The process for getting a residential/Commercial / Industrial plan is generally similar for most places in Zimbabwe and only differs due to the type of construction you want to be done.
Justifiably this process can be intimidating because for most, planning and building a house is the biggest and dearest project they get to do. Below we have outlined the general process to get a house design/plan from start to finish.
You need to have proof of ownership of the land/stand that you want a plan for. This is in the form of a deed or an agreement of sale.
You also need to have a site plan: a document that shows the dimensions and orientation of the proposed Development. This can usually be obtained from your local council, if you don’t have the site plan we can survey the stand for you and establish a layout plan for the stand.
This is a very important stage as it allows the client to shape the project. The broad parameters that will guide the project to it’s completion are determined here.
Start with your idea if possible, have a general design in your head. Consult with family and friends, lookup online, create a list of requirements for your house. Make a sketch. Know what you really need ( space Utilisation)
Communicate clearly your idea to Big Horns Construction and Engineering. Set up a face to face meeting if possible. Express everything that you came up with in step one. Don’t hold back. Don’t limit your expectations. Instead, present your idea and instead let our architects and engineers mould that idea to fit your space, timeline and budget. The Client Brief should be sustainable, realistic, doable and achievable.
Familiarity with the site is a must. You must inform the Company of any special conditions at the site which could affect the design. This can range from bad soils, unevenness and high moisture. If you are unsure or unavailable to assess your site you can arrange for a site visit to be done by us for you.
Your input continues to be vital as our architects start actual work on the plan. The goal of schematic design is to develop the shape and size of the building with some basic design. We develop the general plan and basic exterior design figuring out more or less how the building will look and operate. This stage will involve a lot of sketching and communication.
It is important you are very responsive because the sooner you give the go-ahead the sooner the architects can do your design.
This is usually the last stage that major changes can be done to the design easily and at no cost.
At Big Horns Construction and Engineering we make sure we deliver as per Client request, as such your suggestions and recommendations are welcome
The architects get to work and start doing their magic. The rough schematic design is developed by adding details and specificity to the drawings. Choices on materials are made at this stage, materials like roofing. If there is an engineering aspect to the proposed building this is the stage at which the engineering design will start and run in parallel to the architectural design.
This process will be declared done when both the clients and our architects agree on the design.
The architects and Engineers will now finalize the detailing and documents needed. These will be printed and the necessary number of copies made. Documents will be taken to your local council for the beginning of the approval process. This will require a certain fee to be paid based on the coverage of the building.
Note that this fee might or might not be covered by the fee you pay to the company, it is important you get clarification. If it’s a larger city the documents will then be moved to the city council for completion of the approval. The documents will then pass through a number of offices. Each looking at a specific aspect of the designs.
It is possible the documents can get snagged/fail approval at some stage and have to be corrected. Typically the architects and engineers will take back the documents and quickly do the corrections at no extra cost
Note these snags are the primary source of delays and are to be expected the more complex your designs. At Big Horns Construction and Engineering we couple our experience and familiarity with construction codes to minimize the number of snags your plan has.
This is a milestone, we get the plan approved on your behalf. We hand over the approved copies of the plan to the Client.
At big Horns, we strive to build 80% of the plans we design. We furnish the client with the breakdown of the costs he/she is likely to face while undertaking the construction project. We aim to be given the right of first refusal if the client wants to tie us to a certain budget constraint.
For App and Calls +263778718966 /+263778718966 +263733855144 http://wa.me/263778718966 http://wa.me/263733855144
Email: bighornszw@gmail.com