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| Item | Unit | USD | KSh | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial verification, per circuit (IEC 60364-6)Continuity of the protective conductor, insulation resistance, earth loop impedance and RCD trip time, measured circuit by circuit and written up. IEC 60364-6 requires this before an installation is energised, and no schedule in these markets prices it, because it is usually not done. Estimated from an electrician’s day rate against the number of circuits one person tests in a day. The bill bought the board and the earth electrode and verified neither, which is the same shape as a missing line anywhere else in this product: it looks exactly like a test that costs nothing. | per circuit | $4 – $12 | 518 KSh – 1,553 KSh | Estimated |
| Isolation valve, per fixtureA quarter-turn brass ball valve and its connection, one at each fixture and one on the incoming main. Estimated from merchant prices for 15 and 20 mm valves; no published schedule separates them from the fixture. Without them an installation has no way to isolate a branch, so changing a tap means shutting the whole house off: and in practice means the tap is not changed. | per valve | $6 – $18 | 777 KSh – 2,330 KSh | Estimated |
| Wall copingA weathered cap over the top of a wall, cast in place or precast, throwing water clear of both faces. Estimated from the concrete, the formwork and the mason’s time for a 300 mm cap rather than from a published rate, because coping is normally swallowed inside a per-metre wall price. An uncapped wall takes rain straight into its top course, and the first failure of a boundary wall here is almost always the top three courses rather than the foundation. | per metre | $6 – $16 | 777 KSh – 2,071 KSh | Estimated |
| Damp-proof courseBitumen felt or polythene laid in the bed joint above ground level, breaking the path water takes up through the masonry. Estimated from roll prices at the width a 150 to 200 mm wall needs. Rising damp is what makes the bottom of a rendered wall blister and shed within two or three wet seasons, and the cure after the fact is to take the render off and start again. | per metre | $1 – $4 | 155 KSh – 453 KSh | Estimated |
| Gate lock and drop boltA lock and a drop bolt into the threshold, which is what secures a gate rather than what hangs it. **Deliberately not hinges or paint** : the gate leaf here is priced through the boundary’s own material with a fabrication factor whose written basis already names the frame, the hinges and the paint, so buying them again would charge the same money twice. That is the mistake `knownCosts` exists to avoid, and it is easier to make when adding a line than when removing one. Estimated from merchant prices for a padlockable gate lock and a galvanised drop bolt. | per set | $60 – $200 | 7,767 KSh – 25,891 KSh | Estimated |
| Formwork, per m² of contact areaSheet, bearers, nails, props and release oil, measured the way a bordereau measures it, per square metre of concrete face formed, with the sheet amortised over about four uses. **Nothing in this product priced formwork at all**, and no concrete rate here claims to include it, so every reinforced element was quietly assumed to cast itself. It is not a small line: on a boundary wall with posts and two tie beams the formed area is roughly twice the wall’s own footprint. Estimated from plywood and melamine sheet prices in this market against a four-use life; a merchant quotation would replace the sheet share directly. | per m² formed | $4 – $11 | 518 KSh – 1,424 KSh | Estimated |
| Binding wire (for tying reinforcement)Annealed wire for tying bars and links into a cage. Ordered at 12 kg per tonne of reinforcement, which is the middle of the 10 to 15 kg range trades work to. Estimated from merchant prices for annealed wire by the coil. It is a trivial cost and a total stopper: a cage cannot be tied without it, and it was missing from every bill this product has ever produced. | per kg | $2 – $4 | 194 KSh – 453 KSh | Estimated |
