Studio house ideal for bachelors
Feb 20, 2020
Such a house is used by singles or students and is cheap to construct. “If you are to construct one, care must be taken not to burden the site by allocating less than the acceptable space per person as stipulated in the public health regulations,” he advises.
HOMES AND CONSTRUCTION
By Umar Nsubuga
Construction with a limited budget is difficult but achievable and a studio apartment would make a suitable first home. It is economical and good enough for single people. David Kireli, a civil engineer, says a studio house or single-room house does not suit people with families.
Such a house is used by singles or students and is cheap to construct. "If you are to construct one, care must be taken not to burden the site by allocating less than the acceptable space per person as stipulated in the public health regulations," he advises.
He also says when you undertake such a project, the layout, the size, location and appearance of your project will all influence your operations. It is important before you start such a project to respect the zoning. According to Alex Kajoba, an architect, the estimated cost for each room might depend on the location, plot size and finances. But for a 50x100ft plot, it is possible to have a five or six units.
Requirements for each unit
This kind of room can consist of sitting area of two seats and a small table, a bed area, two shelves of which one can be used as wardrobe and another may be for the utensils.
The other space can take the TV table and the music system. Peter Wasswa, an architect, says one must budget for procurement of materials, foundation, walling to window, walling to ring beam, ring beam, walling after ring beam, procurement of roofing timber, roofing sheets, plastering and windows.
According to Wasswa, proper supervision for this project is very important, right from the foundation to completion, because this will help the owner to avoid errors that might lead to demolitions, rework, waste of money and loss of time due to delays. Wasswa says the area of this one room may be about 20 to 25 square metres.
The costs
The foundation for such a house may cost sh2 to 2.5m. The walls may cost sh1m- 1.5m, including the ring beam, cement, sand and the bricks. The finishing of the unit is may cost about sh1-2m, with tiling, painting and plastering.
Each room needs one door and two windows which may cost sh1m. The roofing may cost about sh2.5m, but this also depends on whether you use tiles or iron sheets. Also, consider the cost of installing electricity and water. You may put gutters to collect water during the rainy seasons.
Tips on cutting construction costs
Use areas
Areas are important in comparing the sizes of the rooms and determining the quantity of materials needed for each space.