Construction of summer houses in Almaty

In Kazakhstan, the construction of summer houses and other individual housing projects is governed by a number of legislative acts and regulatory documents.

The main law defining the requirements in this area is the Law "On Architectural, Urban Development and Construction Activity in the Republic of Kazakhstan" of 2001, as subsequently amended and supplemented. It establishes the general legal and organisational framework for regulating urban development relations.

Mandatory for the design and construction of summer houses are the SNiP RK building codes and regulations, harmonised with international and European standards. They govern matters of engineering surveys, design, construction and installation work, materials and structures, safety and energy-efficiency requirements and other aspects.

According to the law, building a summer house requires obtaining a number of permit documents:

• A certificate of ownership or lease for the land plot.
• The urban development plan for the land plot, approved by the local executive authorities.
• Design and estimate documentation that has passed expert review.
• A permit for construction and installation work from the local executive authorities.

When the construction of the summer house is finished, a commissioning certificate for the building must be obtained.
It is worth noting that in recent years Kazakhstan has tightened the requirements for individual housing construction, especially regarding energy efficiency and the use of "green" technologies. Since 2021, stricter thermal protection standards have applied to new houses, which encourages the use of insulation and alternative energy sources.

According to official statistics, 7% of individual houses built in Kazakhstan in 2022 did not meet the requirements of the current legislation and building codes. To prevent such violations, it is advisable to entrust construction only to licensed companies or highly qualified specialists.

Designing a summer house is a stage that directly affects the quality, functionality and safety of the future building. At this stage, a team of architects and engineers develops a complete set of design documentation, taking into account the client's wishes, the features of the plot and the current building codes. The architects create the overall concept of the house and determine its appearance, the layout of the rooms and the aesthetics of the facades. The structural engineers perform calculations and select the best structural solutions for the foundation, walls, floors and roof, taking the loads into account. They design the utility systems: power supply, water supply, sewerage, heating and ventilation.

The safety, durability and comfort of the future house depend directly on the quality of the design. About 15% of problems during construction are linked to poor design at the outset.

A range of materials is used for a turnkey summer house, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The choice of one option or another depends on the design decisions, the budget, the region's climate and the client's personal preferences.

The following materials are most common for building the walls of summer houses:

• Ceramic brick is an eco-friendly, durable, non-combustible material. However, brickwork requires highly skilled builders and additional insulation of the walls.
• Aerated concrete blocks are a relatively inexpensive material with heat- and sound-insulating properties. Among the drawbacks is their lower strength compared with brick.
• Stone wool in the form of boards or mats is a modern insulation that does not rot and has excellent sound-insulating characteristics. The drawbacks are low vapour permeability and the need for quality vapour proofing.
• A wooden frame with insulation is a traditional construction technology that allows a summer house to be built quickly and inexpensively. Wood is an eco-friendly material, but it requires all installation rules to be followed and mandatory treatment with antiseptics and flame retardants.

According to statistics, 45% of summer houses in Kazakhstan are built with a wooden frame, 30% - from aerated concrete blocks, 20% - from brick and 5% - from other materials such as lightweight concretes, foam concrete or sandwich panels.

As for roofing materials, the most popular are: metal tiles (35% of houses), soft roofing (30%), flexible shingles (25%) and various types of corrugated sheeting (10%). The choice of roof covering depends on the slope of the roof, the region's climate and financial means.

An interesting fact: in recent years there has been growing demand for eco-friendly materials from renewable sources for building summer houses - wood, clay and straw. According to industry analysts, whereas in 2018 eco-houses accounted for only 3% of the total volume of individual country construction in Kazakhstan, by 2023 their share could rise to 10-12%.

A summer house, like any modern residential building, needs to be supplied with all the necessary utilities for comfortable living. The main task is designing and installing the power supply, water supply, drainage (sewerage) and heating systems. The presence of centralised electricity, water and heating networks near the plot greatly simplifies these matters. In that case, you simply need to bring the utilities in from the mains and connect the in-house engineering systems. If, however, the plot is in a remote area, autonomous life-support sources have to be considered. Common solutions are drilling a well or connecting to a local water supply system for water, installing a local sewerage system (a septic tank) to treat waste water, and running an overhead power line or setting up an autonomous power supply system based on solar panels and/or wind generators.

Thus, building a summer house is a complex, multi-stage process that requires careful planning, strict adherence to standards and the involvement of qualified specialists.