| Weep hole (75 mm PVC sleeve through the wall)A short PVC sleeve cast or built through the wall just above ground on the exposed face, with the mason’s time to place it. Estimated from offcut pipe prices and a few minutes’ work each; no schedule prices a weep hole, because it is the first thing left out. Leaving them out is not a saving of this size : an undrained wall carries roughly **1.75 times** the push of a drained one, because saturated backfill adds full hydrostatic pressure that no friction angle reduces. | per weep hole | $2 – $7 | 259 KSh – 906 KSh | Estimated |
| Filter fabric (behind the wall)A non-woven geotextile wrapping the granular drainage blanket so the fines in the retained soil do not migrate into it. Estimated from roll prices for a light non-woven grade. Without it the drain silts up and becomes more soil within a season or two, which is worse than never building it: the wall is then loaded as an undrained wall by a detail everybody believes is working. | per m² | $1 – $4 | 155 KSh – 453 KSh | Estimated |
| Concrete curing (sheeting and water, 7 days)Polythene sheeting at 200 microns used twice over, the water to keep the surface wet for seven days, and the labour of wetting it. An outright estimate: no schedule in these markets prices curing separately, because it is almost always buried in a concrete rate and therefore almost always skipped on site. It is priced here for the opposite reason, in this climate a slab above about 32 °C loses water faster than bleed replaces it, and concrete that dries before it hydrates never reaches its grade whatever the mix design said. A well-batched concrete badly cured is weaker than a badly batched one cured properly, so this is the cheapest line in the bill measured against what it protects. | per m² of surface | $1 – $2 | 78 KSh – 207 KSh | Estimated |
| Movement joint (backer rod and sealant)Compressible filler and a gun-applied sealant, per metre of joint height. Nothing in these packs is comparable enough to scale from, a joint is a backer rod and a cartridge, not a coating sold by the square metre, so this is an outright estimate from what a hardware merchant charges for polyurethane sealant and closed-cell filler at the coverage a 15 mm joint uses. It is a small line against the wall it protects: a 140 m run needs about 55 m of joint, and leaving it out is why a new boundary wall cracks in its first dry season. | per metre | $3 – $8 | 388 KSh – 1,036 KSh | Estimated |
| Consumer unit, per way (three phase)A three-phase way: the same protective device on a busbar fed from three lines rather than one, so the board, the main switch and the incoming device all cost more for the same number of circuits. Priced from this market’s own single-phase way at the premium wholesalers quote for the three-phase range. No regional survey separates them. | per way | $17 – $54 | 2,136 KSh – 7,042 KSh | Estimated |
| Supply cable (3 × 10 mm²)Single-phase supply, three cores: line, neutral and earth against the four of a three-phase run. Priced from this market’s own four-core cable at the ratio of the copper in it, which is what a merchant charges for cable, the drum is sold by weight of conductor. No regional survey separates the two sizes. This is what an ordinary house here is connected with; three-phase is for a workshop, a borehole pump of any size, or a house large enough to need the load balanced. | per metre | $3 – $9 | 401 KSh – 1,165 KSh | Estimated |
| Copper supply pipe (ø 22)Copper, soldered. Rare here and dear: it is imported, it needs a plumber with a torch, and the offcuts walk off a site. It is specified where hot water runs through a roof void or where a client wants a system that outlives the building. Priced at the multiple of PPR that importers quote for tube of the same bore; no regional survey covers it, and in most of these markets a merchant will order it in rather than stock it. | per metre | $6 – $23 | 816 KSh – 2,913 KSh | Estimated |
