Our work
Living Walls Africa specializes in construction and development. With our years of experience, we are carving out a niche in the low-income housing, affordable communities and pre-fabricated construction sectors. These sectors have long needed investment, training and innovation, in which Living Walls Africa is taking a lead.
Our Construction Process
1. Concept, Design & Planning
At this stage, we are discussing details with you to determine what it is that you are looking for, whether it be a house, a renovation, an office building, a road, maintenance, apartments, a fit-out or numerous other options. At this stage, it is important to understand what you want, what your initial budget is, the location and timelines. We aim to work with you to understand your vision and needs.
The next step is the design. This is where the visions starts to come to life. It is in this stage that detailed drawings of your project are created, from the floor plan and renderings to the structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans. It is here where we discuss the type of building that you want and the types of materials and building methodologies that are available to you.
Now that we have a design, it is time to start discussing preliminary costings, budgets, timelines and expectations. This is where you may want to make changes to the designs and materials in order to meet certain aesthetic requirements or to reduce the overall scope to be in line with your budget.
2. Pre-Construction
Logistically, we are want to understand the location of your project, storage availability, materials availability, labour availability and terrain (such as topographical and geological) to help us determine the varying costs associated with carrying out a construction project at your desired location.
It is important to understand the statutory requirement during this stage in order to determine if the project can legally be implemented and that there won't be any challenges to the overall success of the project. These considerations include permitting, zoning, neighbourhood guidelines, amongst other things.
At this stage, the team will be putting together an accurate estimate for how much the project will cost, taking all of the considerations discussed previously into account. This exercise will include getting all of the costings in from any sub-contractors that are required for the build.
Now the everything has been discussed and all stakeholders are happy with the plan, it's time to put pen to paper. In the contract documents, you will typically have all of the final drawings (for example, architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing), project timelines and pricing.
We are now at the stage where we need to start procuring all of the items for the projects, which includes materials, equipment and labour. In addition, we will bring the relevant sub-contractors to site in order to ensure that the various phases of the construction can commence when required. In addition, during this phase we will make sure all of the relevant safety equipment and insurance provisions are in place.
3. Construction
This is where the constructions commences. There will be KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) laid out, monitored by supervisors, to make sure that the build is going according to plan and in the event of any errors, that they will be addressed immediately so as not to put pressure on the quality, cost or timing of the project.
It is important to keep good time management as it may affect the cost and quality of a build. All projects follow a schedule of which it is up to us to ensure that these timelines are met to the best of our ability. This includes the management and coordination of sub-contractors, consultants and anyone else involved in the build to make sure everyone is on the same page and can do their relevant jobs in the time scheduled.
The designer or architect is typically responsible for keeping you updated on the progress of your project. We will also be providing updates from the construction side as to our progress and timelines. It is important for us that you have visibility on the varying aspects of the build in order to ensure that you are satisfied with the work that we have done and ultimately, will be happy with the end result of the project.
4. Close Out
Demobilization takes place after construction has finished. It is during this phase that we will walk through the project with you to make sure that everything has been completed to your specifications, as per the contract. Once you are satisfied with the work, we will then demobilize site. This includes final clean-up, removal of materials and equipment.
Now that demobilization is complete, the project can now be handed over to you. There will be warranties (in case of any defects and liabilities) and manuals (where applicable) that will be given to you as part of the hand over process. A hand over certificate will also be issued and you will be able to enjoy your completed project.