Construction WorksNew Build & ExtensionsTurnkey
A construction company in Harare delivering new builds, extensions, groundworks and structural alterations — from setting out to the final snag, under one accountable contract.
Service overview
Getting a structure up is the part everyone can see. The part that decides whether a client is satisfied is what happens afterwards — whether the plaster is flat, the screeds are level, the doors close, the drainage falls the right way, and whether anybody comes back to close out the snag list.
Tawaka Contracting came into construction from the finishing side. That is unusual, and it is our main advantage. We already ran painting, tiling, flooring, ceilings and partitions as our own trades before we took on full builds, so the stage where most projects in Zimbabwe drift — the last twenty per cent — is delivered by our own people.
As a construction company in Harare we take on new residential builds, extensions and alterations, commercial fit-outs, structural remedial work, groundworks and drainage. We work as principal contractor on complete projects and as a specialist finishing contractor within larger developments.
Every project gets a named site supervisor, a written programme, and staged payments tied to completed and inspected work. If you want to see the standard before committing, our completed projects are the best place to start.
Why Tawaka
Construction goes wrong in predictable ways: unclear pricing, absent supervision, and a contractor who disappears before the snag list is closed. We are structured against all three.
Our process
A construction sequence is unforgiving — every stage depends on the one before it being right. This is how we run it.
We walk the site with you, review drawings, assess access, ground conditions, existing services and levels, and establish what you actually want the finished building to do.
An itemised bill priced from the drawings, with a stage-by-stage programme and a payment schedule tied to it. We flag anything under-specified before you commit.
Site cleared and set out to the drawings, foundations excavated to the engineer's depth, reinforcement placed and inspected, concrete poured, drainage laid to fall.
Brickwork raised to damp-proof course and wall plate, lintels and beams placed, slabs cast where required, then roof structure erected, covered and made watertight.
Electrical and plumbing chased in and tested, then plaster, screeds, ceilings, tiling, joinery and decoration in the correct order so no finished surface is disturbed by later trades.
Services tested, site cleaned, joint snag inspection walked with you, every item closed out, and the building handed over with a defects liability period in place.
Applications
The same site discipline applies whether we are adding a room to a family home or working across a multi-storey development.
New family homes, extensions and alterations across Harare, built from your drawings and finished by the same company that built the shell.
Offices, retail units, industrial buildings and multi-storey developments, delivered as principal contractor or as a specialist finishing package.
Materials & methods
Substituting materials to protect a margin is the most common shortcut in Zimbabwean construction, and the hardest for a client to detect until it is too late. We build to the specification, and where we propose an alternative it is put to you in writing with the reason.
| Element | How we build it |
|---|---|
| Foundations | Excavated to engineer's depth, bottoms inspected before pouring, reinforcement placed to detail, concrete mixed to specified strength. |
| Brickwork | Common and face brick laid to line and gauge, perpends kept plumb, joints raked or struck as specified, wall ties and damp-proof course correctly positioned. |
| Concrete | Slabs, lintels, columns and beams cast to the structural drawing with correct cover to reinforcement and proper curing. |
| Roof structure | Trusses set out and braced to the manufacturer's layout, purlins fixed at correct centres, sheeting or tiling laid with proper laps and flashings. |
| Drainage | Runs laid to correct fall, rodding access provided, joints tested before backfill, septic tanks and soakaways built to required capacity. |
| Plaster and render | Substrate keyed and wetted, mix batched consistently, screeded to rule and finished flat — the base every subsequent finish depends on. |
| Screeds | Laid to falls where required, correct thickness for the floor finish above, cured before loading or covering. |
| Waterproofing | Damp-proof courses, membranes and wet-area tanking installed before the covering trades arrive, not retrofitted afterwards. |
Benefits
Project gallery
Our own sites, photographed as the work progressed. More in the project portfolio.
Recent related projects
Completed
Residential · Gletwin, Harare
Full construction and finishing package including roof structure and tiling, face-brick plinth, rendered elevations and complete external finishes under a single contract.
Completed
Residential · Greendale, Harare
Brick-built septic tank constructed in excavation to the required capacity and profile, with drainage runs laid to fall and tested before backfilling.
Completed
Commercial · Harare
External envelope and finishing works across multi-storey residential blocks, delivered from full scaffold with the programme phased block by block.
Questions answered
Practical answers from our team in Harare. Still unsure? Ask us directly.
Yes. We take projects from setting out and excavation through foundations, superstructure, roof, services first fix, plastering, screeds and full finishing to handover.
Because we also run the finishing trades in house, the last twenty per cent of a build — where most projects lose time — is handled by our own people rather than subcontractors we cannot control.
Yes, and that is the usual arrangement. Give us the drawings and any structural engineer's details and we will price from them and flag anything that looks unbuildable or under-specified before work starts.
If you do not yet have drawings we can point you to draughtsmen and engineers we work with regularly.
We can assist with the documentation and coordinate with your draughtsman or engineer, but statutory approval is applied for in the owner's name. We will tell you clearly what is needed for your project.
We do not start structural work on a project that should have approval and does not.
A standard four-bedroom house in Harare typically runs six to twelve months depending on size, specification, ground conditions and how quickly decisions and payments flow.
The programme is issued with your quotation and updated as the work proceeds, so you always know where the project stands against the plan.
Construction is paid in stages against completed work — for example foundations, wall plate, roof on, plaster and screed, then finishing and handover. Each stage is inspected before the next payment falls due.
This protects both sides. You never pay far ahead of the work, and we are never far ahead of the money.
Yes. Extensions, additional rooms, garage conversions, opening up walls and adding upper floors are regular work for us.
We seal the working area off from the rest of the house, manage dust and noise, and phase the programme so the family can stay in the property wherever it is safe to do so.
We carry out excavation, foundations, drainage runs, soakaways and septic tank construction. These are built in brick and concrete to the required depth and profile, then tested before backfilling.
Getting drainage right at the start is far cheaper than lifting a finished floor to fix it later.
Yes. We work on multi-storey residential and commercial developments, including structural work, external envelope and full finishing, with scaffolding and access managed as part of the contract.
We are equally comfortable as principal contractor or as a specialist finishing contractor within a larger project team.
Every project has a named site supervisor who is on site daily and is your point of contact. You are not passed between people who do not know your job.
Progress is reported against the agreed programme, with photographs where you cannot attend.
Normally yes. Supply and build is quoted as one package, which means we control quality and quantity and you are not chasing deliveries.
Some clients prefer to supply major materials themselves and we will structure the contract that way if you want, with the specification agreed in writing.
Variations are normal on construction projects. Every variation is priced and agreed in writing before it is carried out, and the programme is adjusted if it affects the completion date.
You will never receive a surprise on a final account for work you did not approve.
Yes. After handover there is a defects liability period during which we return to correct any defect attributable to our workmanship at no charge.
The applicable period is stated in your contract documents.
Where we work
We work from 33 Western Road, Greendale, and cover Harare and the surrounding suburbs. Travel time matters on a project like this — being local means we can get back to site quickly if something needs attention after handover.
Outside these areas? Tell us where the property is and we will let you know honestly whether we can deliver our standard there.
Related services
Most projects need more than one trade. We run them under a single contract so the sequencing is our problem, not yours — see all services or browse our completed projects.
Tell us the property, the suburb and roughly what needs doing. We will visit, measure properly and send an itemised quotation — no obligation.