| Pressure PVC supply pipe (ø 25)Pressure PVC, the cheaper supply pipe and the one most self-builds here use for cold runs. It is solvent-welded rather than fusion-welded, so it needs no heating iron and any mason can lay it : which is why it is common : and it must not carry hot water or run in sunlight, where it goes brittle. Priced from this market’s own PPR at the discount merchants quote; no regional survey separates supply pipe by material. | per metre | $1 – $4 | 155 KSh – 492 KSh | Estimated |
| Stair nosing (aluminium or PVC)A pre-formed aluminium or PVC stair nosing, sold by the metre and fixed to the front edge of each tread. It takes the wear and stops the arris of a cast step breaking away, which is what makes an unnosed concrete stair look derelict in two years. No regional survey prices it; the band is scaled from this market’s own skirting, which is the same kind of extruded trim bought the same way. | per metre | $4 – $14 | 518 KSh – 1,812 KSh | Estimated |
| Exterior paint (20 L drum)Exterior acrylic, sold in the same 20 L drum as the interior grade. It carries more binder and a UV package because this face takes full sun and driven rain through a wet season, and an interior paint put outside chalks within a year. Priced from this market’s own interior paint at the premium merchants quote for the exterior grade, since no regional survey separates the two : the Kinshasa paint survey does not even state its container size, which is why the interior figure is itself an estimate. | per drum | $36 – $94 | 4,660 KSh – 12,169 KSh | Estimated |
| Primer or sealer (20 L drum)New render is alkaline and thirsty: without a sealer the first top coat is drunk into the wall, the colour goes patchy and the covering rate collapses, so the paint saved is spent twice over. Priced from this market’s own paint at the discount a primer usually carries, since no regional survey separates the two. A repaint over sound existing paint needs none, and the element lets it be unticked. | per drum | $20 – $56 | 2,589 KSh – 7,250 KSh | Estimated |
| Door ironmongery (lock, handle, 3 hinges)A lock case, a handle set and three hinges. Doors here are sold as a leaf and a frame and nothing else, `door_timber` is a timber door with frame, so a house with twelve doors needs twelve sets and the bill had none of them. No regional survey prices ironmongery; the band is scaled from this market’s own timber door, at the fifth of the door price merchants quote for a plain mortice set. A cylinder lock on an external door costs more and a padlock hasp costs less: this is the ordinary internal set, and somebody fitting security ironmongery overrides the line. | per set | $8 – $33 | 1,036 KSh – 4,272 KSh | Estimated |
| Electrical point, surface mountedSurface-mounted point: PVC trunking and clips on the face of the wall, no chase cut and no making good. Priced from this market’s own chased point rate less 20 per cent, the chasing and the render patch are what the two installations differ by, and on blockwork that is about a fifth of the point. No published survey separates the two: CYPE and the regional schedules price a chased point, because that is what a specification asks for. It is the cheaper build and the common one in a rented shop, a workshop, or any wall somebody expects to open again. | per point | $6 – $10 | 777 KSh – 1,295 KSh | Estimated |
| Ridge capping (pre-folded)A pre-folded ridge cap, sold in 2 m lengths at roughly the price of one sheet, which is the ratio merchants across the region quote. No published survey covers it, regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never the accessories, so the band is scaled from this market’s own sheet price and moves with it. It is a real line rather than flat sheet: a cap is folded to the ridge angle and costs more per square metre than the sheet it closes. | per metre | $6 – $11 | 777 KSh – 1,424 KSh | Estimated |
