Kakande Alex has an interesting post today on his substack channel Tips for Avoiding Costly Mistakes During Construction which I felt was very high level and not providing real strategies and tactics for getting through the construction process.

The first aspect of construction for a home to understand is that it is a process of creation, therefore changes should be expected, as the project advances, due to more information becoming available, and more experience/understanding in construction dynamics by the project owners.

This advice and lessons are based on 3 separate projects over a decade and is specifically for home construction, some may apply to commercial property

1. Design - this is when the vision is brought from the owner(s) heads onto paper into architectural drawings which are then taken to local authorities for approval

   • The design is for the owners, not the architect, thus they need to put their foot down to ensure they get a liveable and usable space. Many architects re-use existing plans or create grandiose plans, based on the owner’s vision - without asking the hard questions and giving practical advice

   • Owners need to undertake verification of dimensions by actually taking measurements of existing homes/buildings and available spaces to get a sense of what the spatial dimensions are like

   • Owners tend to have grandiose visions, with design elements that are expensive to bring to life - arches, spirals, wide rooms (roofing), etc, and it is the fiduciary duty of the architect to advise accordingly

   • Owners need to have functional walkthroughs of the spaces and how they will be used - e.g., how regular users go through the house vs guests, how can they be secured, lighting, etc to lead to practical designs

   • Design alternatives - complex roofing, and space designs have to take into account local workmanship and capabilities including the availability of materials

   • Location, location, location - slopes, wetlands, water flows (aka mukoka), sunlight direction vis-a-vis windows, other land usages in the area to guide decision making - no building is an island

2. Financial Plan - in this case, I would advise getting an estimate of the costs of construction, the final figure will be anywhere from 50% to 200% higher

3. Actual construction - many will advise construction firms but these too will require close supervision during these stages as decisions, choices and mistakes will come back to bite one later

   • Materials - these should be the sole responsibility of the project owner so that the construction company/lead focuses on labor costs. This reduces shortcuts on lower-grade materials and mixes to meet budgets that are set

   • Project phases - the construction has to be broken into multiple phases, and ensure that each phase has a clear deliverable, with a minimum of 4 week break between each phase for the workers to rest and evaluation of progress/collection of advice for the next phase.The following are some phase options:

     • Clearing

     • Foundation construction

     • Walls to ring-beam

     • Ring-beam (may be combined with walls) for single-story and floor slab for multi-story building

     • 2nd-floor walls (for multi-story building), repeat with slab for each additional floor as needed

     • Roofing

     • Windows and door fixing (this provides security so internal electrical and plumbing fittings can be fitted)

     • Plumbing and electricals

     • Plastering walls and ceiling (if needed)

     • External plumbing and sewage provisions

     • Floor if not covered as part of foundation construction

     • Floor completion - tiles, screed - cement floors or terrazzo

     • Window/door glass fittings

     • Painting

   • At the beginning of each phase, the majority of the materials need to be purchased and brought on-site in bulk to manage costs

   • Work with a hardware supplier within the locality to reduce the amount of materials on site to reduce pilferage and theft

   • Track all the materials and costs for the project, this gives a sense over time of how the funds are being spent

   • When making payments for labor costs, make a payment at the beginning of the project phase (for mobilization) then make payments every week or every 2 weeks, to keep worker morale high.

   • Actual usage and amounts will be higher than any estimates (that is what they are like right)

   • The project owners need to visit the site regularly to review progress and make decisions on design changes/deviations - it is also okay to pause the project to carry out consultations.

   • Owners need to be accompanied for project visits by “trusted” professionals at each stage when needed and ensure that the “professional fees” are catered for so that the advice can be leaned on and leveraged

   • Project owners need to become knowledgeable and prepare for each stage, getting second and third opinions, but needing to decide a path forward since more advice is not necessarily better
4. Construction is a labor of love, you cannot delegate this to others, you need to get involved and take the time/energy to bring it to life. It is akin to parenting

Overall construction is a journey, with multiple twists and turns, what is your experience?