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Who is an architect?

What does an architect do?

1. Consult and Design
2. Planning Permission and Building Permits
3. Visit the construction site and administer construction

How much should an architect charge?

Who is an Architect?

An architect is a skilled professional who plans and designs buildings and generally plays a key role in their construction.

Architects are highly trained in the art and science of building design. Since they bear responsibility for the safety of their buildings’ occupants, architects must be professionally licensed.

In Kenya, all practicing architects are licensed by the Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors (BORAQs) according to cap525 of the laws of Kenya. You can access the list of registered architects here.

What does an architect do?

Architects’ duties fall into three main roles:

1. Consult and Design

As the design expert, the architect is in charge of creating various drawings or designs of a building before construction.

The architect consults with clients to determine their requirements and to prepare drawings and specifications of the concept.

The architect is the professional who creatively visualizes what their clients want from a building project, and bring such vision to life through architectural drawings and 3D renders.

The designs must comply with building, safety and local planning regulations and restrictions.

2. Planning Permission and Building Permits

Before construction work can be carried out, you need to seek approval from the government or local authority in charge. This can be done by obtaining a permit or approval to carry out the construction.

 It is the role of your architect to prepare all necessary documents for the planning permission. They ensure everything that is needed, is in order and ready to go and do the submissions on behalf of their client.

They will also look at local authority guidelines and statutory requirements to help with the process of getting your project approved.

3. Visit the construction site and administer construction

An architect’s involvement doesn’t end with preparing the drawings for construction work. As your advisor and agent, the architect will visit the site to protect you against work that is not according to the plans.

During Construction the architect will visit the site at intervals s/he considers appropriate to the stage of construction to inspect the progress and quality of the work and see that the project is built to the design intent.

These visits are known as “site inspections” and can occur weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on your project’s scope and your agreement with your architect. 

This part of the job is known as contract administration. It entails reviewing the completed work to make sure it matches the drawings and specifications submitted in the contract documents. Depending on the type of project, this role can be performed in conjunction with other consultants such as quantity surveyors and construction managers.

How much should an architect Charge?

By law (Cap 525: Architects and Quantity Surveyors Act), architects in Kenya are expected to charge a minimum of 6% of the total construction costs for designing a new building. In some projects, such as renovating an existing building, the minimum rate goes up to 10% of the total cost of construction.

The post What’s the Role of an Architect in Construction Projects? appeared first on My Building Code.

For a very long time, neighborhoods like Pipeline estate have been synonymous with tall dark buildings characterized by indoor dampness, poor lighting, lack of parking, and lack of space for children to play. This situation is quickly replicating in middle income neighborhoods such as South B, South C, Kilimani and Kileleshwa.[1]

The script is always the same with the estates starting out as well-organized neighborhoods, where everything from the housing units to the recreational spots are well laid out.

With time, they start experiencing gradual decay when the construction and development standards of the areas are not adhered to.

Developers driven by their need to maximize profits end up disregarding existing zoning by-laws, plot ratios, ground coverage and environmental issues. They also fail to observe the capacity of the available infrastructure services.

The resultant is chaos:  loss of aesthetics, health and safety risks, as well as reduced livability of cities. You start having new buildings which lack adequate lighting and require artificial lighting even during the day, damp and cold corridors. No playing ground for children and inadequate parking spaces.

Since developers are purely driven by profits, it is the role of the government through planning authorities, to maintain some balance between public interest and private interest.

The construction approval process in Kenya is vested on the Physical Planning departments within the County Government management. The Physical Planners employed by County Governments are the ones mandated to make the architectural plan approval or disapproval.

Despite the robust regulations in place, enforcement is nearly non-existent. In addition, rogue developers in cahoots with corrupt county officials are always circumventing the system and obtaining approvals for illegal developments.

This is the main reason behind the downward trend of many localities. The failure in city planning has led to Kenyans turning to gated communities and residential associations as a last resort to stem uncontrolled and unplanned developments.

The Rise Of Gated Communities.

A gated community is a residential neighborhood or housing estate that strictly controls its entrances. It provides a closed perimeter of fences or walls to enhance the security of this space.

The purpose of the gates between the walls or fences is to provide the perception of exclusivity and security more than it is to prevent or deter crime.

The trend is particularly common in the up-market niche of private housing development.

This approach to residential living is on high demand among by tenants and homeowners since it promotes higher home values and a better living standard. 