| Roofing fixings (box of 100)Self-drilling screws with EPDM washers, sold by the box of 100 at any hardware merchant. No published survey covers this item: regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never fasteners. The band starts from a retail price of 0.12 to 0.25 USD a screw observed across the region, and scales with this market’s own sheet price. At 7 screws/m² it is 1 to 2 per cent of the sheet cost, an error here does not move a roof budget, while omitting it drops a real item: a 300 m² roof needs about 2,100 of them. | per box of 100 | $9 – $22 | 1,165 KSh – 2,848 KSh | Estimated |
| Grey cement (50 kg bag) | per bag | $5 – $7 | 650 KSh – 856 KSh | Sourced |
| Scaffolding, erect and hireDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (5.7 to 9.0 a day) at an output of 2.5 to 6 m² of face erected, moved and struck per worker-day; hiring the equipment weighs less than the labour. Measured on the face worked above 2 m: below that you work off the ground or off trestles and nothing is hired. **Nothing in this product bought any**, when a 2.40 m wall rendered on both faces is not built from the ground. | per m² of elevation | $1 – $4 | 123 KSh – 466 KSh | Derived |
| Slab proppingDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (5.7 to 9.0 a day), plus the hire of the props. A suspended slab is held by its props for three weeks before it carries its own weight: the formwork gives it its shape, the propping stops it coming down. Formwork has been priced since 2026-08-21 and what holds it up still was not. | per m² of soffit | $1 – $5 | 185 KSh – 647 KSh | Derived |
| Setting outDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (5.7 to 9.0 a day) at an output of 5 to 12 m of perimeter set out per worker-day: profiles, lines, level and the day of the gang that marks it. It is the first spend on any site and no element carried it. Setting out wrongly is not corrected, it is demolished. | per metre of perimeter | $0 – $2 | 62 KSh – 233 KSh | Derived |
| Mixing water, deliveredA cubic metre of concrete takes about 180 litres of mixing water, and on most sites here it arrives by tanker or in drums rather than through a connection. Estimated at the price of a tanker load spread over the volume of concrete, not at the metered price of water. Distinct from curing, already priced separately: this one goes into the mix, that one protects it after the pour. | per m³ of concrete or mortar | $1 – $3 | 92 KSh – 388 KSh | Estimated |
| Hand excavation, ordinary groundDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (5.7 to 9.0 a day) at the usual output for hand digging in ordinary ground, 1.5 to 2.5 m³ per worker-day: 9.0 ÷ 1.5 at the top of the band, 5.7 ÷ 2.5 at the bottom. A fixed price in dollars would mean nothing here, earthworks are almost entirely labour, and the labourer’s wage varies sixfold across the markets in the catalogue. Hard, rocky or waterlogged ground is outside this band and is handled case by case. | per m³ | $2 – $6 | 295 KSh – 777 KSh | Derived |
| Washed crushed sand (0/5)This market has no separate survey for crushed sand. Derived from this pack’s natural sand (16.0 to 34.0) at the ratio of 1.5 surveyed in Kolwezi on 2026-08-21, where Dilala natural sand is delivered at 20 USD/m³ and Katonto crushed sand at 30 USD/m³. It is the ratio that is carried over and not the price: crushing and washing cost much the same anywhere, whereas the price of natural sand depends mostly on the distance to the river. | per m³ | $24 – $51 | 3,107 KSh – 6,602 KSh | Derived |
| River sandNo published survey converted. Sand does not travel: it is the least transferable line in the pack. Kenyan sand comes mostly from the rivers of Machakos and Kajiado, and extraction there has been restricted by the counties since the disputes over water use, which pulls the price well above the West African markets. | per m³ | $16 – $34 | 2,071 KSh – 4,402 KSh | Estimated |
| Crushed stoneNo published survey converted. Quarry crush, with transport dominating the delivered price. To be surveyed town by town: Kisumu and Mombasa do not draw on the same quarries as Nairobi. | per m³ | $22 – $42 | 2,848 KSh – 5,437 KSh | Estimated |
