House construction in Batumi and Adjara

We handle house construction in Batumi as a contractor: we build on your plot to your requirements, and we don't sell houses or apartments of our own. You can hire us for the whole process, from the land check to the handover of the finished house, or for one part of it, such as the design and the permit. You don't have to live in Georgia: the build can be run from another country.

What to check on a plot before you buy it

The mistakes that cost the most later are usually made when the land is bought. That is why we inspect a plot before you pay a deposit. We go to the site, film it and check:

• The land category in the Public Registry extract: a foreigner cannot buy agricultural land, apart from narrow exceptions such as inheritance, but can lease it
• Any mortgage or seizure, and whether the cadastral boundaries match the fence
• The zone the plot is in, which sets the number of storeys, the setbacks from neighbours and the building lines
• Access: a concrete mixer truck and a crane truck have to get through, even after a downpour
• The nearest utility connections: if there are none, we include a borehole and a septic tank in the estimate straight away

We do the topographic survey and the ground survey before design work starts. The foundations and a good part of the estimate depend on the soil and the groundwater.

If the plot is on a slope

Sea-view plots in Makhinjauri, Chakvi and above Gonio are often on a slope. You can build there, but terracing and retaining walls have to be in the budget, and the ground survey should be done before you buy. We put drainage behind every retaining wall. Otherwise water collects behind it after heavy rain, and over time the wall cracks or starts to lean.

House design and seismic resistance

We start with a concept design: the layout, the facades and how the house sits on the plot, so that the windows face the sea rather than the neighbour's fence. Once the concept is approved, the structural engineer calculates the foundations, frame and floor slabs, and the other engineers plan the water supply, drains, wiring and ventilation. The layout is cheapest to change at the concept stage. On site, the same change means redoing the reinforcement.

Seismic resistance is built into the structural design. We work to the Georgian seismic building code (PN 01.01-09) and calculate the structure for the ground conditions on your particular plot. The calculation sets the size of the columns, the reinforcement and the ring beams in the masonry. A standard design can also work, but we adapt it to the plot and recalculate the structure.

Getting a building permit in Batumi

The procedure depends on the class of the structure. The Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activities Code of Georgia divides buildings into five classes by level of risk: Class I only needs a notification, and Classes II–IV need a permit. A private house is usually Class II, and in Batumi the permit for it is issued by City Hall. A guest house or mini-hotel may fall into a higher class, so we check this at the concept stage.

How long it takes depends on the class and on how complete the documents are. The simplified procedure takes up to 10 working days, but we won't promise it, because a single comment on the design sends the application back for another round. Before applying, we gather the registry extract, the topographic survey, the ground survey, the design and the calculations required for your class. At the end we help with the official acceptance of the house into use, where it is required, and with registering it in the Public Registry.

What to build with by the sea

For a private house in Batumi we usually suggest a cast-in-place concrete frame: the columns and floor slabs are poured on site, and the walls between them are filled in with blocks. The frame carries the seismic load, while the infill deals with heat and sound. The downside is time and cost: formwork, reinforcement and the wait while the concrete gains strength.

• Aerated concrete is light and warm, but it absorbs water. On site we keep the blocks under plastic sheeting, and on the outside they need a facade that keeps the rain off and lets vapour out.
• Pumice blocks are heavier and hold fixings more securely, but quality varies from one manufacturer to another, so we first check each batch for size and strength.
• Fired clay brick and clay blocks cope well with humidity, but they are slower and more expensive to lay.

We tie the masonry to the frame and reinforce it as the design specifies. This stops an infill wall from falling out of the frame in an earthquake.