The residents of the community share certain social amenities and facilities such as electric fence, street lights, roads, sewer systems, swimming pools and the gym among others.

These services are paid for in the form of a service charge that is then distributed to individual residents and in the process lessening the cost burden.

In this way, the gated communities are able to maintain better living standards in their estates, which is not offered by the authorities.

The gated communities are normally managed by their respective residents associations, though a residents association can be formed by independent home owners who are not necessarily in a gated community.

The Role of Residents Associations in Physical Planning

Over the years, Kenya has seen a rapid growth of Resident Associations as more and more citizens embrace the need to take charge of their neighborhoods.[2]

The concept of Resident Associations started gaining ground in the 90’s when majority Kenyans were frustrated by the poor services from the government and felt that they needed to develop structured ways of advocating for better services.

Resident associations are groups that are formed by residents of an area for purposes of communing together and protecting interests of the neighborhoods they represent.

The last ten years has seen rapid growth of Resident Associations as citizens are increasingly becoming aware of their rights, roles and responsibilities and making demands for better services from the government.

Currently there are over 3,000 registered Resident Associations spread across Kenya with a larger concentration of the Associations in the urban areas.  

The Associations have been instrumental in advocating for better services and demanding compliance to the rule of law. Residents are no longer willing to sit back and lament about poor services or wait for the government to avail services. Through the Associations, residents have taken charge of their neighborhoods and are actively involved in ensuring that they can access services such as garbage collection, security, water supply, protection of open spaces within the neighborhood among others.

The Associations have also been instrumental in protecting the property value and aesthetic appeal of their neighborhood by demanding that any new development taking place within the neighborhood must conform to the planning and zoning laws governing the area. For example, recently, Karen Ngong View Estate Association went to court to stop construction of Karen Village Culture and Heritage Centre on the grounds that it didn’t adhere to the relevant laws and the development will be a danger to their right to a clean, healthy as well as safe environment that is free from noise, stress and air pollution. Similar moves have been made by several other Associations across the country.

The place of Resident Associations in the achievement of sustainable cities and communities cannot therefore be overemphasized.

Sources:

The post Of Gated Communities and The Role Residents Associations play in Development Control appeared first on My Building Code.

In earlier times, land was readily available and buyers could opt out of buying plots with black cotton soils in favor of others with better soils. Currently, the land available has become scarce and expensive so buyers have no choice but take what is available.

Black cotton soil is found abundantly in most regions in Kenya. For example in parts of Kajiado, Nairobi, Rift Valley, Kiambu, Machakos, and Nyanza. Within the Nairobi metropolitan area this type of soil is common in Kitengela, Syokimau, Athi River and even Kamulu areas along Kangundo road.

Why is it risky to build Foundations in Black Cotton Soil?

Black cotton soil, a cohesive soil, is considered a problematic soil for civil engineers. It has characteristics of swelling during rains and shrinking during summer. In both the conditions, it poses problems.

The continuous expansion and shrinkage of the soil creates a very unstable environment to build a foundation on. It is what causes the cracking in floors and walls due to the uneven settlement in foundations.

Special care must be taken into consideration when building foundations on this type of soil. This is why the cost of building is usually higher in these soils.

How should you build on black cotton soil?

There are two common ways of dealing with the soil: one can excavate all of it or have a floating foundation.

Option 1: Mass Excavation

When building on land with black cotton soil, the entire top soil is always removed through excavation using building machinery.

Once the soil has been excavated, you can start construction using the normal strip foundation that is common for residential houses.

The additional costs that the homebuilder incurs here include the costs of hiring an excavator, transportation costs of the excavated soil, and backfill materials.

Option 2: Using floating foundations

Generally, if the black cotton soil is more than 1.5m in depth and the homebuilder has no intention of creating a basement, it becomes uneconomical to excavate the whole of it.

This requires a suspended type of foundation whereby columns are dug till solid rock or firm ground and protrude slightly above the ground level.

The suspended type of foundation is known as the pad foundation. Here excavation will be done only for the load-bearing components of the house, which are the columns and ground beams. These columns and beams will then support the entire structure above the soil near the surface.

Waste water management

Black cotton soil has poor drainage. When constructing soak pits in the terrain with this type of soil, water doesn’t percolate. In stead it stagnates on ground. 