| Machine-cut building stone**This is not the rubble of the other packs.** Kenya commonly builds its walls in machine-cut volcanic stone (Ndarugo, Machakos), delivered as regular 9 inch blocks: a standardised loadbearing material, not uncalibrated foundation stone. It is the dominant wall in Kenyan building and it costs more than rubble because it is a different product. | per m³ | $26 – $48 | 3,366 KSh – 6,214 KSh | Estimated |
| Reinforcement barNo Kenyan steel merchant’s rate converted. Kenya re-rolls locally (Devki, Doshi) and imports the balance through Mombasa. A line to re-check more often than the others, the steel price moving fast. | per tonne | $620 – $1,000 | 80,263 KSh – 132,045 KSh | Estimated |
| Steel section (IPE, HEA)Sections imported through Mombasa or rolled locally. Real structural steel capacity in Nairobi, which lightens fabrication against a market without the trade: see steelFabricationFactor. | per tonne | $800 – $1,300 | 103,565 KSh – 168,293 KSh | Estimated |
| Concrete block, 9 inch (225 mm)Derived from the sourced cement price: a 9 inch block takes about 0.03 of a bag, plus aggregate, moulding and the maker’s margin. Kenya measures in inches. Note that the concrete block competes here with cut stone, which remains the commoner wall: the two lines coexist in this pack. | each | $1 – $1 | 78 KSh – 129 KSh | Derived |
| Concrete block, 4 inch (100 mm)The same derivation as the 9 inch block, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $0 – $1 | 45 KSh – 75 KSh | Derived |
| Concrete block, 6 inch (150 mm)The same derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. It is the ordinary partition block. | each | $0 – $1 | 58 KSh – 97 KSh | Derived |
| Concrete block, 8 inch (200 mm)Same derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $1 | 71 KSh – 119 KSh | Derived |
| Half block 15 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. | each | $0 – $0 | 35 KSh – 58 KSh | Derived |
| Half block 20 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. | each | $0 – $1 | 43 KSh – 71 KSh | Derived |
| Hollow block, 10 inch (250 mm)Same derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $1 | 88 KSh – 149 KSh | Derived |
| Solid block, 6 inch (150 mm)The same derivation as the 6 inch hollow block, with solid material in place of the voids. | each | $1 – $1 | 93 KSh – 155 KSh | Derived |
| Stabilised compressed earth blockManual press, site soil, 5 to 8% cement. A real trade in Kenya, carried by several affordable housing programmes, but it runs into plan approval in urban areas. | each | $0 – $1 | 26 KSh – 65 KSh | Estimated |
| Fired brickOne name for two products: artisanal kiln brick and factory brick. The band covers both, which makes it unusable as it stands: override the line if the project uses one or the other. Little used in Kenya, where cut stone dominates. | each | $0 – $1 | 10 KSh – 65 KSh | Estimated |
| Mud brickMoulded on site and sun dried. Rural, and excluded from plan approval in urban areas: it does not travel and is hardly sold, the price being labourer’s time at the minimum wage. | each | $0 – $0 | 5 KSh – 13 KSh | Estimated |
| Structural timber (cypress, pine)Plantation cypress and pine. **The price still carries the mark of the logging ban**: the moratorium on public forests from 2018 to 2023 tightened supply lastingly and Kenyan timber remains dear for the region. Treatment against termites is not in this price and is not optional. | per m³ | $240 – $460 | 31,069 KSh – 59,550 KSh | Estimated |
| Profiled galvanised sheetSheet rolled locally (Mabati Rolling Mills and others) from imported coil; a long-established industry. State the thickness: between 0.20 and 0.45 mm the price doubles and so does the life. | per sheet | $11 – $22 | 1,424 KSh – 2,848 KSh | Estimated |
| Fibre-cement corrugated sheetFibre-cement sheet, dimensions to be confirmed with the seller: with no length and no width, a price per sheet never becomes a price per m². | per sheet | $9 – $17 | 1,165 KSh – 2,201 KSh | Estimated |
