2 bags of cement according to the concrete mixture mentioned above while some may have an even higher number of cement bags.
Using the standard you can approximately obtain the number of cement bags needed for the entire house as well as the number of trips of granite or limestone and sharp sand since a single trip of each of them does not exceed 30 wheelbarrows when filled properly.
The workmanship is according to the number of cement bags, each bag of cement opened and mixed in the flooring should be within N4000 to N6000 depending on your bargain with the worker.
COST OF TILES AND COST OF TILING
Tiling is another way of making the floor of the house more comfortable for inhabitation especially if it is a building meant for rent. The process of the tiling is better and more economical when it is done when the flooring job is being performed.
The price of tile cannot be fixed but have related prices from one dealer to another depending on the quality of the tiles.
Some locally made tiles can cost from N10, 000 to N20, 000 cartons while the imported and superior quality ones can be about N30, 000 to N50, 000 and these types have different sizes from the normal tiles that cost lower.
Determining the number that will be enough for a particular space like a room is simply to divide the area of the room after measuring with a tape and summing it up with the area of the tile you want to use any amount obtain is the number of tiles you need for that room.
Do that to all the spaces in the house to obtain the number you need for the entire building and use it to determine how many cartons you need to buy.
The cost of workmanship for tiling is usually determined by the area or space to be tiled therefore most workers prefer charging the work as a contract. But primarily a room measuring 20 feet square may not cost more than N10, 000 for tiling workmanship.
Conclusion
With all these listed above starting from page 1 of this article, you can at least figure out a particular amount of money needed for your building projects. Even if the amount is not up to the one calculated here, the remaining money to round it up may not be much. we believe that if these steps to estimate the cost of building a house are properly followed and implemented the gap wouldn’t be much.
I wish you good luck with your building project!!
