Author: A4KENYA

Plug n Play House.

This is a 2 bed roomed house developed and designed by A4architect that revolutionizes provision of housing in East Africa.

Plug n Play Holiday House

The house is designed from a 20 or 40 foot container unit.
The house boosts a spacious living room in the mid section, a kitchen, bathroom and 2 bedrooms at each end.

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The wide vista windows in the living room connect the inside to the outside and brings in a modern aesthetic appeal.
This house can be transported easily to the site location.

The roof is designed at an angle of 45 degrees with a deep overhang. The overhang shades the external wall from direct sunlight thus helping to keep the interior cool in hot weather. The space in between the ceiling and the roof cover can be used to store water tanks to supply water to the house.

Use of used shipping containers for housing goes a long way in enhancing sustainability and recycling of materials. This reduces carbon footprint which in turn makes the world a little greener in line with the Mottainai campaign.

Mottainai is a word derived from the Buddhist culture meaning to appreciate and conserve any available resources at your disposal through reducing, reusing, respecting and recycling resources.
Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai spear heads this campaign in Kenya.

The flexibility in ease of transportation and erection of the Plug N Play house makes it suitable for residential accommodation in game lodges and tourist sites in Kenya and East Africa.
The interior and exterior of the house can be painted to someone’s colour of choice.

For game lodge living, the interior and exterior can be finished with rustic materials such as stucco paint on the exterior, Hessian cloth for roofing ,wooden windows and doors, and natural wooden poles window framing for the living room windows.

The house is also suitable for weekend accommodation out of the city for city dwellers.

Also, first time home buyers will really find this house useful.

Through ingenious spatial design, this marvelous piece of Architecture does not have to burst any one’s budget. Its price tag is very affordable to all.

Frank Gichuhi
www.a4architect.com
+254 721410684

How to Lay Hardcore Under Concrete Floor Beds

Hardcore is the material put under floors. It is used as a sub base after building the foundation wall to make up levels before casting the ground floor concrete slab. The recommended is hard stone ballast or quarry waste that should not pass a sieve of more than six inches when broken down. This shall be free of weeds, roots, vegetable soil, clay, black cotton soil or other unsuitable materials. Broken stones or brick cuttings can also be used as hardcore.

To lay hardcore under floor beds, use well graded smaller pieces mixed with fine materials. This will give a dense compact mass after consolidation. This shall be laid in layers not exceeding ten inches of consolidated thickness. Sufficient fine materials shall be added to each layer to give a gradation necessary to obtain a solid compact mass after rolling. A ten tonne smooth wheeled or two tone vibrating roller should be used to compact each layer.

Compact each layer with eight passes of the roller when laying hardcore under floor beds. Add sufficient water with every pass to obtain maximum compaction. To each layer add a fine layer of sand or quarry dust forced into the hardcore by a rolling vibrator. All the materials used must always be dry to avoid caking or stickiness. This may allow pockets of air or free spaces. This may sink when the hardcore is loaded with weight. If the sand is absorbed into the holes between hardcore then keep compacting.

Thoroughly compact the hardcore filling under floor beds until sand is not absorbed. The top surface should be made level. The levels are done or graded to the required falls. After this is done a blinding layer of similar broken materials is added. This is of at least one inch in thickness. A ten tonne roller is used to smoothen the surface. This mass of hardcore is now ready for anti termite, damp proofing and mesh reinforcement material before concreting the ground floor slab.

Andrew Karundu is a building economist providing home based solutions to fixing, repairing, remodeling, redesigning your homes using simple tried and tested methods to improve your lifestyles. This site should provide adequate information on most Home Improvement Solutions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Karundu

How to Design a House

Its important that the developer of a building have an idea of the various requirements of the building code if you are to design a house. The size of the rooms should be considered at the design stage so as not to have unnecessary waste of resources and materials. Most developers are carried away by room size not knowing that one doesn’t need to have a big room that is unusable.

Most room sizes according to the building code should just be adequate even if your to have minimum areas recommended. This is because a professional has taken into consideration the use of the room, location of the facilities like chimneys, beds, wash room faucets positioning, windows and doors for the rooms to be usable without wastage of space. The area to be used by a bed or door will also have been considered and the number of occupants.

When a developer is ready to design a house,examples of minimum room sizes are for kitchens seventy, a bedroom of eighty, a lounge of say two hundred square feet respectively. This sizes can be adjusted upwards according to needs of the client. Minimum size of say corridor is three feet wide, cloakroom three feet by five feet and suitable straight bathroom with only a shower and wash hand basin four feet by six feet.

In the design of house its important to think of furniture expected. A bedroom should ideally fit two beds of at least four feet wide. The width of such a bedroom should be four feet multiplied by the two beds and add one extra bed width for walking space. Doors should be placed at points where walls intersect to maximize on room space and usable area. Windows should be placed almost central to the room. Cloakrooms or bathrooms placed near bedrooms.