| Roof tile (stone-coated)Stone-coated metal tile is made in Kenya and widely exported across the region; it is the country’s upper-market roof covering. | each | $1 – $2 | 117 KSh – 285 KSh | Estimated |
| Floor tilingImported tile and increasingly made locally. The band is wide because it covers everything from the cheapest to porcelain. | per m² | $7 – $26 | 906 KSh – 3,366 KSh | Estimated |
| Tile adhesive (20 kg bag)Locally formulated or imported adhesive. Confirm the bag weight: the packaging varies from 20 to 40 kg according to the supplier. | per bag | $5 – $12 | 647 KSh – 1,553 KSh | Estimated |
| Tile groutImported or local product, sold in bags of 1 to 5 kg. Confirm the packaging before turning it into a price per kg. | per kg | $1 – $3 | 181 KSh – 440 KSh | Estimated |
| Emulsion paint (20 L tin)A long-established and crowded paint industry (Crown, Basco, Duracoat). The 20 L drum is the standard container and it genuinely holds 20 L, which cannot be taken for granted everywhere in this product. | per tin | $28 – $70 | 3,625 KSh – 9,062 KSh | Estimated |
| Polythene damp-proof membraneSheet by the roll, made locally. EN 13967 is a product standard: it binds the supplier, not the site. | per m² | $1 – $1 | 65 KSh – 155 KSh | Estimated |
| Damp-proof course rollBituminous roll, EN 14967. Particularly important on Nairobi’s expansive black cotton soil, which rises and falls with the season. | per linear metre | $1 – $2 | 117 KSh – 285 KSh | Estimated |
| SBS bitumen membrane 4 mmImported membrane, EN 13707. Torch-applied, labour not included in this price. | per m² | $8 – $16 | 1,036 KSh – 2,071 KSh | Estimated |
| Liquid waterproofing (per coat)Imported or locally formulated resin. Two coats at least, which the measurement counts separately. | per m² per coat | $2 – $5 | 259 KSh – 647 KSh | Estimated |
| Cementitious tanking slurry, per kgImported water-resistant mortar, EN 14891, for wet rooms and light tanking. | per kg | $2 – $4 | 246 KSh – 544 KSh | Estimated |
| PVC ceiling panellingSold by the board or the pack and never by the m²: confirm the board dimensions and how many are in a pack. | per m² | $5 – $12 | 647 KSh – 1,553 KSh | Estimated |
| PlasterboardBoard imported or made locally, grid included. A gypsum ceiling is the ordinary finish in better Kenyan building. | per m² | $6 – $16 | 777 KSh – 2,071 KSh | Estimated |
| SkirtingSkirting in tile, timber or PVC. Always laid and almost never measured, which is exactly why it has a line here. | per metre | $2 – $7 | 285 KSh – 906 KSh | Estimated |
| Metal door with frameLocal workshop door or imported security door. State whether the price covers the frame, the lock and the fitting: three answers circulate and the spread between them is wider than the spread between workshops. | per door | $65 – $180 | 8,415 KSh – 23,302 KSh | Estimated |
| Timber door with frameHollow-core or solid timber: two products, two prices, and the same name at the joiner’s. Solid timber is dear here for the same reason structural timber is. | per door | $40 – $150 | 5,178 KSh – 19,418 KSh | Estimated |
| Glazed aluminium windowLocal workshop joinery from imported sections, glazing and fitting included. Steel is a serious competitor to aluminium at the bottom of the market here, which is particular to Kenya. | per m² | $75 – $170 | 9,709 KSh – 22,008 KSh | Estimated |
| Louvre windowCommon in Mombasa, where continuous ventilation counts. Much less so in Nairobi, where the nights at altitude are cool and the instinct is to close up instead. | per m² | $25 – $60 | 3,236 KSh – 7,767 KSh | Estimated |
| Burglar barIronwork from a local workshop, per m² of opening protected. Fitted to virtually every reachable opening, upstairs included. | per m² | $22 – $60 | 2,848 KSh – 7,767 KSh | Estimated |
| Stair balustradeIronwork, timber or stainless. EN 1991-1-1 §6.4 gives it a horizontal load: it is a structural element and not a finish, which is the reason this line exists. | per metre | $35 – $130 | 4,531 KSh – 16,829 KSh | Estimated |
