A Kenyan man has expressed disappointment after spending millions in a home ownership bid only to get a poorly constructed house.
In a post on the Facebook group Home Beautiful, the man identified as Namanda Namanda, shared a photo of the house expressing regret over the construction.
The house which is still under construction showed numerous structural issues and substandard materials used in its construction.
Namanda revealed the structure was constructed by his cousin and has so far eaten up Sh3.5 million. He regretted not hiring an expert for the construction work.
”Kshs 3,500,000 gone and this is what I am seeing. My cousin nilikosea wapi? How I wish I hired my Neighbor who is a qualified contractor/civil engineer,’’ he stated.
According to Adrian Gachewa a graduate practicing architect from the University of Nairobi, the multimillion project was ruined by poor workmanship.
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“The skeleton of the structure – the beams and columns – are either off or absent. The walls are also crooked. Design-wise it’s also a flop. The placement of windows is off. In design you don’t place windows exactly at the column,” he explained.
Gachewa explained that the expenses incurred to construct the house to that level could not have exceeded KSh 700,000.
“Up to this point, it can’t have gone beyond KSh 700,000. The labour used was obviously unskilled, so very cheap, including the designer who probably drew it with a biro pen,’’ he said.
Facebook users who reacted to the post discouraged potential homeowners from going for cheap labour or construction materials while others discouraged the hiring of family members to undertake some projects.
Faith Mbori said:
First of all, pole sana. Cheap, family, and friends are sometimes expensive. Let your relatives, and friends call you names but at the end of the day, you have a beautiful house. Use professionalism when it comes to matters of investments.
Nyarui Esther said:
Never engage relatives for any project. Mimi hata briefs za relatives I no longer handle. I learnt the hard way and had to redo my entire house at a hefty cost.