Building back home? Know the real cost before you send a dollar.
An itemised estimate for your house in your town, from Harare and Bulawayo to Murehwa and Mutoko. Know what each stage should cost, check quotes from builders and relatives, and plan the money you send home each month.
Built for building from far away
"Am I being overcharged?"
See what bricks, cement, roofing and labour should cost in your town, so you can question a quote from a builder, or from a relative, with numbers.
"Where did the money go?"
Every stage has its own quantities and budget. Send money one stage at a time and ask for receipts and photos against a list.
"I can't visit the site."
Check progress against the stage plan: foundations, walls to window level, roof level, roofing, finishes. Each stage has a cost and typical duration.
"How much do I need first?"
Get a realistic total, with fees, contingency and delivery, before you buy a stand or send the first transfer.
"What can I send each month?"
Enter what you can send in pounds, dollars, euros or rand. The full plan shows when each stage can start and when the house is finished.
"Prices back home keep changing."
Prices come from Zimbabwe hardware stores and published rates, are re-checked weekly and are dated, with the source for every rate.
Your estimate
Pick your town and describe the house. The free estimate updates as you type. It works offline too.
How does this compare?
Your full building plan
The free estimate gives you a range. The full plan is what you need to send money with confidence and check what you're told:
- Stage-by-stage budget: fees, foundations, walls, roof, finishes, plumbing and electrical, external works
- Monthly money plan: what to send, when each stage can start and when you finish
- Quantities: bricks, cement bags, sand, stone, roof area, so you can check a builder's list
- Every rate with its source and date, adjusted for your town, and editable with your own quotes
- Downloads: your plan as an Excel workbook, CSV and a printable PDF to share with family or your builder
- Premium Excel template (BuildZim_Cost_Planner.xlsx) with live formulas, to price other designs yourself
- The guide "Building a House in Zimbabwe from the Diaspora" (PDF)
Cost by stage
Every item, stage by stage
Open a stage to see each item: quantity, unit rate, the factor for your town, and the rate's source.
Your monthly money plan
Money needed by stage
Headline quantities
Use these to check a builder's materials list. Small differences are normal; big ones need an explanation.
Assumptions
Not included
Adjust rates
Got a quote from a hardware store or builder? Enter it and the plan recalculates. Your changes stay in this browser.
Your town: how prices are adjusted
Sources
Estimate, not a quotation. Prices change fast. Before you commit money, get written quotes, confirm current supplier prices and check approvals with your council. Items marked ESTIMATE are not market data, so verify them locally.
How it works
1. Pick your town
65 towns and rural areas. Bricks, sand and stone are bought locally, often cheaper outside the cities. Specialist items your local hardware may not stock are trucked from the nearest city, and the haulage is costed.
2. Describe the house
Floor area, or length and width (L-shapes too), storeys, bedrooms, bathrooms, veranda, garage, finish level, walls and roof.
3. See the free range
A total in US dollars (plus your currency) with a ±15% range, and the cost per m² compared with published Zimbabwe figures.
4. Unlock the full plan
Stage budgets, quantities, a monthly sending plan, every rate with its source, and Excel, CSV and PDF downloads, plus the premium Excel template and the guide.
Pricing
Free estimate
- Total for your town, ±15% range
- Cost per m² compared with published figures
- All six currencies at the live exchange rate
- Works offline
Full building plan
One-off payment for this house. Approximate local equivalents appear here at today's exchange rate.
- Your personalised full plan on this site: stage budgets, every line item, quantities and the monthly money plan
- A personalised Excel workbook of your plan, plus CSV and a printable PDF
- The premium Excel template BuildZim_Cost_Planner.xlsx (live formulas: change the inputs or rates and it recalculates)
- The guide "Building a House in Zimbabwe from the Diaspora" (PDF)
- Edit any rate with your own quotes; sources and dates for every price
The price is set in US dollars. Amounts in other currencies are approximate, at today's exchange rate; your card or PayPal provider does the actual conversion. Checkout is run by Gumroad, which is the merchant of record and adds any VAT or sales tax due in your country. We never see your card details. See refunds.
Questions
Is this a quote?
No. It is a budget estimate from a detailed cost model. It tells you what the house should cost so you can plan and check real quotes. Always get written quotes from at least three builders or suppliers before you commit.
How can this stop me being overcharged?
The full plan lists quantities (bricks, cement bags, sand, roof area) and prices for every stage. If a builder, or a relative managing the build for you, asks for much more than the plan for a stage, ask what's different. Pay hardware stores directly where you can, and send money stage by stage against receipts and photos.
I can't visit the site. How do I check progress?
The plan follows the stages builders use: foundation to slab, walls to window level, walls to roof level, roofing, finishes, plumbing and electrical, external works. Ask for dated photos and receipts at the end of each stage before sending the next stage's money.
Where do the prices come from?
Zimbabwe hardware store web prices (for example Halsteds, which listed identical prices at all eight branches we checked), brick makers, published labour rates and council fee schedules. Every rate shows its status: SOURCED (a published price), DERIVED (calculated from published prices) or ESTIMATE (a professional assumption to check locally). Prices are re-checked weekly.
Why is my rural home cheaper per m² but dearer overall?
Bricks, sand and stone are usually bought locally and cost less outside the cities, and labour tends to be cheaper. But rural homes usually need a septic tank and a borehole instead of council sewer and water, and those add several thousand dollars. You can switch them off if you already have them.
Which currency should I use?
Building in Zimbabwe is mostly priced in US dollars, so totals are in USD. Pick GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD or ZAR to see the same amounts at today's exchange rate, which helps when you plan transfers. Your bank or transfer service will use its own rate and fees.
What do I get for US$10.99?
Everything, for one payment: (1) your personalised full plan on this site, with stage budgets, every line item, quantities and the monthly money plan; (2) your plan as an Excel workbook, CSV and printable PDF; (3) the premium Excel template BuildZim_Cost_Planner.xlsx, with live formulas so you can price other designs yourself; (4) the guide "Building a House in Zimbabwe from the Diaspora" (PDF). The price is in US dollars; amounts shown in pounds, euros, Canadian or Australian dollars or rand are approximate, at today's exchange rate.
What happens after I pay?
Gumroad shows a licence key on the receipt and emails it to you. Enter it under "Already bought?" and the full plan unlocks for any house design you try. The template and guide download from the buttons at the top of the full plan, once the key has been checked. Keep the email: you can re-enter the key on your other devices.
Can I get a refund?
See the refund policy.
Do you keep my data?
No accounts and no tracking. Your inputs stay in your browser. When the full plan is unlocked, your house inputs and licence key are sent to our server to calculate it, and are not stored. See privacy.
About
I'm Shephard Nyamidzi, and I run BuildZim. I built this for Zimbabweans abroad who are building at home and want to know what it should really cost, and to stop losing money to guesswork, inflated quotes and money that disappears between stages.
You may know me from the AfriRise YouTube channel. The planner follows standard cost-estimating practice: measured quantities, dated prices with sources, and a clear line between what's published and what's assumed.
Contact
Questions about an estimate or a purchase: snyamidzi@gmail.com
I can't give advice on a specific site or contractor by email. For that, appoint a registered professional in Zimbabwe.