Cost to own: 4-bedroom townhouse under an overhanging roof

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 8,494,754

Repaints and replacements

KES 649,998

7 jobs over 30 years

Running bills

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Cost to own over 30 years

KES 9,144,752

8% 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 (136 m²)	KES 43,563
10	Repaint inside walls (439 m²)	KES 140,373
14	Repaint outside walls (136 m²)	KES 43,563
20	Repaint inside walls (439 m²)	KES 140,373
	Replace internal doors	KES 195,000
21	Repaint outside walls (136 m²)	KES 43,563
28	Repaint outside walls (136 m²)	KES 43,563

How long each part lasts, and why we think so

Part	Each time	Source
Outside walls (136 m²)	KES 43,563	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 (439 m²)	KES 140,373	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): interior paint 10-15 years
Roof covering: box profile sheets, 30 gauge	KES 285,545	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): metal roofing 40-80 years The chart's metal roofs are heavier than 30-gauge sheet. Mabati Rolling Mills gives a 5-15 year fade-free warranty on colour, depending on the paint system.
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 316,800	Not on InterNACHI's chart: it lists no steel windows (aluminium 15-20 years).
Floor tiling	KES 242,320	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): ceramic tile 75-100 years
Ceilings	KES 451,500	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 151,200	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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