I’m building my house
From the plot to the keys, one storey after another. For each phase: what happens on site, what to buy, and what the materials cost, as a range.
Typical house: ground floor plus one, 110 m² a storey.
Plot and building permit
- Phase 1 of 7
Plot and building permit
What happens
The plot is marked out, a licensed architect draws the plans and the building permit goes to the town hall. A soil survey says what the house will stand on.
What to buy
- Setting-out pegs and line
- A laser level for the levels
Materials, indicative rangeNo materials to buy at this phase. - Phase 2 of 7
Foundations
What happens
The trenches are dug and the blinding poured, then the footings and ground beams are reinforced and concreted. A block plinth rises to the ground slab.
What to buy
- Cement, river sand and gravel
- HA12 and HA8 rebar, tying wire
- 20 cm blocks for the plinth
Materials, indicative range680 000 – 1 100 000 DZDindicative - Phase 3 of 7
Frame and structural work
What happens
Storey by storey: columns and beams poured, the hollow-block floor laid on its joists, ring beams, then red brick infill course by course. Starter bars wait for the next storey.
What to buy
- Cement, sand, gravel, rebar
- Hollow blocks and prestressed joists
- 12- and 8-hole bricks, mortar
Materials, indicative range2 230 000 – 2 990 000 DZDindicative - Phase 4 of 7
Roof terrace and waterproofing
What happens
On the top slab: the screed to falls, the primer, the bitumen membrane with its upstands against the parapet, insulation, then terrace tiles as protection.
What to buy
- Primer and SBS membranes
- Extruded polystyrene
- Terrace tiles, adhesive and grout
Materials, indicative range430 000 – 540 000 DZDindicative - Phase 5 of 7
Services and plastering
What happens
Services go in before plaster: plumbing, gas, electrics, then gypsum plaster on the walls and light partitions in plasterboard.
What to buy
- BA13 boards, tracks, studs and joint compound
- Pipes, fittings and cable from the counter
- Building plaster
Materials, indicative range100 000 – 320 000 DZDindicative - Phase 6 of 7
Finishes
What happens
Floor tiles, wall tiles in the wet rooms, paint, inside and outside joinery, sanitaryware and the kitchen.
What to buy
- Tiles, wall tiles, adhesive, grout, skirting
- Primer and paint
- Doors, windows, sanitaryware
Materials, indicative range490 000 – 1 050 000 DZDindicative - Phase 7 of 7
Handing over the keys
What happens
The last snags are closed, the meters fitted, the certificate of conformity requested. The family moves in — and the next storey’s starter bars are already waiting.
What to buy
- Nothing to buy: the snag list, and the warranty on what was fitted
Materials, indicative rangeNo materials to buy at this phase.
What the ranges count
- A ground-plus-one house of 110 m² a storey on a flat plot, with a hollow-block floor 16 + 4 (blocks and joists).
- Concrete at 350 kg/m³: 0.22 to 0.30 m³ per m² of floor, 80 to 100 kg of steel per m³; foundations at 0.20 to 0.30 m³ per m².
- Double brick façades (12- and 8-hole), 18 % openings; inside partitions in 8-hole brick.
- Finishes: tiles over 85 % of the floor, wall tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, two coats of paint.
- Today’s catalogue prices, tax included. No labour, plumbing, electrics, joinery or permit fees: these are materials ranges, not a quote.
The savings plan, storey by storey
Many families build one storey every year or two. Say how much you put aside each month: the plan shows when each storey can start, with its materials budget.
Timeline by storey
- Ground floorAlready built
- First floorAlready built
- Second floorNext storey
- Materials
- 1 560 000 – 2 030 000 DZD
- Saving target
- 2 030 000 DZD
- Can start
- October 2027
- Works end
- February 2028
The saving target is the top of the range, to be safe.