COMPARISON BETWEEN CONSTRUCTING A MAISONETTE VERSUS A BUNGALOW.
Construction costs between maisonette types versus bungalow types of the same plinth area are more or less equal.
FOUNDATION.
Assuming the maisonette will have 50m2 of ground floor and 50m2 of first floor plinth area, there will be savings on the foundation costs since the maisonette will have a foundation that is half the size of the bungalow which will have all the 100m2 area on the ground floor.
Foundation costs between 10 to 20 % of the total cost of construction so if the foundation quantities are halved, then the cost of construction is also reduced.
ROOF.
The maisonette will also have half the roof quantities compared to a bungalow type which will have all the 100m2 plinth area to be roofed.
Roofing costs around 15% of the total cost of construction. If this quantity is halved, then the costs are reduced.
SUSPENDED SLAB ON FIRST FLOOR.
A bungalow type of house does not have an extra suspended reinforced concrete slab for the first floor level. This translates to a saving compared to a maisonette type that has the extra cost of the suspended slab.
For a 100m2 maisonette, the suspended slab will cost an average of an additional KES 100,000.
GROUND LEVEL LAND SAVED FOR FUTURE USAGE.
A maisonette will also save on the footprint ground level space in that the house owner can in future utilize the space for additional construction, agriculture or landscaping as opposed to a bungalow type.
AESTHETICS.
Aesthetically speaking, maisonettes due to their elevated shape look more imposing than their bungalow type counterparts.
SECURITY.
Maisonettes also offer a better psychological assurance of security since the bedrooms are located on the first floor level which is not easy for burglars to access as opposed to bungalow types.
CLASS.
In terms of class, maisonettes will appear more expensive and classy than the same sized bungalow, hence increasing the house owner’s social status among his /her peers.
LABOUR COST.
Due to the need for construction materials to be transported to the ground floor, there will be a slight increase in the cost of labour for maisonette types as opposed to bungalows.
LAND COST.
In areas where an eighth of land costs more than KES 1,000,000, this means the cost per m2 of land is above KES 2,000. The cost of constructing a suspended first floor slab is also a minimum of KES 2,000. Therefore, by building a suspended slab on the first floor, you will have added more surface area to your plot at an equal or lower cost than the cost of your land.
If the land cost is lower than KES 1,000,000 per an eighth, then this means that the cost of land is lower than the cost of the first floor slab so it would be more feasible to build a bungalow that eats up a larger ground floor footprint as opposed to a maisonette which the slab will cost more than the land cost.
CONCLUSION.
Therefore, the choice between a maisonette and a bungalow house type can be guided and advised by the above issues.
Architect Francis Gichuhi kamau
www.a4architect.com
info@a4architect.com
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