Cost to own: Karen 4-bedroom block house with timber soffit

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 8,757,631

Repaints and replacements

KES 728,737

7 jobs over 30 years

Running bills

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Cost to own over 30 years

KES 9,486,368

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 (202 m²)	KES 64,500
10	Repaint inside walls (431 m²)	KES 137,868
14	Repaint outside walls (202 m²)	KES 64,500
20	Repaint inside walls (431 m²)	KES 137,868
	Replace internal doors	KES 195,000
21	Repaint outside walls (202 m²)	KES 64,500
28	Repaint outside walls (202 m²)	KES 64,500

How long each part lasts, and why we think so

Part	Each time	Source
Outside walls (202 m²)	KES 64,500	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 (431 m²)	KES 137,868	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 404,110	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 132,000	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 532,800	Not on InterNACHI's chart: it lists no steel windows (aluminium 15-20 years).
Floor tiling	KES 375,960	foreign table InterNACHI Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (US; lower end of the range used): ceramic tile 75-100 years
Ceilings	KES 442,800	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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