My neighbour used contractors, I used local fundis. Our projects were almost similar(Mansionettes). 3 months later, my skeleton was done, he was still at the ground floor.After *3 expenses, he gave up,threw out the contractor and is now using my local fundis.usigongwe tena!

It's not enough to use professionals and pass the bulk of overseeing project to them. It is your project. You should oversee it. Personally, where possible. An example is passing the bulk of your health to your doctor. The onus is upon you to be responsible and accountable.. Say, would you opt for nurses and clinical officers, where doctors come recommended? Because structural defects would not only compromise your life, but that of your family

@mugundaman...hehe not really. Those things that i have mentioned above are a rocket science.
Professionals don't con you in any way. They give you facts and knowledge and charge for it.
The people who con you are the foremen, fundis and those other quacks who hang around pretending to be professionals.

Before i narrate to you some real life experiences with people like yourself who thought like yourself, I will tell you that any mess in a construction project begins with the owner most of the time...Let me give you a small example:

You go out there to buy some sand because you know everything about it and depend largely on the advice of fundis because you do not want to spend an extra shilling on architect or structural engineer's advice.

At one yard you find a 20 ton truck filled with sand. On inquiring, you are told that the truckful is going for kshs 25,000 sand from masinga. You leave the yard for another and find a truck with similar tonnage to the first one and on inquiry, you are told that it is going for kshs 15,000 sand from masinga. Since you are with your fundi, in both instances you tell him to go up the trucks and look at the sand. He does that, comes down with sample of sand from trucks and hands them over to you and he tells you to go for the kshs 15,000 truck sand which he tells you is good and it is the one they have been using within your project area and besides kshs 5,000 is a lot of saving on bulk sand purchases. You settle for the cheaper sand.

You leave satisfied that you got a good deal after placing exclusive orders for the kshs 15,000 sand any time the sand is required.

After finishing the project and the family or tenants move in all is good and the atmosphere is excellent. You have completed a project which you yourself supervised and you can even show it to your friends and relatives, ocassionally saying how tough you are...until one day when you are you are having a meal of githeri special for lunch a telephone call is placed on your cell phone by the occupier of your recently completed premises and they tell you that they have noticed a crack in the sitting room wall running from left to right and another one in the kitchen running vertically at an angle.

You call your fundi and the painter and head to the building to repair the cracks which you continue repairing till kingdom come. When you cannot take it any more you start looking for the architect or the structural engineer..Fair enough?

Absolutely nothing to add to this perfect post. Point umegonga point tena proper.

Fair enough! Avoid professionals at own peril

That's understandable

Where can i find a directory of professional building contractors for a small scale project( a 60 by 40 ft house) in Nairobi and its environs? Is there a website or sorts? Any recommendations?

There's an excellent one here brother. Enjoy.

using professionals is the best way. But the choice is yours. Quacks are all over in any profession and if you have the attitude that professionals are expensive, then one day you will make a real choice/decision and the cost and effect will traumatize you. Ask those guys whose houses collapsed or patients given wrong diagnosis because they were going for cheap.
My opinion, we go to school to be better and offer professional support appropriately. Make your choice wisely.