In such areas its advisable to fill in the soak pit with large sized quarry chips to make the soakage faster. Alternatively the soak pit will have to be dug deeper till one reaches the stone.

Please ensure you engage a professional before undertaking any building project.

Need help with your construction project? Talk to us

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The imperial and metric systems are two different measurement systems for length, area, volume and mass.

While the metric system is based on scaling where units are expressed in multiples (or fractions) of ten, the imperial system is more complex. The inch is divided into halves, quarters, eighths, etc. And there is no straightforward way to convert the imperial units e.g. there are 12 inches in a foot, three feet make a yard, five and a half yards are equal to a rod, four rods are a chain…..etc

The metric system, also known as the Système International (SI) is the most common measurement system worldwide. Having a standard unit of measurement is important so that everyone can understand each other. Only 3 countries have yet to adopt the metric system namely: The United States, Liberia and Myanmar.  The US is the only industrialized nation that does not mainly use the metric system in its commercial and standards activities. The UK is a bit of a weird one, as it’s a mixture of measurements that are used. For example, most measurements are done in the metric system. But distances are measured in miles and speedometers in cars use miles per hour.

Historically, the imperial system was the official weights and measurement system used in Great Britain and other Commonwealth countries. The United States Customary System (USCS) was based on the British Imperial System.

France was the first country officially adopted the metric system in 1800s. Most countries converted (known as the metrication) in the ’70s and ’80s.

Kenya changed to the metric system in 1969. The International System of Units (SI) is the only legal system of Weights and Measures in Kenya. All weighing and measuring instruments are required by law to be tested for accuracy and stamped by the Inspectors of Weights and Measures before they are sold or brought into trade use and thereafter once every year.

The Imperial system of weights and measures although considered now to be obsolete still has an influence on the built environment, as buildings and infrastructure constructed prior to 1970 (and those still being built in the USA) were built to the tenets of a system that used feet and inches instead of meters.

Even today we still have remnants of the imperial system with us where you have estate agents selling land in acres (imperial unit) while surveyors work in hectares (metric unit). This is why your title deed will indicate the size in hectares (ha).

The post Metric System Vs Imperial: Why are there Two Measurement Systems? appeared first on My Building Code.

1. What is a certificate of Occupation?
2. When is a certificate of occupation issued?
3. Why is the certificate necessary?
4. Procedure to obtain Certificate of Occupation in Kenya
   • Required Documents
   • Step 1: Lodging the application
   • Step 2: Advertisement
   • Step 3: Endorsement, Stamping and Signing

What is a Certificate of Occupation?

The Certificate of Occupation/ Occupancy or Occupation permit in Kenya is a legal document usually issued by a local government agency or the housing/building department declaring a building’s compliance with relevant building codes and other laws, and indicating it to be in a condition suitable for human habitation.

When is an Occupation Certificate issued?

This certificate is normally issued once the construction of a development is complete. It is considered a part of the building approval process.

A new Certificate of Occupation (C of O) may be required if the occupancy classification of a building, or portion of a building, is changed. For example, an old house turning into an office building will have to apply for change of occupancy from residential to office building. This is commonly referred to as change of use or change of occupancy.

Sometimes this review may result in a Zoning Compliance Certificate instead of a new Certificate of Occupancy.

A new C of O can only be issued following the issuance of a building permit and performance of inspections to assure compliance with the current codes governing the proposed occupancy.

Why is the certificate necessary?

The purpose of obtaining a certificate of occupancy is to prove that, according to the law, the house or building is in livable condition.

As a building owner, you may find a certificate of occupancy necessary when you need to sale or take a mortgage on a house. As well as when you need to occupy the house for everyday living, in instances when you have done your own construction.

Every prospective buyer and/or tenants should insist on seeing the occupation certificate from the building owner. They should confirm its authenticity by cross-checking with the lands ministry.

Procedure to obtain Certificate of Occupation in Kenya

The process to obtain a certificate of occupancy varies depending on the building or structure in question.

For the remaining part of this article we shall concentrate on how to obtain a C of O for a new build.

It is the responsibility of the developer to obtain the certificate of occupation, once the project has been completed.

Required Documents – Certificate of Occupancy in Kenya

The Applicant should purchase a form from the Land use and Administration Committee (LAC) or Obtain application form (hard copy) from the Ministry, (Land Use and Allocation Section) or any of its field offices in other districts.

