Rue Équinoxe, Akwa · Douala
We draw the building, then we build it
A design office and building contractor in Akwa. Your project is surveyed, drawn, calculated and priced in house, then carried through to handover by our own crews. Thirty-one years holding both ends of the chain, without passing the baton to anyone.
1995Our first building site
Where we stand
« A building is decided at the drawing board. Whatever was not thought through there gets paid for twice on site. »
Nouboudem Construction BTP, Akwa Douala
Plenty of contractors build to drawings they did not make, and plenty of design offices draw buildings they will never build. We do both, and the same house answers for both. When a dimension does not work on site, nobody here looks for someone to blame: we correct it and carry on.
What we build
Four trades, held by the same house
From the first sketch to the last tile joint. Each trade has its own rules and crews, but a single person answers to you for the whole.
01Design and studiesSurveys, architectural and working drawings, renderings, structural calculations and a bill of quantities. The project is drawn and priced before a bag of cement is opened, the one moment when correcting it costs nothing.See our sites02Structural worksEarthworks, foundations, formwork, walls, floors and slabs. The part of a building that cannot be put right once it is poured, and the only one we never compromise on.See our sites
03Roofing and waterproofingRoof structure, covering, terrace and roof waterproofing. In the Douala climate this is what decides the state of the building in ten years, far more than the facade.See our sites
04Finishing tradesTiling, paving, plumbing, electrical work, painting and general upkeep. The part you touch every day, and the only one your visitors actually look at.See our sitesOn site
A few studies, a few sites
These images are ours. Two of them are design renderings, and their entry says so: we do not present a drawing as a finished building.
Office fit-out under way, partitioning and joinery.
Our method
Design and construction, under one roof
Design and construction in the same house
We price item by item before opening the site. A Nouboudem quotation carries quantities and unit prices, not a single lump sum: you compare every line with another contractor, and you see immediately what a competitor forgot to count.
A quotation that holds is worth more than a low one. The low one always catches up with you, halfway through the work.
How it works
From drawing to handover
Six stages, in the order they arrive. The first two are the ones most contractors do not do themselves.
Survey and sketch
We come and look at the plot. What you want, what the ground allows, what the regulations permit. You leave with a drawn direction and a first order of magnitude.
Drawings and calculations
Architectural drawings, working drawings, structural sizing and renderings. This is our original trade and it does not leave the house: it is what stops you discovering a problem once the concrete is poured.
Bill of quantities
Item by item, quantities and unit prices. A lump sum always hides something; a line per item of work can be compared, argued over, and held to.
Earthworks and foundations
Setting out, excavation, formwork, footings and ground beams. The most invisible stage of the job, and the one that decides everything after it.
Walls, roof and waterproofing
Frame, floors, masonry, roof structure and waterproofing. The building comes out of the ground and is made watertight, which stops the clock on decay.
Handover
Snagging, testing, as-built file. We do not leave a site on a list of outstanding items.
Who we work with
Our clients
Private individuals, businesses, architects and developers. We also build to a third-party architect's drawings.
Contact
Tell us about your project
Tell us what you want to build and we will call you back. The first conversation and the site visit commit you to nothing.