House Construction and Construction Rates in Lahore Pakistan - Part 1

Constructing a house in Pakistan is a big challenge faced by many people nowadays, especially in Lahore, where the new housing societies are emerging with every passing day. This blog is for the people who are going to build their houses and are looking for construction rates in Lahore. When I was planning to construct my own house, there was no one around to guide me, so I went on the internet and tried to search for the available online articles for the construction of house, specifically in Lahore, Pakistan. I was disappointed to see that the articles available online were having very limited information, and also that information was very old (4-5 years old). So, that information was of no use in the current era. Here, I want to tell you that what information I was looking for,

1. The pre-requisites before starting the construction?
2. Information about going for either turn-key contract (Labor+Material), or a Labor only contract, or should I go without hiring a contractor (dehari daar Mason and Labors)?
3. In case of Contractor, what should be the rate of construction per sq. feet (both turn-key or Labor only)?
4. What should be done for electrical and sanitation work (should include in the Contract or should be done separately)?
5. What are the material costs nowadays (so I can create my budget accordingly)?
6. How to manage the construction work and how to supervise it?
7. How to decide for the finishing material (Tiles, Marble, Electrical Fancy Fittings, Bathroom Fittings, Paint, Woodwork, Safety Grills, Main Gate, Metal Gates, False Ceiling, Aluminium Windows etc)

I will write in detail about all of the above questions one by one, so my readers can have a better view of my experiences. Please note that I am sharing this information just to draw a guideline for the people who are planning to construct their own house, and it's not necessary that my experiences are the only way forward. So, here I am starting from question-1

1. The Pre-Requisites before starting Construction Work (LDA, Electric, Gas, Water Connections, Documents etc)

First thing is to complete the paper work related to your plot, and this process is different for different sort of Housing Societies we have in Lahore. Below is some general documentation requirements need to be fulfilles

• Possession Letter 
• Demarcation Letter (from Society office) which marks the dimension and location of your plot
• NOC for electricity and gas application (from Society office)
• Clearing of annual charges of society (if any)
• An application for water connection to the society
• Construction Design/Map made by some good architect. Atleast 5 copies (enlarged prints on Blue Paper) must be taken, as 4 copies will be submitted to LDA for approval, and you will have 1 copy left which LDA will give after approval.
• Updated 22-Mar-2016: It will be very best if you can visit few newly constructed houses to have an idea about the latest designs, and if anything appeals you there, you can try and get the map of that house (if possible), or you can just draw a rough design in your mind about the dimensions and location of the rooms, washrooms, kitchen, and other areas, and later you can sit with your architect/map designer and tell him the same structure you saw.
• LDA approved map/drawing. The approval charges are said to 5 Rs. / Sq. Foot, but it will cost you additionally 4000-5000 Rs. in file completion and other work.
• An application of Electricity Connection to the appropriate LESCO division. In my case, the area is Canal Road towards Bahria Town, so LESCO Chung Division is responsible for providing electricity connection here. The process takes almost one week after the submission of application, so it is best that you submit this application before time. Normally, for a new connection, a 3-phase meter is issued for 10-marla and above category, as per devised rule for the Housing Societies. I have no idea about 5-marla category, as may be they provide single phase meters. Electricity Connection charges for 3-phase meter are varying from 35000-38000 Rs. these days (till Dec-2015), and the requirements are the hand written application + CNIC copy + complete file (this file contains stamp paper and forms, and you can get it from outside the gate of Division Office in Rs. 200-300)
• An application to the Sui-Northern for the Gas Connection. The government charges for urgent connection are 25000 Rs. for 1st Demand Note (urgent) + 7500 Rs. for Survey and Installation = 32,500 Rs. ((:D I know I am making a joke here, but yes, it is still possible to get a gas connection these days, but I cannot write how, as all of you are well aware of the fact). The normal process is same as before, in which you should submit the Gas application atleast 2-3 years before you want to start constructing your house (Haha, joke again).
• A watchman (chowkidar) who will stay day and night at your construction site, if you live away from the site. The chowkidar must be trustworthy and active, because you are talking about spending millions of Rupees in construction, and you cannot afford to lose your material in theft. The best thing you can do is to shift your residence closest to your construction site (by taking some house on rent), and its my personal experience (which I regret the most) that living away from your construction site is the most horrible thing in the house construction.