Step 1: Lodging the application

After filling the form, the applicant should submit the application back to the Land Use Administration committee (LAC) and collect an acknowledgement slip as evidence of payment.

A complete application form should be returned accompanied with

• The root of title to the subject parcel of land
• Three copies of the survey plan
• Your tax clearance certificate for three years or evidence of being domiciled outside Kenya
• There copies of your passport photographs
• Official receipt for the application fee of Ksh.50. (Residential) land use) or Ksh. 2, 000 for (Commercial land use).
• Your telephone number and or your email address
• Fees for advertising on the Kenyan observer paid directly to the Land Use and Administration committee of the Ministry

Step 2: Advertisement

The application will be advertised on the Kenya Observer (in batches). If no objection to the grant of the certificate of occupancy is received within the 21 days statutory waiting period, your application will be processed by the relevant departments of the Ministry.

Step 3: Endorsement, Stamping and Signing

The next step is to pay for the Allocated land within a period of ninety days. On payment of the prescribed fees, your Certificate of Occupancy will be prepared and forwarded to Authority of the county for endorsement.

The document is then sent to the Kenya Revenue office for stamp duty stamping.

The post How to Obtain a Certificate of Occupation in Kenya appeared first on My Building Code.

Kenya lies in the equatorial zone receiving plenty of sunshine all year round. This makes solar a very viable source of energy. If you were thinking of making the switch to solar, here is all the information you need:

1. Types of Solar Panels
   • Solar Thermal Panels
     • Pricing of solar water heating systems
   • Solar PV Panels
2. How Solar PV Systems Work
   • The Solar Module
   • Inverter
   • Solar Battery
   • Charge Controller
   • Load, Cabling and Connections
3. The Different Solar PV Systems and their associated costs
   • Plug and play Solar Kits
   • Component Based Systems

Types of Solar Panels

There are two types of solar panels:

1. Solar Thermal Panels

Solar Thermal is usually used for water heating. It’s a simple technology with three key components:

• Collectors: These are the solar thermal panels mounted on your roof. They absorb sunlight and transfer its heat to a fluid. Flat plate collectors and evacuated/vacuum tubes are the most popular types of collectors. The vacuum tube is more efficient in that it works on the thermos principle: therefore very little heat is lost.
• Pump & Controller: The pump ensures the transfer fluid is circulated between the collectors and the water cylinder efficiently.
• Water Cylinder: the panels on your roof are the collectors of sunlight, thus heating up the liquid in the tubes which is then transported into your cylinder ready for use.

Pricing of solar water heating systems

The cost of installing a solar thermal/ water heating system will depend on the brand and the type of solar water heater, i.e. whether it’s flat plate or evacuated tubes, pressurized or non-pressurized system. The prices range from Ksh 50,000 (USD 425) to an upwards of Ksh 200,000 (USD 1,700).

Note: Installation of Solar water Heaters in Kenya is guided by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), thus it is important that your installation is handled by an individual with the certifications required by EPRA.

2. The Photovoltaic solar panel (Solar PV)

Solar PV converts sunlight into electricity and can be used to power appliances. Read more about how the solar PV panels work here.

The Solar PV has a higher capital cost than solar thermal. Solar PV also requires larger area of space for installation compared to solar thermal.

Still, the solar PV has a big advantage over solar thermal in that it generates electricity. This allows solar PV owners to sell excess electricity back to the grid and generate a sustainable second income.

The choice between the two will depend on your needs. But we’ve seen many households opting to install both types of solar, utilizing the solar thermal panels for hot water and the solar PV for electricity generation.

How Solar PV Systems work

We’ve already explained how the solar thermal panels work so for the rest of the article we shall focus mostly on solar PV system and its various components.

The Solar Module

The Solar PV panels, also referred to as solar module, is made of photovoltaic (PV) cells. Solar radiation emitted by the sun is absorbed by the PV cells when the sun shines directly on them.

Most PV cells have two layers of semi-conductor material, one positively charged and one negatively charged. When light shines on the semi-conductor the electric field across the junction between these two layers causes electricity to flow, generating direct current (DC).

Note: Solar PV electric panels do not require bright sunlight in order to operate, meaning you can still generate electricity on cloudy days. However in general, the greater the intensity of light the higher the flow of electricity

Inverter

Direct Current (DC) needs to be converted into alternating current (AC) so it can be used in a domestic building; this is performed by an inverter. Once converted, the AC current is fed into the electricity supply for use in the home, with any surplus electricity fed back into the national grid.

