Totally possible blatha
Rule numero uno...never listen to Wazoo naysayers. Wait you see how they will land on you like a TON OF BRICKS with terrible mawaidahas.
I remember when I first asked this same question (self build) hapa a few years back

Swenani was helpful and encouraging
A cretin called Kangangio (whatever happened to this doba?) landed with ujuaji mooooooob na hukali miiingi ati if you cannot tell the difference between white, brown and grey sands, forget about building even a cattle dip!
Obiero gave good feedback
Stiffler cheered Kangangio on ati these things are impossible for you! Huwezi kapsa kapsaa!
Jitahidi a man of wisdom and experience (from his posts) encouraged me by telling me these things are not rocket science..all one needs a willingness to learn and move on
Mukiri added nothing useful including a cryptic "listen to the professionals"
Point alitwanga point kali encouraging me to forge on with good fundis as it is doable
Thitifin gave scare stories about a sagging staircase that cost a milli to rectify but redeemed himself with a few useful mawaidhas hapa na pale
Musimo had excellent tips

Several years on and several projects completed, I can say with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight that the naysayers tips were all RUBBISH and the positive commentators tips were worth their weight in gold. I suggest you start with the famous Pablo/Questions for A4archtect thread like I did back then. I was obsessed with that thread, I am pretty sure I read it at least ten times and that is saying a lot as it is very long. I learned more from that thread than I have learned afterwards. Reading that thread alone will answer 99% of your questions.

Then once the learning stage is over, do not waste time with analysis of paralysis. Nothing beats HANDS ON/PRACTICAL knowledge, especially on things like items needed to build the house, concrete mixtures, etc.

Then BUILD IN STAGES. This has many advantages. 1 you learn so much during each stage. If you are swindled at this stage you can reflect and learn the bitter lesson (nothing teaches you fast more than losing a bit of hard earned money on a small scale!). You also come up with new ideas and knowledge as you embark into the next stage. You can easily get overwhelmed building everything at once, but if you build in stages you bite what you can chew and digest and keep moving smoothly.

Good luck and I hope the building is going to be in #DustbowlCounty Forever! but if not, all the best all the same. Those are my humble peni mbili.

NIMESEMA!

Point taken. I am glad to see my chief nemesis Sparkles has finally started behaving well . Na hiyo ni progress. I am generally a peaceful man if treated in a peaceful and constructive way.

Sure. I began by reading both of his threads. Certainly an above par man. Personally, I am in my late twenties and could learn a great deal from him.

1. You will learn so much on construction, if you get your hands dirty.
2. Get a reliable/honest foreman and a reliable storekeeper. This will reduce your cost of pilferage by a huge percentage.
3. At the end of the day, its your apartment. You decide what is best for you, what quality you want, what materials to use.
4. Get a professional to help you along the way - be it an architect, structural engineer, someone who has done it before. It will save you some silly mistakes which as a layman you will definitely make if not well guided.

I find it sad that most professionals who have a good day job rely on quack fundis for advice, on what to do, what to buy - yet those fundis only speak out of experience, and sometimes their experience is very shallow.

5. Don't build by proxy or via telephone, if you have the time. Be on the ground, try and source materials from different suppliers before settling on a supplier.

6. Some jobs will be subcontracted. Learn the art of subcontracting and managing cashflows, and demanding quality.

Most fundis will take the shortest way out, if it means they save a few hours or coins while doing it.

A 5 story building on 1/8th of an acre can take 1 year (assuming all cash is available). If its a 5 story building on a larger piece of land - then it will take longer.

It is not a hustle free process. It will take you to hell and back sometimes. But when it is done, you will itch for the next project. Whether you hire a contractor or not, your personal touch is key. It shapes the project, hence you cannot be hands off.

Saving is in terms of:
1. Materials.
Shop shop shop. Negotiate Negotiate. Understand the difference in quality of different materials and determine whether they are worth the extra coin for perceived quality.
Most shops tend to sell the same things/brands, hence its easy to do like for like comparison.
Work with reputable hardware shops that are reliable.
2. Ask questions, until you are satisfied. This enables you to learn why things are being done in a certain way. Seek knowledge in different forums, people who have done it before. these will save you lots of money.
3. Time
Generally, building over a long time costs more than if you focussed and built over a short timespan. Will also reduce your costs of financing (if any)
4. Labour and subcontracting
Not the best way to save, but be vigilant on who you subcontract. Going for the cheapest subcontractors is not always the solution. Rather look at what they have done.
Subcontractors have a terrible habit of starting work, demanding for lot of money upfront, and then abandoning the work if it will cost them more than the remaining amount. therefore find a way of matching payments to work done (percentage of completion), and always withhold an amount which you pay when you are fully satisfied with their work.
5. Conmen
In construction, people have devised many ways of conning others. For example:
- Your hardware shop bills you for 50 bags of cement, but delivers 45, the remaining 5 is split between the shop, foreman and storekeeper.
- Ballast that is delivered with trucks that have a false bottom. They tell you they are delivering 15t of ballast, and from the look of it, the lorry is full to the brim. Only that it has a false bottom and thus carries only 12t.
- Be ware of people who come to site, promise to deliver items to site, and want an upfront payment. There are soo many brokers who are trying to take your hard earned coin. Therefore - only pay when something has been delivered to site.
- Managing labour - if you are doing daily fundis, there are fundis who appear during paytime at 5pm, yet they were working at the neighbours.

There are Pitfalls at every stage, and if dealing with these is not for you - get a trusted contractor to manage these and many more.

Either way, you pay for it either in terms of time, effort or actual cash.

But it is doable, very doable.

Do your research on what kind of apartments to do for your location. Ultimately, that building will outlive you, and there are some mistakes that can never be corrected.

This is an interesting thread . I intend to build an apartment block somewhere on Eastern bypass in the near future. I don't have a lot of free time to be on-site regularly and is mulling of hiring a contractor to do the entire job.

Is there a listing of trustworthy and professional building contractors who do such projects e.g. 5-storey of one bedroom apartments with basement parking? I will highly appreciate links and contacts to building contractors who take such projects in Nairobi area.

Kindly note i am not talking of the likes of Seyani brothers and other big boys and girls of construction industry. I am looking for middle level guys.

For basic maths your construction cost should not exit 30k per square meter.

If not migundas,then what?

Don't get me wrong. The sector is still red hawt. Satellite towns in general and of course DC is thd future which is booming like crazy. Kili, Kile Westy and similar areas is another matter altogether. Rentals and off plan sales are struggling.

There are some mistakes that can never be corrected. I have a neighbor living the regrets of this due to poor design. Houses are very poorly lit. As it is it is impossible for some rooms to get sunlight or fresh air since one neighbor has also setup an apartment.

Spend time on the design. Go to ground with the architect. Avoid meeting surveyors, architects, fundis or anyone in an office or restaurant. Insist on meetings on site.
Allow even the fundi to critique the architect. This guys sometimes have more insight than the guys in suits.