A small contractor in Lahore built one or two houses every year. For each project, he had to buy construction and building materials from different suppliers. The most important material was cement. Cement price in Pakistan changed almost every month. Here are six tips he learned about construction and building materials and cement price in Pakistan.
1. Do Not Buy All Construction and Building Materials from One Shop
Never buy all your construction and building materials from one shop. Many sellers will offer a discount on cement price in Pakistan but then overcharge you on steel or bricks. He split his purchases. He bought cement from a wholesaler who only sells cement. He bought steel from a different supplier. He bought sand and gravel from a third source. This took more time, but he saved around fifteen percent on total construction and building materials cost.
2. Cement Price in Pakistan Depends on the Season
Cement price in Pakistan is not fixed. It depends on the season. In winter, demand is lower because people do not build as much. Cement price in Pakistan drops by fifty to one hundred rupees per bag. In summer, before monsoon, everyone builds quickly, so cement price in Pakistan goes up. He bought his cement in December or January when the cement price in Pakistan was lowest.
3. Store Cement Properly
He stored his cement on a raised wooden platform covered with a plastic sheet. Cement absorbs moisture from the ground and air. If cement gets wet, it becomes hard and useless. He learned this lesson the hard way when he lost twenty bags of cement to rain. Now he always covers his construction and building materials properly.
4. Choose the Right Cement Brand
There are many brands of cement in Pakistan. Some are expensive and marketed as premium. Others are cheaper. For a normal house, any brand that meets the Pakistan Standard specification is fine. He has used both high end and mid range cement. The difference in strength is very small. But the difference in cement price in Pakistan between the most expensive and the cheapest brand can be two hundred rupees per bag.
5. Buy Steel and Bricks Carefully
Besides cement, he paid attention to steel and bricks. Steel price changes with the international market. There is no seasonal pattern. He checked the steel rate every Monday and bought when the price dropped for two weeks in a row. For bricks, he bought directly from a kiln, not from a middleman. The middleman adds fifty to seventy rupees per thousand bricks.
6. His Advice for Homeowners
If you are building your own house, do not leave the purchase of construction and building materials completely to your contractor. Some contractors add their own profit on top of the cement price in Pakistan. Ask for the original receipt from the cement shop. Offer to pay your contractor a fixed fee for his time instead of a percentage of material cost. That way, he has no reason to inflate the cement price in Pakistan.
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