‘The building codes in Kenya were influenced by British Standards (BS) as Kenya had recently gained independence (1963) and was still using inherited British construction practices’
In Brief;
Construction general specifications are essential to ensure clarity, consistency, and quality in a construction project. These specifications outline the project’s requirements, materials, methods, workmanship, and standards.
Some of the benefits for construction general specifications include clearly defined project requirements, reduced misunderstandings between team members during construction, ensures quality control, forms the basis legal and contractual foundation, avoids costs overruns, reduces risks as it also ensures safety compliance.
In its November 26th public notice inviting stakeholders to submit their opinions, BORAQs stated that the review intends to achieve the following;
Some of the new areas for consideration include but not limited to;
Air ventilation –
The old code is very vague on the need for adequate openings and ventilation in a house. The quality of air circulating in most residential houses has been on the decline thus resulting in health risks such as pulmonary infections such tuberculosis.
Proper ventilation requirements such as making the bare minimum size of a living room space window to be 2.1 wide by 2.1 meters’ high needs to be adopted.
Inclusion of sinks for kitchens and a cooking slab or a properly constructed fireplace –
This needs to be made mandatory to ensure proper hygiene and air circulation when cooking foods especially in the often compact urban dwellings.
This will also reduce the likelihood of fires that has been on the rise in low income areas.
Compulsory Tiling or waterproofing of wet areas
Materials to be used for kitchens and bathrooms walls and floors need to be tiles and where not possible, waterproof plaster and / or floor screeds needs to be enforced.
This will enable easy cleaning and make the areas more heat resistant.
Clearly defined bare minimum room sizes
In low income areas, such as Mathare and Kibera, developers have adopted unethical ways of ensuring they build more rental units within a very small space of land. This include reducing the sizes of hallways, bathrooms, and even the balcony.
The new specifications ought to establish enforceable bare minimum sizes of room spaces. Room headroom need to be at a minimum 2.4 meters and single room units to be at least 12 square meters.
Building Foundations
Detailed specifications for foundations based on soil structure needs to be clearly defined, which is important for ensuring buildings can endure various natural challenges such as earthquakes.
This needs to include directives to get rid of unstable black cotton soil or implement drainage systems for waterlogged sites, directly addressing challenges posed by climate change and natural disasters.
Staircase and Fire Escape routes
New standards need to set a bare minimum width of a staircase to at least1200mm, risers to 175mm high and the treads to 200mm width. All staircase need to have a handrail for ease of climbing the staircase.
All buildings need to have at least 2 fire escape routes complete with fire extinguishers in case of an emergency.
All buildings need to be made friendly to people living with disabilities by inclusion of sufficient number of ramps and lifts.
AND THE GENERAL BENEFITS WILL BE….
Updating the general specifications will ensure that...
To participate, use the link below;
https://boraqs.or.ke/
The deadline to share opinions has been set to latest 31st December 2024.
In Brief;
- On November 26th 2024, the Board of Registration for Architects and Quantity Surveyors (BORAQs) put on a Public notice inviting all construction stakeholders to participate in the review of the General specifications for building works 1976 edition.
- The current edition of 1976 has been rendered almost irrelevant as construction techniques and methodologies have greatly advanced and thus the need for an update of the same.
- Most of these specifications, construction permits and approvals are normally enforced by Local authorities, mostly county governments.
Construction general specifications are essential to ensure clarity, consistency, and quality in a construction project. These specifications outline the project’s requirements, materials, methods, workmanship, and standards.
Some of the benefits for construction general specifications include clearly defined project requirements, reduced misunderstandings between team members during construction, ensures quality control, forms the basis legal and contractual foundation, avoids costs overruns, reduces risks as it also ensures safety compliance.
In its November 26th public notice inviting stakeholders to submit their opinions, BORAQs stated that the review intends to achieve the following;
- Accommodate new building materials, emerging application technologies, and systems in the building industry,
- Establish consistency in product performance specifications,
- Ensure that the building materials suppliers provide materials as specified,
- Ensure that the building industry complies with green building materials,
- Serve as a reference for preparation of specifications for materials and workmanship in the building and construction industry.
- Provide access and key guidelines to material specifications for the building and construction industry.
Some of the new areas for consideration include but not limited to;
Air ventilation –
The old code is very vague on the need for adequate openings and ventilation in a house. The quality of air circulating in most residential houses has been on the decline thus resulting in health risks such as pulmonary infections such tuberculosis.
Proper ventilation requirements such as making the bare minimum size of a living room space window to be 2.1 wide by 2.1 meters’ high needs to be adopted.
Inclusion of sinks for kitchens and a cooking slab or a properly constructed fireplace –
This needs to be made mandatory to ensure proper hygiene and air circulation when cooking foods especially in the often compact urban dwellings.
This will also reduce the likelihood of fires that has been on the rise in low income areas.
Compulsory Tiling or waterproofing of wet areas
Materials to be used for kitchens and bathrooms walls and floors need to be tiles and where not possible, waterproof plaster and / or floor screeds needs to be enforced.
This will enable easy cleaning and make the areas more heat resistant.
Clearly defined bare minimum room sizes
In low income areas, such as Mathare and Kibera, developers have adopted unethical ways of ensuring they build more rental units within a very small space of land. This include reducing the sizes of hallways, bathrooms, and even the balcony.
The new specifications ought to establish enforceable bare minimum sizes of room spaces. Room headroom need to be at a minimum 2.4 meters and single room units to be at least 12 square meters.
Building Foundations
Detailed specifications for foundations based on soil structure needs to be clearly defined, which is important for ensuring buildings can endure various natural challenges such as earthquakes.
This needs to include directives to get rid of unstable black cotton soil or implement drainage systems for waterlogged sites, directly addressing challenges posed by climate change and natural disasters.
Staircase and Fire Escape routes
New standards need to set a bare minimum width of a staircase to at least1200mm, risers to 175mm high and the treads to 200mm width. All staircase need to have a handrail for ease of climbing the staircase.
All buildings need to have at least 2 fire escape routes complete with fire extinguishers in case of an emergency.
All buildings need to be made friendly to people living with disabilities by inclusion of sufficient number of ramps and lifts.
AND THE GENERAL BENEFITS WILL BE….
Updating the general specifications will ensure that...
- New materials and practices that were not part of the old code such as the EPS technology, low VOC and non-toxic goods will be included.
- More environmental friendly practices such as green roofs, insulated concrete forms, passive solar designs will be included in the new specifications.
- Updated code will enhance safety, functionality, and overall quality in the built environment.
- Contractors, developers, quality reviews, etc. will easily know where to go for the current agreed-upon design.
- Stakeholders will have a clearer picture of what a developer is intending to do.
To participate, use the link below;
https://boraqs.or.ke/
The deadline to share opinions has been set to latest 31st December 2024.
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