Andrew Karundu Is A Building Economist Providing Home Based Solutions To Fixing, Repairing, Remodeling, Redesigning Your Homes Using Simple Tried And Tested Methods To Improve Your Lifestyles. This Site Should Provide Adequate Information On Most HOME IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Karundu

How to Do Cost Planning During Construction

Cost planning in construction is necessary since building a house is a very expensive thing to do and any mistakes can be very costly to the client. Its very important to know how to plan and to ensure that the building is suitable as far as the resources are concerned. All factors should be considered to ensure maximum value for your money. Its also important to note that a building should not cost more than what the client has budgeted for.

There are different methods of cost planning during construction which the client should be able to use for purposes of ensuring the budget is not overrun. These methods involve approximate estimation of the clients budget. One method involves looking at similar structures erected within the resent time frame since costs don’t differ very much within the same location. A developer should always consult on the prevalent costs before commencing building works.

The method of cost planning during construction we call comparative method involves taking similar structures done in recent past in the neighbor hood and making several adjustments. The adjustments involve size of the new building the client is undertaking. Other items to be considered include services like water, sewers or septic tanks, roads and also variations in prices of materials.

An example is price of one unit costing 12,500 dollars in a flat, 1500 dollars for three bedroom bungalow and 1800 dollars for maisonette can be used to estimate the cost of a proposed building of similar nature respectively. All the client needs to do is to check all variables like time , nature of building and location to arrive at a reasonable estimate on the cost planning during construction.

Andrew Karundu Is A Building Economist Providing Home Based Solutions To Fixing, Repairing, Remodeling, Redesigning Your Homes Using Simple Tried And Tested Methods To Improve Your Lifestyles. This Site Should Provide Adequate Information On Most HOME IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Karundu

How to To Make Approximate Quantities in Construction Costing

When a developer intends to build after the design stage its time to make approximate quantities. This is by far the most accurate method of costing a project. This method of costing a project assists the home owner to know not only the total sum of the project but also the sum per item or elements. The sum per item or elements construction shows from foundations normally called substructures,walling above ground called superstructure up to roofing and finishes.

Foundations or substructures works are trench excavations, foundation blinding, concrete, steel, foundation walls, backfillling trenches, hardcore base, blinding the base, damp roof membranes, insecticide treatment, concrete to ground floor slab. On a good site topography average eight dollars per square foot of plan area for the house to be erected. This rate can be used to cost foundation works described in this paragraph to make approximate quantities.

Superstructures or works above ground floor slab is all walls, which include internal and external walls. This can be rated as six dollars per square foot to make approximate quantities per floor area of proposed house. The cost of roofing would include roof covers like tiles, slates, roof trusses, which can average eight dollars. In the case of first or other floors which include concrete and reinforcements can average ten dollars per plan area of house.

The final is finishes cost of floor screeds, plaster to walls or slab soffits at an average of seven dollars per square foot of plan area. Add all the approximate quantities from foundations, superstructures, roofing and finishes to get total rate in construction costing. If the total rate was say thirty dollars multiply this by floor plan area to get construction costing per square foot and Make adjustments to suit the intended house.

Andrew Karundu Is A Building Economist Providing Home Based Solutions To Fixing, Repairing, Remodeling, Redesigning Your Homes Using Simple Tried And Tested Methods To Improve Your Lifestyles. This Site Should Provide Adequate Information On Most HOME IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Karundu

How to Fix Rain Water Gutters

Rain water gutters are used to collect and drain water from the roofs. These can be used to harvest water from he roof into a storage tank. This water can be used as a clean supply to the house. Gutters can be designed and formed into different shapes and materials. These can be half round or square shaped. The materials can be concrete, PVC, cast iron or sheet metal. The water storage can be made in the ground or elevated above ground level. The position of the tank will depend on the height of the roof from the ground level.

The rain water gutters are connected with down pipes to drain into tanks or the ground sewers. This gutters start or are attached at the eaves end point of the roof on the fascia board. It is important to blend the rain water goods to the fascia boards. This will give good aesthetic factors to the house. When fixing the down pipes, they should also be made to match the wall facades. Colors used should not contrast with the wall finishes. Sometimes these down pipes can be concealed inside beams and columns into the ground or tanks.

The size of the rain water gutters is six to eight inches wide. The fixing is done using clips attached to the fascia boards. The concrete ones are cast within the flat roof slab. The fixing clips are supplied as part of the whole system. These are made to slope to one side of the fascia board. This will allow the gutter to drain water to the down pipe. Once the gutter is fixed to the clips, water is poured on the roof to check the slope. This should not too fast as it will not be self cleansing. Again the slope should not be too visible on the fascia board.

The roof corners are done with stopped ends connected to the gutter. This has a hole for the swan neck shaped pipe. This piece makes the bend from the roof to the wall. The down pipe is joined to it, to take the water down. The pipes are fitted straight and connected to the wall with brackets away from doors and windows. If a water storage tank is elevated, the pipe is joined from the swan neck to the tank. If it is on the ground, a pipe runs down and bends towards the tank. When water is not harvested, the pipe bends and lets out water onto splash apron.

