We all know the story of the three little pigs. As the fable goes, three hogs desperately needed shelter. One built his house from straw instead of looking for more reliable materials.
Granted, he managed to save countless man hours in terms of construction. The second one went a step further and built his house from sticks. The third pig, with a little hard work and ingenuity, made a house of stone. Then the big bad wolf came huffing and puffing, and blew down the homes of the first two pigs.
Read Between the Lines
If you can read between the lines, you’ll discover that the third pig represents hard work and dedication. He survived because he took the time and effort to put up a legitimate structure. It may have taken a while, but he got the job done. When the wolf was at his door, he sat comfortably on his couch and the dirty mongrel blew nothing but hot air.
Some versions of the story have included a fourth pig. For instance, Bill Willingham, a writer for Vertigo Comics created a character who built a house of cloth. This was by far the laziest of the bunch, pitching a tent instead of looking for building material. When the wolf came, he simply walked in and devoured the foolish animal.
Don’t just take the story at face value. There’s something to be learned here. For some of us, it is a lesson in real estate. You can be like the first two pigs who saved a lot of time and suffered the consequences. You can be like the third, who took the time to build something sturdy. Or you can be like the fourth, who worked with what he already had.
A House of Mud
If you want something cheap and easy to construct then a mud house is the way to go. They are common among some of the country’s rural communities. Mud houses are cheap because soil is a readily available resource and the roofing can be made from dry grass and leaves. Despite their low-cost appeal, mud houses can be destroyed by floods and heavy rain.
A House of Stone
If you want a better chance surviving a flood, then a stone house is just the thing for you. They set the bar for all other structures because concrete is the most popular durable building material.
According to Ujenzi Bora, one of East Africa’s property solutions company, you can determine the cost of constructing a stone house by simply comparing what you want to a similar house that has already been built. The real estate dealer states that subtracting the cost of a finished house from the cost of the land it’s built on will give you the general cost of construction.
For instance, if a finished house costs KES 20 million and the land costs KES 5 million, then the cost of building a similar house would be about KES 15 million.
Contractors’ charges are based on square footage. So to determine how much it would cost to build a bigger or smaller house, you can simply divide the KES 15 million by the square feet that the finished house has used up.
Whatever number you get is the amount you will multiply with your own square footage to get the approximate value of putting up your house. If the finished house takes up 1500 square feet, then you should pay about KES 10,000 per square foot for your own house.
A House of Boxes
If I’ve learned anything from the story of the four little pigs, it’s that it is cheaper to just put up a structure from scratch. The fourth pig had the right idea but the wrong materials. If he had invested in a shipping container, he would probably have survived.
Shipping containers are a fast-growing trend among architects and home-owners alike. They are cheaper than building materials, they are stronger than grass-thatched mud houses and they are readily available. Some home-owners have even stacked containers together, forming some of the most beautiful houses ever seen. According to Business.com, one container can cost up to USD 2000 (KES 168, 000).
As long as you have the land, all you’ll need are a few windows, a bit of renovation, some furniture and a drainage system. Add some electric wiring and you are in business. So the next time you want to build a house, why not think like a pig?