| GutterFolded sheet or PVC. Sized to EN 12056-3: Kenya has two rainy seasons, and it is the intensity of the April long rains that decides, not the annual total. | per metre | $6 – $15 | 712 KSh – 1,942 KSh | Estimated |
| Rainwater downpipeø 100 PVC, made locally, clips and bends included. Often run into a harvesting tank, a very widespread practice in Kenya. | per metre | $4 – $11 | 453 KSh – 1,424 KSh | Estimated |
| Supply pipeworkPPR or pressure PVC, made locally, fittings included and fitting excluded: the data layer counts fitting with the other trades. | per metre | $2 – $5 | 233 KSh – 647 KSh | Estimated |
| Waste pipework (PVC ø 110)ø 110 PVC, made locally, fittings included. The metres of waste pipe are what a per-point price leaves out, since it pays only for the fixtures. | per metre | $3 – $9 | 388 KSh – 1,165 KSh | Estimated |
| Plumbing point (WC + basin)Fitted point, fixtures included. State whether the labour is inside it: the data layer counts labour separately, and an all-in price entered as it stands would pay the plumber twice. | per point | $130 – $210 | 16,829 KSh – 27,186 KSh | Estimated |
| Sanitary wareImported suite, from the cheapest Chinese to European sanitaryware. A well stocked market in Nairobi. | per set | $90 – $320 | 11,651 KSh – 41,426 KSh | Estimated |
| Electrical pointFitted point, wiring included. The same caution as the plumbing about labour, which is counted elsewhere in the data layer. | per point | $7 – $12 | 906 KSh – 1,553 KSh | Estimated |
| Distribution board, per wayIEC 60364-4-41 requires automatic disconnection of supply, so it requires the protective devices. State whether the 30 mA residual current device is inside the price of the way. | per way | $11 – $32 | 1,424 KSh – 4,143 KSh | Estimated |
| Earth electrodeIEC 60364-5-54. It is the line most often absent from a house, and without it the residual current device has nothing to measure a fault against. | per installation | $42 – $130 | 5,437 KSh – 16,829 KSh | Estimated |
| Supply cable (4 × 10 mm²)A real Kenyan cable industry (East African Cables). It follows the copper price, so it is to be re-checked often. State whether it is armoured. | per metre | $5 – $12 | 583 KSh – 1,553 KSh | Estimated |
| Storage tank, per litrePolyethylene tank made locally (Roto, Kentainers), 1,000 to 10,000 L. A long-established local industry, which puts this line below the importing markets. | per litre | $0 – $0 | 8 KSh – 26 KSh | Estimated |
| Submersible pumpImported pump. The rating follows the designWater calculation: head, drawdown and tower included, not the catalogue. | each | $140 – $550 | 18,124 KSh – 71,201 KSh | Estimated |
| Tank tower, per metre of heightSteel tower from a local workshop. The height is what makes the pressure at the tap, which is the only reason to pay for it. | per metre | $90 – $300 | 11,651 KSh – 38,837 KSh | Estimated |
| Electric water heater, per litreImported storage heater, 50 to 200 L, sold by the cylinder and not by the litre: the price per litre is our conversion. In Nairobi hot water is used all year, which is not the case everywhere in this product. | per litre of capacity | $1 – $3 | 155 KSh – 414 KSh | Estimated |
| Solar water heater, per litreImported or locally assembled thermosiphon. Kenyan regulation requires solar thermal on buildings with heavy hot water demand, which has built a body of installers the neighbours do not have. | per litre of capacity | $3 – $9 | 362 KSh – 1,100 KSh | Estimated |
| Instantaneous gas water heaterImported appliance, sold by flow rate in L/min. LPG is widely distributed in bottles. | each | $90 – $280 | 11,651 KSh – 36,248 KSh | Estimated |
| Generator, per kVAFrom a Chinese set to a European one, imported through Mombasa. A shallower market than Nigeria’s: the Kenyan grid is markedly more reliable, and over 90% of its generation is renewable. | per kVA | $190 – $1,250 | 24,597 KSh – 161,820 KSh | Estimated |