House construction in Batumi with the climate in mind

Batumi gets more than 2,400 mm of rainfall a year, and humidity is usually 70–80%, higher in winter. By the sea there is also salt in the air, so metal rusts faster. That is why our designs include the following as standard:

• Waterproofing of the foundations and plinth, with drainage and a paved apron around the house
• Gutters, downpipes and stormwater drains sized for heavy downpours
• A protective concrete cover over the reinforcement, and stainless fixings on the facade and roof
• A ventilated facade or vapour-permeable render, so the wall can release moisture to the outside
• Ventilation with extraction from the bathrooms and kitchen, otherwise condensation forms on the windows in winter
• Windows with external sills and a properly sealed joint around the frame, because that joint is where wind-driven rain gets in

The weather also shapes the schedule. We don't pour concrete in heavy rain, we keep blocks and insulation under cover, and we allow for rainy days when we draw up the timeline.

Stages of completion: from shell to finishing

Black frame, white frame and green frame are market terms. The law does not define them, and contractors mean different things by them. The table shows how we use them for a private house, and the contract lists what each stage includes, item by item.

A turnkey house is convenient if you won't be in Batumi while the finishing is done: one contract and one party responsible for the whole house. If the house is going to be rented out, we plan the finishing around rental use from the start.

Guest houses, mini-hotels and commercial buildings

A house to rent out is designed differently from a home for your own family. Every guest room needs its own bathroom, we put soundproofed partitions between the rooms, and we insulate the drain stacks so that nobody hears the neighbour upstairs at night.

We also plan the service areas: space for washing and drying, a linen store and a room for the water heaters. If part of the house stays for your own use, we provide separate utility connections and meters. The season in Batumi is short, so it helps to give each room a kitchen area, which makes it easier to let by the month in winter.

With a commercial building we start from how it will operate: floor loads, kitchen extraction, deliveries and parking. Once a building for rent is finished, you can hand it over to us to manage.

How to run a build from abroad

You don't need to come for every stage. You stay in touch with one project manager by phone and on WhatsApp during working hours, and a site foreman works on the plot. Every week we send a photo and video report, and on request the foreman joins a video call from the site.

We photograph concealed work before it is closed up: the reinforcement before the concrete is poured, the waterproofing before backfilling, the pipes and cables inside the walls. At the end you receive a handover file with routing diagrams, photos of the concealed work, a materials list with product codes and the warranty terms. A few years later, it lets you find any pipe or cable without opening up the walls.

Each stage is closed with an acceptance certificate. You review the report, send your own technical supervision engineer if you wish, and pay only after you accept the stage. We don't take prepayment for the whole job. The advance covers materials and the first stage.

The contract is drawn up in English, Georgian or Russian, your choice, and it also sets out how acceptance certificates are signed remotely. We give a 2-year warranty on our work and 5 years on concealed wiring, water pipes and drains in walls and floors. Materials and appliances carry the manufacturer's warranty, and we hand over the documents for them.

What goes into the price of a house

Guide prices per m² of total floor area on a flat plot: a masonry house at the black frame stage from 690 ₾, white frame from 1,050 ₾, and a turnkey house from 1,200 ₾ at economy level, from 1,680 ₾ at mid-range level and from 2,700 ₾ at premium level. The stages table above shows what each stage includes. A complete design package, covering all disciplines, is priced separately, from 100 ₾ per m². A house on a flat plot by the road and the same house on a slope with no access cost very different amounts: a slope adds 36–48% to the price, and the full budget for a house on a slope in Batumi, with the design and comfort-level finishing, comes to 3,730–4,860 ₾ per m². The estimate depends on:

• The floor area, number of storeys and shape of the house, especially cantilevers and a complex roof
• The terrain and the ground, and with them the retaining walls and the type of foundation
• The frame design, wall material, facade and windows
• Building services, plus a borehole and a septic tank where there are no mains connections
• The level of finishing and the landscaping
• Access and the distance from Batumi

We send a preliminary estimate from photos of the plot and a plan of the house within 24 hours on business days. The final cost is set on the basis of the design, after a visit to the plot and once the estimate is agreed. In the contract the price and timing are set out stage by stage, and a stage's price doesn't go up unless the scope changes.