2. Information about going for either turn-key contract (Labor+Material), or a Labor only contract, or should I go without hiring a contractor (dehari daar Mason and Labors)?

Now assuming that you have the necessary documentation completed, and now you are ready to find a suitable contractor for your house construction. Please note that you have 3 options here, one is the turn-key contract in which Labor and Material will be provided by the contractor. This type of contract is for those people who have no time to supervise/purchase construction material, and they want to hire a contractor/construction firm to do a complete project for them. This type of contract is very high in cost and normally it start from Rs. 2200 per Sq. Feet and goes to 3000 Rs. for a good construction (called A class construction). For this type of contract, I recommend that if you have complete trust on the contractor, then you can go with that, otherwise, this contract will be a total loss in terms of the expense and bad quality of material, because once your house is completed, you will never know what contractor and his labor has done to the quality of construction.

Second option (Which I selected) is to go for Labor only contract, in which you will purchase and provide the material, and your contractor will provide the labor and will take care of all the construction work. This is the most suitable option for constructing a quality house with less hassle and relatively in affordable cost. But remember, the material purchase needs time and effort to select the best material and making sure it reaches the construction site in time, and be sure that you can manage that time and effort with your job/business. Also, this gives you peace of mind that you are using best material in the construction. Now hiring a contractor (Thekedaar) and making a contract is the trickiest part. You should find the best and affordable contractor through your references, and once you have found the suitable one, you should sign a written contract with him for the complete project and every term should be written and agreed upon, signed by both parties (you and contractor), and payment schedule must also be written in that written contract. This is a very crucial part of house construction, and once you have a written contract, none of you will have any problem in the future about any term/condition. I am writing below few important phases of construction in the labor only contract, and you can divide your payment schedule in installments as per the phases below 

• In labor only contract, the contractor will start from digging foundation work, and will reach at DPC level. You can set first payment at the completion of DPC level.
• Next will be the brick wall construction (Chunaiyan) height upto 7 feet. You can pay your next amount on this step.
• Next will be the first Lanter height, which is normally at 10-11 feet. You can pay one installment to your contractor here.
• Next will be at 2nd Lanter (in case you are constructing a double story). You can pay here.
• Next step will be the Plaster of walls (inner, outer, ceiling etc). One payment can be done here.
• Next step will be Farish Kacha (Concrete Pouring onto the floor). One payment is due after completion of this step.
• Next step will be the tile/marble completion (floor, washrooms, garage, side passage). After the completion of this, you can pay your next installment.
• Next and Final payment should be done when each and everything is completed by your contractor and no construction work is remaining.

The above steps I have mentioned are just for reference, and can be changed or customized according to your circumstances. Please also note that, Labor contract includes only these things (also I am writing the rates per sq. feet normally going on these days

• Total masonry work (Chunaiyan: brick wall construction, Lanter, Farish Kacha, Tile/Marble on floors and washrooms, 3 Feet pardi/side wall on the roof top, cement plaster of walls inside and outside + ceiling + boundary wall, staircase, underground water tank, septic tank, overhead water tank on roof (few contractors charge separate for this, but you should negotiate this in the contract). A good contractor is asking about 250-300 Rs per Sq. Foot for this work, depending upon the area. I paid 270 Rs. /Sq Ft.
• Electrical and Sanitary fittings can be included but the rate will go higher per sq. feet. You can negotiate with your contractor on this, to either include in the contract or charge it separately. Normally they charge 15 Rs. /Sq. Ft for Electrical and 15 Rs. / Sq. Ft for Sanitary fittings.

I will continue on this in my next post. Until then, you can ask any questions you want, and i will try to respond :)

The Next and final part of this series can be accessed at
House Construction in Lahore Pakistan - Part 2