| Solar PV, per WpPanel, inverter and fitting. **The most mature solar trade in Africa**: twenty years of domestic pay-as-you-go solar have left a network of installers and technicians with no regional equal, which pulls the fitting cost down. | per Wp | $1 – $1 | 91 KSh – 175 KSh | Estimated |
| Battery, per nominal kWhFrom flooded lead to lithium, a well stocked market. The depth of discharge changes the sizing more than the price does. | per kWh | $150 – $380 | 19,418 KSh – 49,193 KSh | Estimated |
| Hand-drilled borehole, per metre (to 40 m)No Kenyan driller’s rate obtained. **Drilling here is regulated**: a Water Resources Authority permit and a hydrogeological study are both required, which adds a fixed cost the neighbouring markets do not carry. An estimate, not a survey. | per metre | $70 – $150 | 9,062 KSh – 19,418 KSh | Estimated |
| Rig-drilled borehole, per metre (beyond 40 m)The same caution as the hand-drilling line, plus the permit and the study. The volcanic bedrock around Nairobi often forces a rig within the first few metres. The hand-to-machine ratio is taken from the UNICEF/pS-Eau guide. | per metre | $160 – $350 | 20,713 KSh – 45,310 KSh | Estimated |
| Labourer | per day | $6 – $9 | 738 KSh – 1,165 KSh | Sourced |
| MasonAbout two to three times the daily floor. The Kenyan mason works cut stone as often as block, which is a somewhat different trade and better paid than laying blocks. | per day | $11 – $20 | 1,424 KSh – 2,589 KSh | Estimated |
| Carpenter / formworkerThe same grade as the mason in local practice: formwork is paid at the skilled structural rate. | per day | $11 – $20 | 1,424 KSh – 2,589 KSh | Estimated |
| SteelfixerThe same grade as the mason: steelfixing is paid at the same day rate on Kenyan sites. | per day | $11 – $20 | 1,424 KSh – 2,589 KSh | Estimated |
| ElectricianAbove the mason: the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority licenses electricians by class, which restricts entry to the trade and holds the rate up. | per day | $13 – $24 | 1,683 KSh – 3,107 KSh | Estimated |
| PlumberThe same grade as the electrician: a skilled trade, and an expensive one to put right when a leak appears in finished work. | per day | $13 – $24 | 1,683 KSh – 3,107 KSh | Estimated |
| PainterBetween the labourer and the mason: the movement is learned quickly but the finish shows, so the rate sits above the labourer. | per day | $8 – $14 | 1,036 KSh – 1,812 KSh | Estimated |
| TilerThe same grade as the mason: the difficulty is in the setting out and the flatness, not in the strength. | per day | $11 – $20 | 1,424 KSh – 2,589 KSh | Estimated |
| Site foremanSupervision, about twice a mason. It is the item the productivity factor moves most: without one, labour costs 35% more in days. | per day | $20 – $38 | 2,589 KSh – 4,919 KSh | Estimated |
A foreign invoice gets compared against a delivered local price while carrying none of the charges that get it to the same place. Enter your supplier’s CIF quotation: duty, the agency levies and VAT are added in the order the administration applies them.
With no quotation entered, the local price stands in as a worked example.
| CIF value (before the border) | $820 |
| Customs duty (10%) | + $82 |
| Maritime freight levy | + $48 |
| Import quality inspection | + $16 |
| Industrial Promotion Fund | + $16 |
| Clearing agent and file charges | + $25 |
| VAT (16%) | + $140 |
| Landed cost, charges included | $1,150 |
Once cleared, importing costs more than the local market.
Landed cost, charges included: $1,150 · Local market: $820
Total charges on the CIF value: 40% · Industrial inputs
Assigning a material to a duty band is an interpretation: the rate follows the HS code your agent declares, and agents differ. The rates and the VAT are sourced; the split between agencies is our apportionment of a sourced total.
Some prices above are estimates because no published survey exists. Pick up to eight and Claude will search the web for recent figures and show you its sources. Nothing is changed automatically, and a result with no source is shown as not found rather than as a number.