Please advice. How much (%) of the Construction cost should go towards Architectural,Structural /Civil,Mechanical & Electrical Services and Quantity Surveying for a mutli-family dwelling property?

@Osa

The architect is known as the chief consultant in the design process.

After you approve the final design (s)he will approach the other consultants you have mentioned (suppose to tender) on your behalf and get their input and cost. The total cost will be your design cost.

The architects commission is capped at 6% of the above cost.

There are also site visits to take into account which are usually an added cost if not included.

So for you to get a cost projection you will have to approach an architect first.

Average building cost KShs 15,000-25,000 per square metre (to be confirmed)

NB:

The design and construction costs are separate




'If you are not living on the edge,you are taking up too much space'

Hi,
Its good that you have asked that question.Kindly note that Architects and Quantity Surveyors professional fees are guided by Cap 525 OF THE LAWS OF KENYA OR conditions of engagement as stipulated in the GOVERNMENT OF KENYA CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT AND SCALE OF FEES FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR BUILDING AND ENGINEERING WORKS.

This amounts to a minimum of 6% for the architect and about 2.5% for the quantity surveyor.They go up depending on reputation and experience of the consultants.usually total fees end up to abt 12%.Sounds expensive but believe me it is cheaper compared to the cost of rectifying mistakes often done by quacks.

Please Ensure you are working with qualified consultants registered by their respective registration boards ie Board of registration of Architects and Quantity surveyors and the Engineers registration board.

There are many consortiums as well that offer all the services in one but again they are guided by the above laws and the fees usually end up at 12% in total.Their main aim is for the various consultants to tap into individual synergies after working together over time.Good luck and let me know if u need further assistance.

Am an Architect by training but just sat my registration exams.Hope to know my registration status by Dec.Even if I cant give the service,I can direct you to friends,or the the Board of registration or the Architectural association of Kenya,who can give you the whole list of consultants,who are in good standing,that you can choose from.They are friendly and encourage the public to go to them for assistance.They will also shed light on the duties of the consultants as well as their required professional conduct.This way you know exctly what you are paying for..I have seen many loose money and getting poor service and would not want you to go through that.Good luck

@ Mrefu Tall
ssup son? well said...
watu walipe professionally!!!!
lakini wakitaka shortcuts ni sawa tu..the results ALWAYS display the input therein...

less is more for Architects only!!

Why shud an architect or quantity surveyor get a %??? That incentivizes them to jack up the cost!!! And why shud the fees be 'fixed' by the government... at best have a maximum lakini this is BS... why cant I negotiate my fees???

Greedy when others are fearful,Very fearful when others are greedy - to paraphrase WB

@kishindo (ibra),its malicious 2imply govern projcts costs r inflated without evidence!,on the fee issue,% fee scale is outdated and does not reward the consultant comunsarte with the effort put into a project,eg a small one room with gold and diamond finishings wil charge more than a larger low cost yet work involded is more.i encourage time based fees,in developed countries fee scales are history n i also know some leading consultants who charge on time and resources involved.Cap 525 also mentions this

@ Ubuntu we all know that Govt. projects are always inflated to oil the wheels of development na uwache kuni-expose...wat is the oppsite of lol? weka hapo..

less is more for Architects only!!

I agree with some ideas raised here~in. I had the same question on the 'moral hazard' of a %. If the consultants know that he can make more money when bulding cost is 25,000/sq M; then what would be the incentive of helping you with ideas so that you scale down cost to 15,000/Sq. M?

On that note,just for comparison sake,what would an architecturalplan be for a 5 floor flat [2 bedrooms] on a 50*100 in Roysambu,Ruaka or Thika/Ruiru area?

Also,consider time-wise for other services.

Thank you.

@osa,

As a developer,the firstt step you take is conceptualizing the project.

The moment you pick out the project you want to do,you can engage a Qs to do a very quick development budget which,if you constructing houses for sale can quickly indicate whether the project is worth it or not. This they would use the cost per sm to achieve the construction costs.

Once a client finds a project which is viable the Architect can then begin to design based on a budget limit already set. It would take a silly consultant to do a proposal which will kill the project!

By the time a project goes to tender so many cost checks and controls are done to ensure that the project does not exceed the budget.

For family houses,the architect will work on either the specifications given by the client or a budget limit. In the first options the arch will assume that the client is not short of cash and can design using the highest standards of finishes he can think of.- i know of a residential house that cost over 100m! and not the VPs.

2nd option the arch will design based on the budget limit set. the QS in this case will ensure that the finishes specified do not increase the cost of the building.

In all these the consultants will act in good faith to advise the clients.

I reiterate that no good consultant in their right mind would want to increase the cost of a project to inflate their fees.

hey

@ stark,makao is the only such set up i know of.
Faulu kenya tried sometime back but was largely tailored for low-income settlements. However due to its popularity,more players are likely to adopt the model.

less is more for Architects only!!