BORAQS Architect Exam cheat sheet

BORAQS (Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors, Kenya) registers architects and quantity surveyors under the Architects and Quantity Surveyors Act (Cap 525); registration categories include full registration and temporary/practical-training status, and only registered persons may use the protected titles and submit statutory drawings.

Under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act 2019, development permission is sought from the county government; approval of building plans is a separate county function, and construction may not start before both planning permission and building-plan approval are granted.

Occupancy certificate: a building may not be occupied until the local authority issues a certificate of occupation/completion confirming compliance with the approved plans, structural adequacy and sanitary requirements; partial occupancy can be certified for completed sections.

Means of escape rule of thumb: two independent exits are required where occupant load exceeds 50 or travel distance exceeds about 18–22 m in a single direction; exit widths are sized from occupant load at roughly 5 mm per person for level egress and more for stairs.

Fire resistance periods (Kenya Building Code practice) commonly used: 30 min for small/low-rise elements, 60 min for institutional and medium-rise floors, 90–120 min for structural frames and shafts in high-rise or basement situations; compartment floor area limits reduce with height and use.

Stair geometry: maximum riser 180 mm and minimum going 250 mm for private stairs (public/assembly stairs stricter, e.g. riser ≤150–175 mm, going ≥280–300 mm); 2R + G should fall between about 550 mm and 700 mm; headroom minimum 2.0–2.1 m.

Sanitary provision is calculated from occupant load by use: e.g. offices roughly 1 WC per 15–25 persons with separate provision for each sex, schools 1 WC per 15–30 pupils plus urinals, and additional accessible unisex WC per floor where sanitary facilities are provided.

Accessibility: at least one accessible route from parking/plot boundary to the entrance, ramps at maximum 1:12 gradient (1:15 preferred) with landings every 6–9 m, door clear opening ≥800–850 mm, and accessible WC of about 1.5 m × 2.0 m minimum with grab rails.

Architect's statutory duties under the standard professional services contract: prepare and administer the building contract, issue instructions and certificates fairly, certify payment within the stated period, and avoid conflicts of interest; the architect does not guarantee the contractor's workmanship.

Building cost estimate at design stage: cost = gross floor area × benchmark rate per m², adjusted by a location factor and a price-index factor (current index ÷ base index); elemental estimating refines this by summing element quantities × element unit rates plus preliminaries, contingency and design fees.

Measurement conventions (CESMM/SMM-style): masonry walls measured in m² net of openings exceeding a stated area (commonly 1–3 m²), deducting reveals; concrete measured in m³ by net volume excluding reinforcement; formwork in m² of contact area; reinforcement in kg or tonnes with 5–10% laps/wastage.

Standard rebar mass check: mass (kg/m) ≈ d²/162 for bar diameter d in mm (e.g. 12 mm ≈ 0.888 kg/m, 16 mm ≈ 1.58 kg/m, 20 mm ≈ 2.47 kg/m); multiply by total length and add laps and wastage.

Interim valuations: value of work done = measured quantities executed × BoQ rates, plus pro-rata preliminaries and variations, less retention (typically 5–10% of each certificate up to a cap of about 5% of contract sum) and less previous payments; add VAT/levies as applicable.

Retention and securities: retention is deducted from each interim certificate until the limit is reached, half released at practical completion and the balance at end of defects liability/maintenance period; performance security commonly 10% of contract sum, and advance payment bond secures advance recovery.

Variation valuation hierarchy: (1) BoQ rate if work is of similar character and quantity, (2) derived rate by pro-rata analysis of the BoQ rate, (3) fair valuation based on actual cost plus reasonable overhead and profit; dayworks apply where work cannot be measured.

Fluctuations: price adjustment formula P = A + b(Ln/Lo) + c(Mn/Mo) + … where A is the non-adjustable portion and L, M are labour and material indices at base (o) and current (n) dates; the sum of coefficients equals 1.0.

Cash flow and cost control: S-curve of cumulative value plotted against time; earned value indicators CPI = EV/AC and SPI = EV/PV; forecast final cost = contract sum ± approved variations ± measured remeasurement ± fluctuations + claims provision.

Final account components: original contract sum, remeasured adjustments, instructed variations, provisional/prime cost sums adjusted to actual, fluctuations, loss and expense claims, less retention released and contra charges for architect-instructed remedial work.