Building one’s own house is everyone’s dream. While some people have found a way to crack the challenges involved in the various processes of raising a structure, many people still have one or two challenges in this aspect.

One of the main challenges when planning to build an apartment is knowing where to start from and budgeting accordingly. It is essential to have an idea of how much is needed to complete the construction of a typical house to ensure a smooth construction process without serious hindrances.

In this post, we will take a look at how much it costs to completely build a 4-bedroom Bungalow from scratch.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a 4-Bedroom Bungalow in Nigeria?

Estimating the actual amount to build a 4-bedroom bungalow can be very difficult. This is because there are several factors that affect the estimated amount the whole process will go for. For instance, you wouldn’t expect to spend the same amount to build a 4-bedroom in places like Lagos and some other less-expensive places like Ondo State or Northern Nigeria.

Here, we will consider how much it costs, on the average, to build a standard 4-bedroom bungalow. To make this easier, we will categorize the processes into stages, starting from buying a land to running finishing torches to the structure.

Cost of Buying a Piece of Land

This is the very first step to take when planning to build a 4-bedroom bungalow. It is usually difficult trying to estimate how much plots of lands go for as there are many factors to consider. Generally, the prices plots of land go for depending on the location. In fact, it is even possible to see the same plot of land in the same area go for different prices.

Areas with expensive costs of living have remarkably expensive lands and those in remote areas don’t cost as much.

Depending on the size of the 4 bedroom bungalow, the minimum of a plot of land should be able to fix a standard 4 bedroom flat, although most people prefer to go for more than a plot to ensure the building and compound has adequate space. As it stands, one plot of land can cost as low as N400,000 and as high as 12 million naira or higher, depending on the location.

Cost of Drafting a Building Plan

This is the next cost to estimate. You will require a professional architect to help with the planning design. For a typical 4-bedroom flat plan, the design usually cots anything between N50,000 and N400, 000 depending on the architect, complexity of the structure you want and the location.

Cost of Foundation Stage Plus Soakaway

This is the next main step after securing land and drawing the building plan. There are different types and techniques for constructing foundations and they all vary in prices. In recent times, professionals have advised to test the soil type before determining the type of foundation to go for.

Depending on the type of foundation profiling, design and complexity of the structure, this stage should cost anything between N600,000 and N1.5 million. It should also be noted that the estimate is also dependent on the location of the site.

Cost of Construction to Lintel Level

This is where the main block work starts. As stated earlier, it is tricky to estimate the actual amount that will be spent at this stage because it depends on several factors. Factors like the design, the type of material to be used and other similar factors affect the number of blocks, for instance, to be used.

Based on recent trends though, one should expect to spend between N2 million and N3.5 million including estimates for the whole block work, labour, sand, lintel casting, and other materials to be used during the construction process.

Cost of Roofing

This is one of the core stages that chunk a large part of the whole budget. While the overall estimate you will spend here depends on the type of roofing you are going for, the material to be used and the strength of the work force, it is still essential to note that there are pros and cons associated with the type you go for. Regardless of this, one can expect to spend between N1,000,000 and N4 Million.

Cost of Finishing Stage

The projected budget here should include plastering cost, wiring cost, overall plumbing cost, cost of fixing all windows and doors, cost of flooring and other similar expenses. It is worth noting that the cost of this stage hinges on the number of rooms, sorts of materials you are considering to use, cost of manpower (which varies heavily depending on the location) and other similar factors. On the average, one can expect to spend anything between N3 million and N10 million at the stage — depending on your personal taste and quality of materials used.

What Experts Say

Building a standard 4 bedrooms bungalow that has the basic facilities a modern house should have including parapet plus a standard security post with parapet, interlocked compound, car park, generator house and everything enclosed within a fenced compound should cost nothing less than N27M to N30M presently in Nigeria including land purchase. N10M will only take you a little after plastering, so, a budget of 15 million would not build a standard house that has what a modern house should have.

Don’t forget, my estimation above is if you are spending about 1.5 to 2M on a piece of land. Also, don’t forget a modern house should have a high foundation of around 5 to 7 couch high and you will have to fill the compound to reveal on 2 couches above soil level. Again, a budget of N15 Million will not take you close to completion at all in today’s Nigeria.

— Ibrahim Abdulkadiri (Nigerian building expert)

Conclusion

There are a lot of things involved when building a 4-bedroom bungalow. Apart from the budget already estimated above, it is essential to also budget for miscellaneous expenses that will pop up during construction.

On the average, based on the estimate above, you should expect to spend a total of anything between N15 million and N25 million for a standard 4-bedroom bungalow, although building this same in rural or developing areas in Nigeria can be way cheaper.