Solar Battery

It is important to realize that you can only use your free solar electricity when it is being generated – but if you invest in solar batteries you’ll be able to store power for use in the evenings and at night when the panels are not producing electricity.

Charge Controller

The charge controller serves as a current and/or voltage regulator. It ensures that the solar batteries are not overcharged during the day, and that the power doesn’t run backwards to the solar panels overnight and drain the batteries. Some manufacturers put the charge controller and inverter into one thing for simplicity.

Load, Cabling and Connections

In solar terminology, the term “load” refers to the power consumption of the device(s) that are being used in the system. Understanding your loads is critical to maintaining a well functioning power system.

The loads will determine the size of cables that will be used. Cabling for solar done wrong will most definitely burn your house down. The right size of cable from PV to charge controller, and from charge controller to battery is absolutely necessary.

The way they are connected is solar panel to charge controller to battery + charge controller to DC loads + charge controller to inverter to AC loads. And that’s what a solar system is.

The different Solar PV systems and their associated costs.

Plug and Play Solar Kits

These are relatively inexpensive kits capable of providing lighting and power for AC & DC applications anywhere. They come ready to use, with preinstalled accessories: you just just plug and play.

Their installation costs are minimal since once you purchase, you can either ask for someone to put it on your roof or do it yourself.

The cost for the kits will vary depending on the accessories and payment method. A spot check across various manufacturers show the average retail price of a simple PV system with solar panel, battery, a couple of light bulbs, radios and torch will range between Ksh 35,000 (USD 300) – Ksh 45,000 (USD 385). If the accessories include a TV etc, the price will be higher.

Some sellers offer a ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ financing model where you pay a deposit and monthly installments.

The main disadvantage with these kits is that it comes attached to its own loads i.e. bulbs, TV etc. You can’t add your own to the system. This is why some people opt for Component Based Systems (CBS).

Component Based Systems

For CBS you buy the components separately and they are assembled to form a household solar system like the one we described here.

For CBS installation, you’ll need to involve a solar practitioner who is licensed by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA)- the Kenya Energy Regulator. You van verify the practitioners license from the EPRA website. Incase of issues, you can lodge a complaint with EPRA and they’ll send an inspector.

It is not recommended that you buy the solar panel and other components off the shelf then just connect them together. EPRA technicians need to design the system for you based on the loads you want to be powered.

The cost of installing a CBS, Solar PV system will depend on the loads, size of the inverter and size of the battery. The price on average typically starts from Ksh 90,000 (USD 770) for a 2KVA Inverter, 100Ah Battery that will be sufficient for lighting and WIFI needs running on single phase power. The more the loads the higher the price.

Note: Powering all loads you have with solar might be costly. A good technician will advise you to start with the crucial loads. This will be more affordable as opposed to doing the whole house.

Got any questions regarding solar? Type below in our comments section.

The post A Cheat Sheet for the Best Solar Panels to install for Your Home appeared first on My Building Code.

Whereas there is no right or wrong way, there exists some general rule of thumb to guide our approach.

Door Swing Direction: Rule of thumb

Most internal doors are installed to open into the room. This approach prevents the door from becoming an obstruction in areas like hallways or corridors.

For residential homes, a majority of their entrances will open inwards. This provides a more familiar and welcoming feeling. Think about it, it’s easier to enter a home with an armload of groceries or children when the doors swing inside.

There are also other practical reasons for this convention explained below:

Exceptions to the rule

1. Entry/Exit Doors in Public Buildings

As mentioned earlier in this article, entry doors to most homes will open inwards. However for public buildings the entry door will always open outside.

Unlike a private home, a public building is likely to have large numbers of people in it. In case of fire or other emergency, these people need to be evacuated as quickly and easily as possible.

When a mob of people rushes an exit, it’s very hard for somebody to open the door inward. Everyone pushes up against the door, and there is no room for it to open. For this reason, an effective emergency exit needs to open outward, moving with the force of the mob. This is also why a lot of emergency exits are built with wide “panic bars” instead of ordinary knobs. The basic idea is to build the exit so even the most out-of-control mob will be able to escape.

This is actually a mandatory requirement in building regulations. Part 21 of sixth schedule of Kenya’s Building Code (1969) states that for public buildings, exit doors should be made to open in the direction of the exit.

