Planning: The six things you need before you can start building a house
Before you start building a house, you will need the following: Moola Not a joke if you need to get
SA Bauhaus - A Guide to House Building in South Africa
Home building is not easy. If it were, everyone would do it.
Fortunately building a house in South Africa is still very much achievable as we have skills, land and inspired creativity.
This website guides you through the technical, administrative and creative details of completing a house build in SA.
From the initial NHBRC enrollment and compliance issues to the design and completion of your dream project, SA Bauhaus can show you the ropes.
The key is to strike a balance between budget, creativity and practicality. No two house builds are the same, but straight forward advise from someone’s that done it many times before can be very useful.
This website provides guidelines for the following areas:
- Checklist for first time house builders
- NHBRC registration and enrollment for a new house build
- NHBRC late enrollment for a new house build
- Budgeting, timing and design advise
- Top tips on construction elements, like slab construction, roofing and brickwork
- Case studies with personal lessons learnt on a house project, including new builds, renovations and additions
PLANNING
Planning: NHBRC enrollment checklist
Why do you need to do a NHBRC enrollment? Officially, the NHBRC (National Home Builders Registration Council) mandate is to
Planning: Building costs
What will a new build cost (updated April 2024)? There is no question that building costs have dramatically increased in
DESIGN
Design: Secrets of a great floor plan
The devil’s in the details. It’s as simple as that. You cannot spend enough time considering every little nuance, feature
Design: Kitchens
Designing a practical, but beautiful kitchen. Most high end kitchens are designed by people that don’t use them, for clients
Design: Flooring
It’s a minefield out there – ceramic, porcelain or natural tiles, screed, engineered or solid wood, laminate, carpet…here are some
BUILD
Build: Foundations
As NHBRC will tell you, foundations can make or break your house build. Your biggest building risk when taking on
Build: Concrete slabs
When building a house, you will require concrete slab work of some kind, either on the ground or in the
Build: Superstructure
This is seemingly the quickest and most fun part of the building process. Walls can fly up in a matter
FINISHES
Finishes: Paint and sealer
A finicky process right at the end of a build. It’s tempting to rush this bit, but take great care.
Finishes: Security
South African homes have to have effective safety measures in place. One contractor can generally complete the whole installation. The
Finishes: Landscaping
Undoubtedly the crowning glory of a new house. Nothing makes the inside of a house come alive more than a
CASE STUDIES
Case study 1: Renovation No.1
Cape Town, City Bowl 2001 The biggest advantage of buying off plan is that you skip the transfer fees. These
Case study 2: New build No. 1
Hout Bay, Cape Town 2002. There is nothing like being presented with a blank canvas. We stumbled on a little,
Case study 3: An extension
Cape Town, Hout Bay 2011. We managed to build a compact, cool house on the mountain by investing all our
BLOG
Blog: Lessons learnt
Today I did my normal site visit and stumbled on a huge problem with the slab form work. Slab, concrete,
Blog: Sketching house plans
Some people do puzzles or soduko. I sketch house plans. Or give myself house plan challenges. The most economical design,
Blog: Tips on creating a basic home office
It appears the lifestyle guru’s predictions for home ‘cocooning’ (or shall we just stick to ‘home isolation’) could not have
SA Bauhaus - A Guide to House Building in South Africa
Home building is not easy. If it were, everyone would do it.
Fortunately building a house in South Africa is still very much achievable as we have skills, land and inspired creativity.
This website guides you through the technical, administrative and creative details of completing a house build in SA.
From the initial NHBRC enrollment and compliance issues to the design and completion of your dream project, SA Bauhaus can show you the ropes.
The key is to strike a balance between budget, creativity and practicality. No two house builds are the same, but straight forward advise from someone’s that done it many times before can be very useful.
This website provides guidelines for the following areas:
- Checklist for first time house builders
- NHBRC registration and enrollment for a new house build
- NHBRC late enrollment for a new house build
- Budgeting, timing and design advise
- Top tips on construction elements, like slab construction, roofing and brickwork
- Case studies with personal lessons learnt on a house project, including new builds, renovations and additions
