With skyrocketing prices of building materials, especially sand, cement, iron sheets, bricks and stones, developers are trying to look for the alternative materials to reduce the cost of construction. One such approach is the use of interlocking bricks. Interlocking blocks are slowly gaining acceptance, with sector players saying they bring the cost down by up to 30 per cent, compared to conventional...
2016
21st September 2013 will be remembered by many as a day when one of the finest shopping malls in Kenya was hit by terrorists killing many and injuring hundreds. As a real estate consultant, i ask myself this question, “ How can a property manager “terror proof” a shopping mall?” Lesson from Israel Donald Story in an article titled, “How should malls address terrorism” draws some examples...
My training is in real estate and that’s where my passion lies. However, i have had a chance to study about oil and work in an oil exploration field. I have seen how different and meticulous this oil industry is. It’s in a level of its own. Standards. The oil industry doesn’t operate on minimum standards, it operates on best / highest standards. This industry doesn’t just prefer safety, it says,...
In the past few years, Nairobi has experienced many fires especially in commercial properties. The worst was the “Nakumatt Downtown” fire where many people died and many more were injured. There have also been several other fires that have just destroyed properties, sparing precious lives. The latest one is the JKIA fire that was blamed on an electrical fault. However, all is not lost. To limit the...
Electrical system failures and the misuse of electrical equipment are leading causes of workplace fires. Fires can result from loose ground connections, wiring with frayed insulation, or overloaded fuses, circuits, motors, or outlets. To prevent electrical fires, the occupants should: Make sure that worn wires are replaced. Use only appropriately rated fuses. Never use extension cords as...
Basic Requirements An exit route must be permanent. Each exit route must be a permanent part of the workplace. An exit must be separated by fire resistant materials. Construction materials used to separate an exit from other parts of the workplace must have a one-hour fire resistance-rating if the exit connects three or fewer stories and a two-hour fire resistance-rating if the exit connects four or...
Urban population in Kenya is rapidly growing posing a major challenge in housing that has seen majority of urban inhabitants reside in informal settlement commonly known as slums. With a deficit of 250,000 thousand housing units per annum, a new building technology in Kenya known as Expanded Polystyrene Panel EPS technology is expected to turn around construction industry. The technology that uses...
First published in November 2013 There was an investor forum in Nyeri county a while back and some of the dignitaries in the meeting asked the Nyeri county Governor to emulate Dr Alfred Mutua, the Governor of Machakos county. Every one seems to be singing praises of Dr Mutua, myself included, but maybe a critical look into his ambitious plans for Machakos might open our eyes to the harsh reality that he...
When my wife and i got our first baby, we were very anxious about the thought of bringing in a 3rd party to take care of our bundle of joy. At first, we wanted to get a house help who would do everything else in the house apart from touching our baby. However, as fate would have it, after my paternity break and my wife’s maternity break, it was time to leave our small prince in the arms of our house...
There has been an increase in Islamic housing finance products across Islamic compliant banks, a move that has prompted conventional banks to offer such products. What is behind this trend? We are witnessing increased appreciation of Islamic banking, which is based on sharing of profits and losses. This has led to an influx of Islamic banking products, one such being the Islamic mortgage finance, which...