Andrew Karundu Is A Building Economist Providing Home Based Solutions To Fixing, Repairing, Remodeling, Redesigning Your Homes Using Simple Tried And Tested Methods To Improve Your Lifestyles. This Site Should Provide Adequate Information On Most HOME IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Karundu

How to Select a House Design and the Factors to Consider

When a developer agrees that its possible to build, several factors to be considered when selecting a suitable house plan. This include the land location, the topography, whether it is level or sloping. On a sloppy terrain it would be advisable to use a basement. Basements will allow a new space to be created. This will reduce the waste of having a whole foundation the height of a house buried in the ground. This would be used to make up for the levels. On flat areas, usually the foundation depths into the soil is minimal.

Other factors to consider in a house design is the availability of resources. Since without funds it would be difficult to commence the project. Its also important to know that for the many rooms created, the higher the cost of construction. An economical design is one which will provide maximum usage of space. This will be for the amount of money to be used. A storeyed building is more cost effective since the roof and foundations utilized are the same as the one covering ground and other floors.

Also interesting to note is the shape when selecting a house design. Regular shapes like squares are more economical than rectangular or circular shapes. For a square room, the perimeter and area is same. For example, a four by four feet room and a two by six will have perimeter of sixteen but the area will be of twelve feet respectively. But also note that the situation on the ground is what determines the shape of the house. What is important always is the funds available and use of the house.

Another factor to consider is the number of rooms. More rooms are more economical in a house design than fewer rooms. A one bedroom bungalow’s cost could on average be more expensive than a three bedroom bungalow. This is because the three bedroom will not have three kitchens, three bathrooms and three stores. The three bedroom will have more occupants. This people will be using the same facilities like the bathroom and kitchen as in the one bedroom unit.

Andrew Karundu Is A Building Economist Providing Home Based Solutions To Fixing, Repairing, Remodeling, Redesigning Your Homes Using Simple Tried And Tested Methods To Improve Your Lifestyles. This Site Should Provide Adequate Information On Most HOME IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Karundu

Parapet walls are built on concrete flat roofs. The height of the walls is three to four feet high. They are built on the edge to secure the flat roof. This is done to protect people from falling off the concrete slab. The construction uses similar walling materials as in the building. This include bricks, concrete, glass, aluminum, masonry or steel. Steel balustrades may also be used as a parapet. The walls has a coping stone for weathering.

The parapet wall is erected using strong mortar. Since the walls are in the open roof, they must withstand wind or weather pressures. Depending on the type of concrete slab, solid wall materials should be used. The floor finish of the flat roof is protected by the parapet wall. Also the drainage channels within the roof are protected by this walls. After the erection of this short walls, water proofing of the flat roof is done.

The parapet wall position is marked around the whole flat roof. The thickness of the wall without finishes is minimum eight inches. A damp proof course of bitumen is first laid out. This is to prevent moisture penetrating into the ceiling below. The wall masonry is built normally as in other floors. During the concrete slab casting, stub columns are left to hold the parapet wall. The wall hoop iron reinforcement is joined with the columns.

After the parapet wall is ready, finishes on it can start. The coping stone is laid above it. This should be wider than the wall the including finishes. This should be at least ten inches wide. this will leave an overhang of one inch on each side. The external part or facade should be finished similar to the building decoration. The internal part is rendered. It is steel floated to weather of dust. After it is dry, external paint is used to finish off.

Andrew Karundu Is A Building Economist Providing Home Based Solutions To Fixing, Repairing, Remodeling, Redesigning Your Homes Using Simple Tried And Tested Methods To Improve Your Lifestyles. This Site Should Provide Adequate Information On Most HOME IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Karundu

By: Rin Otori

If you need a shed plan, click this link to get high quality 12×12 shed plans.

The thought of building a 12×12 shed can seem like a difficult task for someone who has never built one before. However, there’s no need to worry because if you take the necessary steps to prepare for this project  building one is a lot easier than it looks. In this article, I’m going to attempt to simplify the process so that you can have an idea on what to do in order to get started:

1..Get A Shed Plan: This is probably the most important step you’ll need to take. You can find 12×12 shed plans at your local home improvement store or on the internet. .I typically prefer to purchase my shed plans on the internet. The reason why is because I tend to find a better selection online, and the plans are usually of higher quality than what I tend to find at the stores. At the bottom of this article you’ll find a link to where I get my 12×12 shed plans.

b.Gather your equipment and materials: Once you have gotten your 12×12 shed plan, find the page where it lists the tools and materials that you’ll need.Check to see if you already have these items, and if not you’ll want to go to your local hardware store and purchase what you need before you start building.

c. Decide on the location of where you want to build your shed: You’ll want to take some time deciding on this if you haven’t already.

After you have completed the three steps above you are ready to start building your shed! Since you have taken the necessary steps to carefully plan this out and prepare, you should find that building your shed will be a lot easier than if you had just decided to wing it.

Want to know where I get my 12×12 shed plans? You can get access to over 12,000 shed plans by clicking here.

About the Author

www.AmazingShedPlans.info

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