Cost to own: 4-bedroom grey townhouse with stacked balconies

What a house costs over its life: the build, then every repaint and replacement as it falls due, priced from the house's own bill, and your running bills. How this works

House

County

Over

Discount rate (%)

Power and water (KES/month)

All in today's prices. A discount rate of 0 simply adds them up; set your own to value money later at less than money now.

To build, with plot works

KES 9,129,264

Repaints and replacements

KES 1,177,890

9 jobs over 30 years

Running bills

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Cost to own over 30 years

KES 10,307,154

13% more than the build

Not in the figure, because there is no published interval or no rate yet: Windows, Taps and cistern fittings, Septic tank desludging. The figure is a floor until these are known.

What falls due, year by year

Year	Job	Cost today
7	Repaint outside walls (322 m²)	KES 103,025
10	Repaint inside walls (544 m²)	KES 174,127
14	Repaint outside walls (322 m²)	KES 103,025
20	Replace fascia and gutters	KES 51,000
	Replace flat roof waterproofing	KES 171,535
	Repaint inside walls (544 m²)	KES 174,127
	Replace internal doors	KES 195,000
21	Repaint outside walls (322 m²)	KES 103,025
28	Repaint outside walls (322 m²)	KES 103,025

How long each part lasts, and why we think so

Part	Each time	Source
Outside walls (322 m²)	KES 103,025	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): exterior paint 7-10 years Crown Paints puts ordinary paint at 3-4 years between repaints; silicone systems longer.
Inside walls (544 m²)	KES 174,127	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): interior paint 10-15 years
Flat roof waterproofing	KES 171,535	foreign table InterNACHI chart, as reproduced on InterNACHI's forum: modified bitumen 20 years (US) The bill line includes the screed, which is not usually renewed, so this overstates the job.
Fascia and gutters	KES 51,000	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): galvanised steel gutters and downspouts 20 years The bill line includes the fascia board.
Internal doors	KES 195,000	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): interior hollow-core wood doors 20-30 years
External steel doors	KES 110,000	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): fire-rated steel exterior doors 100+ years
Windows	KES 374,400	Not on InterNACHI's chart: it lists no steel windows (aluminium 15-20 years).
Floor tiling	KES 252,720	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): ceramic tile 75-100 years
Ceilings	KES 474,900	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): gypsum 75 years
Electrical points and fittings	KES 159,600	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): light fixtures 40 years Priced as the whole bill line for each point: wiring, accessory and fitting.
Taps and cistern fittings	no rate yet	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): faucets 15-20 years; toilet tank components 5 years No rate yet for taps or cistern fittings on their own, so the cost is not in the figure.
Septic tank desludging	no rate yet	No published desludging interval found.

The cost of each job is the house's own bill line at today's Nairobi rates. No Kenyan table of component lives was found, so lives come from manufacturers' warranties where they exist and otherwise from an American inspectors' chart, lower end of each range. Change any interval to your fundi's or QS's figure.

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