2. Doors for the Disabled Washrooms

Bathroom doors will generally swing inwards for both commercial and residential buildings. This design maximizes privacy, safety, and odor control while also ensuring that hallways are not blocked.

However doors to disabled, or ambulant disabled washrooms need to open outwards. This is to provide access in the event of an emergency. If a user inside the washrooms falls over or collapses, then it can be almost impossible to get into the toilet as their body will prevent the door from opening. However, with an outward opening door, you can always get emergency access.

In addition, an outward swing creates more space within the disabled toilet room and therefore eradicates the problem of maneuvering a wheelchair away from the door swing when closing the door.

Pro tip; where possible, aim for the outward opening door to swing towards a wall as opposed to swinging into the open corridor or outside room.

3. Tight Internal Spaces

Where you have an internal door attached to tight spaces, it will often swing out to prevent someone from getting trapped inside. An example of this would be a closet space, or storage space to a half-bath.

The post All About the Door: Does it Really Matter which Direction a Door Opens? appeared first on My Building Code.

If you are a budding entrepreneur who is seeking an impressive return on your investments then construction is the way to go. But first, you must ensure your business is properly registered and meets legal compliance.

The process of starting a construction company is the same as registering any other company but with an additional step of registering with the National Construction Authority (NCA).

There are also some additional requirements for foreigners who want to start operating businesses in Kenya.

How to start a construction company: a step by step guide

1. Register with the registrar of companies

A contractor or construction firm is required to hold a certificate of incorporation from the registrar of companies in Kenya. This means that the firm must be registered as a legal company within the country, either as limited liability, sole proprietorship or as a partnership company.

2. Register your company with NCA

A contractor applying to operate in Kenya must prove tax compliance by submitting the below documents to National Construction Authority (NCA).

• Valid PIN,
• VAT
• Income Tax compliance certificates
• Evidence of Bank Account that has been opened under the name of the contractor company

All the directors must also forward their CVs to the National Construction Authority.

The full list of documents required for registration under NCA can be accessed here.

Before registration, the firm needs to be aware of the class of construction that they intend to apply for. NCA has 7 classifications of contractors depending on the scope of work the company is allowed to undertake. This ranges from NCA 1 which enjoys an unlimited contract value to NCA 7 which can undertake contracts not worth more than sh20 million.

The requirements for each class will vary depending on the category. A company to be registered under NCA 1 is required to have at least one director with a degree in a building and construction-related field while a director with a trade test is required for registration under cadre NCA 7.

The registration fee as well as the annual license renewal fee also varies across the categories ranging from KSh10,000 to KSh50,000 and KSh5,000 to KSh10,000 respectively.

3. CR-12 Letter and AGPO certificate

These are additional steps that only apply to those businesses intending to go for government (national or county) tenders.

You have to register with the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) for a certificate which prequalifies you to bid in the reserved tenders.

In order to apply for a CR-12 letter, a letter will need to be written on your company letterhead requesting Company Registry to give you a CR-12 letter that contains a list of directors in your registered company. You will also need to attach a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation on your request.

4. Additional requirements for foreign construction company.

Foreign contractors are issued with a clearance certificate that remains valid for only a specific period. They are required to satisfy the NCA that they are in Kenya for only that specific project.

The firms are required to lodge an affidavit with the Authority that they shall not carry out any other construction project in Kenya once they complete the project for which they have been cleared.

Foreign firms should also submit a commitment to transfer technical skills not available locally to locals as the NCA may determine from time to time.

Upon successful application, the contractor is issued with a ‘Certificate of Registration’

Foreign contractors pay a registration fee of Sh250,000 and are restricted to categories of tenders they win.

Foreign contractors applying for temporary registration are required to commit to sub-contract “not less than 30 percent of the value” to local contractors.

Foreign contractors are not cleared to carry out work below NCA 1 category.

The post How To Start Your Own Construction Company in Kenya appeared first on My Building Code.

Accessibility is equality.

Making spaces accessible to people with disabilities is a mandatory requirement for both the public and private sectors.

According to the 2019 census, 2.2% of Kenyans ( around 0.9 million people) live with some form of disability.

This number is probably higher when you consider the fact that as people get older, many begin to face a disability of some kind.

It, therefore, makes business sense to ensure that the design of your premises, products, and services can be used by as many people as possible.

