How to build a house in Pakistan, from plot to handover

Building a house is a sequence in which each stage depends on the one before. The sequence matters more than any single stage, because a step done out of order (ordering steel before the drawings are approved, tiling before the waterproofing test) is where money is lost. The table is the map for the rest of this guide.

Most disappointment comes from a gap between what the owner wanted and what they asked for. Writing a brief takes an evening and saves months of drawings that miss the point.

Then set the money. Decide the most you can spend in total, list every cost head (not only the contractor’s price), and hold a contingency. The cost and BOQ guide has the cost-head table, the method for getting a rate from real quotes and the contingency advice.

You can fix a bad design. You cannot easily fix a bad title. Verify the plot before you pay, and before you spend on design.

• Work from the plot’s dimensions in feet, not only in marla, because the marla differs between places. Use the plot size calculator.
• Verify the seller, the ownership record, the chain of title, the scheme’s approval and the dues, at the source and not through the dealer.
• Visit the plot and check the boundaries, access, level, neighbours and services.
• Pay in stages by bank transfer to the owner’s own account, and complete the registration and the transfer before the balance is paid.

The full sequence, with the document checklist, red flags and the agreement checklist, is in How to buy a plot in Pakistan without being cheated.

Checks for the builder, not the buyer

Beyond ownership, look at the plot as someone who will build on it:

Design is where you have the most influence at the least cost. A hesitant brief produces a house that has to be changed during construction, which is where it is most expensive.

1. 1

   Choose an architect

   Check the architect’s registration with the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP), visit houses they have designed and speak to past clients. Agree the scope, the stages of the work and the fee in writing.

2. 2

   Give them the brief, the plot in feet and the building limits

   Include the setbacks, coverage and floors from the authority. See the map approval guide.

3. 3

   Review the concept

   Walk through the plan in your mind or on paper: from the gate to the door, from the bedroom to the bathroom, from the kitchen to the dining table. Check furniture will fit. Ask for sections and a 3D view.

4. 4

   Appoint a structural engineer

   A registered engineer designs the foundation, columns, beams and slabs to the building code’s seismic provisions for your zone. Give them the soil information and the architect’s drawings.

5. 5

   Get the services designed

   Electrical layout and load schedule, plumbing and drainage layout, septic or sewer connection, water tanks, and provisions for ACs and solar.

6. 6

   Finalise the finishing schedule

   A schedule listing the finish of every room: floor, walls, ceiling, doors, windows, fittings. Without it, the finishing is decided on site, in a hurry.

Approval and tender can run in parallel to a degree, since the BOQ is prepared from the drawings while the authority reviews them. But do not award a contract or order materials until the stamped plan is in hand.

Approval

• Find which body approves your plan, and whether a housing society also does.
• Check the drawings against the setbacks, coverage, floors and parking before you submit.
• Submit a complete pack, respond to objections in writing, and keep every letter.
• Do not start work on a pending plan.

The full process, drawing set and rejection list are in House map approval in Pakistan.

Tender

• Prepare a BOQ from the drawings, by someone who is not a bidder.
• Vet three to five contractors by visiting their sites and calling past clients.
• Issue the same package to each, hold a joint site visit, take questions in writing and answer all.
• Compare the large items line by line, and find out why any rate is far from the others.
• Choose on capability and terms as well as price.

See the cost guide for how to read and compare, and the contractor guide for the interview questions and tender steps.

The contract, the payment schedule and the inspection arrangements should be in place before the first trench. The full clause list is in the contractor guide. The short version is: milestone payments, a small advance, retention, hold points for inspection, written variations and a defects period.

The grey structure is the shell: foundation, frame, slabs, walls and roof. Almost all of it is hidden later, so it is built in a sequence with a checkpoint before each part is covered. The details of every check are in the inspection guide; this is the order.

1. 1

   Setting out and excavation

   Mark the house on the plot, excavate to the depth on the structural drawing, and confirm the ground. Checkpoint: setting out, then the excavation.

2. 2

   Foundation

   Lean concrete, footing steel, concrete and curing. Checkpoint: the steel before the pour, and the pour itself.

3. 3

   Columns up to plinth, plinth beam, DPC and anti-termite treatment

   The frame rises to plinth level, damp-proofing and termite treatment are applied, and the fill is compacted. Checkpoint: before backfilling.

4. 4

   Ground-floor columns, beams and slab

   Steel and shuttering for columns, then beams and slab, with electrical conduits and sleeves placed before the pour. Checkpoint: before each pour. Cure for at least 7 days.

5. 5

   Masonry

   Walls rise on the slab, tied to the columns, with openings and lintels. Checkpoint: openings, lintels and the quality of the work.

6. 6

   Repeat for each upper floor

   The same sequence, with column starter bars ready, and the stair constructed with each floor.

7. 7

   Roof slab, parapets, stair head (mumty) and tanks

   The roof slab carries the slopes, the outlets and the parapets that the waterproofing depends on. Checkpoint: slope and outlets before the waterproofing.

Wiring, pipes, drains and waterproofing are the parts of a house that fail quietly, then expensively. Do them in the right order, and test each before it is covered.

1. 1

   Electrical rough-in

   Conduits and boxes in the walls and slab, with the circuits, cable sizes and earthing as drawn. Run continuity and insulation tests.

2. 2

   Plumbing and drainage rough-in

   Supply lines, drains, traps, vents and tanks, with a pressure test of the water lines and a flow test of the drains.

3. 3

   Provisions

   AC drain lines and pipe sleeves, solar conduit, internet and TV cabling, and gas lines if used.

4. 4

   Waterproofing

   Roof, bathrooms, kitchens, balconies and tanks, each with a flood test before the protective layer. See the waterproofing guide.

Finishing is where the house takes shape and where your choices have the biggest effect on the cost. The order matters: each layer must be dry and checked before the next goes on, and each decision has a latest date.

The decision calendar

1. 1

   Do the snag walk-through

   Go through every room with a list, photograph every defect, and give the contractor the list with a deadline. Re-inspect each item.

2. 2

   Run the final tests

   Water, drainage, electrical, ACs, pump and tank. Record the results.

3. 3

   Collect the documents

   As-built drawings, approvals, test results, warranties, brand lists for finishes, utility documents and the contractor’s no-dues statement.

4. 4

   Apply for the completion certificate

   To the authority that approved the plan, with the documents it asks for. You will need it for permanent utility connections in many places, and when you sell or borrow.

5. 5

   Get the utility connections in your name

   Electricity, gas where available, water and sewerage, and make sure the meters work and the bills come to you.

6. 6

   Hold the retention through the defects period

   Inspect the house after the first monsoon and again near the end of the period. Report defects in writing; release retention only when they are fixed.