Comparison between stone walling and Glass walling in the architecture of buildings in Kenya.

Comparison between stone walling and Glass walling in the architecture of buildings in Kenya.

Glass walling is becoming the new architectural style in housing all over the world.
It gives the interior rooms ambiance and increases the comfort-ability level.

It also reduces need for use of expensive electricity to light the interiors during daytime.
It also ensures moths and other pathogens that thrive in darkly lit rooms are eradicated.

Glass cost.

For a glass wall, 6mm to 10mm thick glass will be ideal.
5mm sq m kes.900.
6mm sq.m 1250
8mm per sq. m 1950
10mm frameless 2500 per m2.
aluminum frame. natural . 8mm.
7m long. 3100 Kes 150 per meter.
Labour. Kes 1500 per m2.

Assuming 5mm glass on aluminum frame is used, this will cost kes 900=5mm glass + 4x 150m-alluminium frame + kes 300-labour=kes 1800 per m2.

Prices courtesy of http://danglass.co.ke/htm/home.htm

Stone Walling.

A square meter of stone wall has 12 stones.
Each stone costs kes 65 in the current Nairobi market.
The total cost of stone is kes 800.

Stones require cement mortar for joining together.
1 m2 of stone wall takes in kes 300 in cement mortar.
1 m2 of stone wall takes in kes 200 for plaster.
1m2 of stone walling takes another kes 100 for exterior keying.
1 m2 of stone walling takes in a further kes 300 for interior painting.

This totals to kes 1700 per m2.

Comparison.

Glass wall on aluminum frame is kes 1,800 per m2.
Stone wall is kes 1700 per m2.
Stone wall has some advantages and disadvantages.

advantages of stone wall.

1. lower maintenance.
2. gives a higher psychological perceived sense of security

Disadvantages of stone wall.

1. Higher chance of poor workmanship compared to glass and aluminum which are finished in the factory.
2. Makes a building to be perceived of lower quality when compared to glass.
The world is slowly moving to glass on aluminum as a preferred method of walling. This trend will also be followed here in Kenya. As the years go by, more and more architects and developers will do the arithmetic above and realize they can be able to obtain higher sales and rent just by switching to glass wall as opposed to stone walling.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
0721410684
info@a4architect.com