And in the advent of accessibility and inclusion for equal rights, the absence of such facilities can expose an organization to litigation.

The draft national building code 2020 has a section on special requirements for people living with disabilities (Part XX). The code stipulates that:

“A building shall be designed in a manner that facilitates access to the building, and to the use of its facilities, by a person living with a disability in accordance with KS ISO 21542:2011 (Building Construction— Accessibility and Usability of the Built Environment).”

How can you make an environment more accessible?

Through accessibility, we’re able to realize the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in society and development.

PWDs experience functional limitations ranging from having a hearing, visual, motor, or cognitive impairment among others. The provision of flexible facilities and environments will ensure that we accommodate each user’s needs and preferences.

The most common challenges faced by PWDs in the built environment revolve around inaccessible transport, inaccessible buildings, and inaccessible workspaces.

Universal Design

A fundamental condition of good design is Universal design. This is defined as the design of products and environments to be useable by all people to the greatest extent possible without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

A common example of universal design is the sidewalk ramp or curb cut. A curb cut is essential for people using wheelchairs, but it also benefits kids riding bikes, seniors using walkers, parents pushing strollers, and delivery people pulling heavy trollies. When something is universally designed, it can be used easily by everyone.

Reasonable Accomodation

Whereas accessibility relates to groups, reasonable accommodation relates to individuals.

The term “accommodation” refers to the legal responsibility for providing accessibility to persons with disabilities, for example through the provision of a personal assistant or modifications to a physical work environment.

A reasonable modification is a physical alteration to a unit or common-use area to allow a person with a disability greater accessibility and use of the premises. Common examples of reasonable modifications: Grab bars, ramp, roll-in shower, widening of doorway, flashing doorbells, handrails or signage.

Conclusion

No one can enjoy a human right that they cannot access, and persons with disabilities face many barriers that hinder full and equal access to their enjoyment of human rights.

When public spaces are improved and made accessible, everyone benefits.

Cover image courtesy of re-thinkingthefuture[.]com

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From utilizing wallpaper to changing your curtains, the possibilities are endless. We examine some options you can use to renovate a space to your taste without breaking the bank or getting penalized by your landlord when moving out.

Lets delve right into it.

1. Wallpapers

If you want a fresh touch to your walls without having to paint over them, then wallpapers are the best option for you. Installation will take only a couple of hours and you can do it all by yourself.

However, if you’re afraid that the paper will not be perfectly level, then you can consider having a pro install it for you. Most shops that sell them, will offer to install them at a fee.

The cost of wall paper will range from ksh 1,800 per roll with the roll measuring 0.53m by 10m. Cost of roll plus installation will cost you about ksh 2,300 for each roll.

2. Invest in home décor pieces

You can personalize your home by adding décor items that reflect your style

Some of the decor pieces you can consider investing in include centerpieces for your tables and (faux) succulent plants that will add a touch of greenery to your room. Aside from that, there are a variety of assorted ornaments, frames and paintings to choose from. These can be placed in any room from your living room, bathrooms to even that awkward corridor connecting rooms in your house.

Household organizers come in handy to bring out the best in areas that are considered messy like the kids playroom or laundry area.

3. Swapping Light Fixtures

A light fixture can help define a space and give it a unique touch. You can select a new style fixture to replace an outdated one.

If you need more light, consider using fluorescent or LED bulbs as they are more energy efficient: You’ll use fewer watts of energy to get the same amount of light.

A word of caution: If you opt for a higher wattage bulb when doing the replacement, please ensure it does not exceed the maximum wattage rating of the light fixture.

4. Curtain, curtains , curtains!

You’ve probably heard it being said that “Just like art, curtains make a home look finished”. And how true is that! Whether they’re standing out or blending in with other pieces, they really pull a room together.

Depending on your budget and taste, there is a curtain for everyone. You can get the luxurious and over the top ones or the tastefully discreet ones for the minimalist. They come in all sorts of textures, plain colors, patterned prints and different fabrics. Just make sure to pick one that will blend in with what is existing.

5. Revamp your furniture

The different looks you can achieve just by playing around with your furniture are endless.

You can refurbish your sofa and give it a new color if its looking old and dull, or you’re just tired of its look.

What other ways have you used to renovate various rooms in your home? Let us know in the comment section below!

*This article first appeared here.

Cover image courtesy of heartbeatmusic

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