Cost of Painting a House in Kenya

There is no single, reliable price for painting a house in Kenya. Two homes with the same number of bedrooms can need very different budgets, because the cost depends on how much wall there is to paint, what condition those walls are in and how much preparation they need before any paint goes on.

This guide explains how a painting budget is put together, what each part pays for, and why the same wall area can cost very different amounts. It uses two worked examples from the FinishGrid estimator to show the difference that surface condition makes.

Why bedroom count is a weak guide

It is common to hear figures such as “a three-bedroom house costs about this much to paint”. They are easy to remember, but they hide the things that actually drive the cost. One three-bedroom house may have compact rooms and standard ceiling heights; another may have large living areas, high walls, a staircase and long corridors. One may be a sound repaint; the other may be new plaster that needs full skimming.

Bedroom count tells you very little about the amount of wall surface, its condition or the work it needs. That is why FinishGrid estimates are built from measurable scope (the wall area) and the condition of the surface, rather than from a price per bedroom.

How a painting budget is made up

Whatever the size of the project, a painting budget is made up of the same four parts:

Keeping these parts separate makes a budget much easier to understand. A paint price, a labour rate and a project estimate are different things, and mixing them up is one of the most common reasons homeowners are surprised by the final cost. Each part is explained in where the painting budget goes below.

What determines the cost of painting?

• Wall area. The amount of paintable wall surface, in square metres. More wall means more paint, more filler where it is needed and more working time.
• Surface condition. Walls in good condition need little more than cleaning and light preparation. Cracked, peeling or damaged walls need repairs first.
• Preparation. Sanding, spot filling, full skimming of rough plaster and repairs can take as much time and material as the painting itself.
• Product and finish. Different paint specifications cost different amounts and cover different areas per litre.
• Number of coats. A typical interior system is an undercoat on new or prepared surfaces, followed by two finish coats. Each coat adds paint and labour.
• Labour. How many painters are needed, for how long, and how the work is priced.
• Colours and complexity. More colours mean more cutting in, more changeovers and more time. Detailed rooms take longer than plain walls.
• Project requirements. High walls that need scaffolding, occupied rooms that need furniture moved and protected, and access or working-hour restrictions all affect the cost.

New plaster vs repainting

This is the single biggest difference between painting budgets, and it is often misunderstood. A new house is not automatically cheaper to paint because the walls are new. New plaster is often rough and needs to be skimmed smooth before it can be painted, and that preparation adds both material and labour.

Full skimming means covering the whole wall with a layer of filler and sanding it smooth. On rough plaster it uses a lot of filler and takes considerable time, so a new-plaster project can cost substantially more than repainting the same wall area. If the new walls are already smooth (for example, already skimmed by the builder), the skimming step falls away and the budget is much closer to a repaint.

Where the painting budget goes

1. Surface preparation

Everything needed to get the wall ready to paint: cleaning, scraping loose paint, filling cracks, sanding and, on rough plaster, full skimming. Preparation is the part most often left vague in a quotation, and the part that most affects how long the finish lasts. Major repairs, such as damp or structural cracks, should be assessed separately before they are priced.

2. Paint and materials

The products the work consumes: undercoat, finish paint, and filler where skimming or spot filling is needed. The quantity depends on the wall area, the number of coats and how far each product actually goes on your surface. Paint is bought in whole packs (for example, 20 litre buckets), so the amount you buy is usually a little more than the amount you use.

3. Labour

The working time of the painters who prepare and paint the walls. Labour depends on the area, the stages of work involved and how quickly each stage can be done well. Skimming rough plaster, for example, is much slower than applying a finish coat.

4. Project-specific requirements

Costs that belong to your particular project rather than to painting in general: scaffolding for high walls, protecting floors and furniture in occupied rooms, transport, supervision, and any work outside the walls themselves, such as ceilings, doors, trim or exterior surfaces. These need to be identified and priced separately.

Worked comparison: the same 150 m² of wall

The two examples below come from the FinishGrid estimator. They describe exactly the same amount of wall. The only difference is the condition of that wall.

Ranges are rounded outwards to the nearest KSh 100, so the parts may not add up exactly to the total. The planning figure is the middle of the expected range, rounded, as a practical number to plan around.

The same 150 m² of interior wall can produce a very different budget depending on whether the wall is already in good condition or requires full preparation. In example B the extra cost comes from the filler for skimming, the undercoat, and the additional labour for skimming, sanding and undercoating.

Neither example includes ceilings, doors, trim, exterior walls, major repairs, transport or a contractor's overheads and margin. A real project may include some of these.

Why the estimate is a range

A responsible painting estimate gives a range rather than one exact number, because several things are only known once the work is specified and the walls are seen:

• Supplier and product. Prices vary between suppliers, products and locations, and change with market conditions.
• Actual surface condition. Hidden cracks, loose plaster or uneven walls often only become clear on inspection.
• Real consumption. How far paint and filler go depends on the surface, the application and the product.
• Site conditions. Access, wall height, occupied rooms and working hours all affect labour.
• Labour and project differences. Different crews work at different rates and organise the work differently.

The range narrows as these become known: measuring the walls, confirming their condition and choosing the products all move a budget from a planning range towards a firm price.

What does “cost per square metre” mean?

Painting is often discussed as a cost per square metre. A rate can be a useful way to compare prices, but only if you know which square metre is being priced and what the rate includes.

A simple way to approximate the wall area of a room is to add up the length of all its walls and multiply by the wall height. A room 4 m long and 3.5 m wide with 2.7 m high walls has about 2 × (4 + 3.5) × 2.7 = 40.5 m² of wall before doors and windows are taken off.

When you are given a rate per square metre, ask:

• Is it per square metre of wall, of floor, or of something else?
• Does it include materials, or labour only?
• Does it include preparation, skimming and undercoat, or only the finish coats?
• How many coats does it allow for?

How painting labour may be charged

Painters and contractors in Kenya price labour in different ways. The common approaches are:

• By measured area. A rate per square metre of wall. Simple to compare, but the rate should depend on the work involved: skimming rough plaster is very different from repainting a sound wall.
• By the day. A daily rate per painter, multiplied by the number of working days (sometimes called man-days). This depends heavily on how long the job really takes.
• By the project. A single lump sum for the agreed scope. Easy to budget for, as long as the scope is written down clearly.

No method is automatically better. What matters is that the scope behind the figure is clear: which walls, which preparation, how many coats, and whether materials are included. FinishGrid's estimator works out labour from the stages of work your walls need and how much a painter can typically complete in a day at each stage.

Why two painting quotations can be different

It is normal for painting quotations for the same house to differ, sometimes widely. The difference usually comes from one or more of:

• scope: which rooms, walls and surfaces are included;
• preparation: how much repair, filling or skimming is allowed for;
• materials and specification: which products, and in what quantities;
• number of coats;
• labour: crew size, time allowed and how it is priced;
• access: scaffolding or equipment for high walls;
• supervision, transport and tools;
• business overheads and warranty obligations;
• business margin;
• project complexity.

The cheapest quote is not automatically the right one, and the most expensive is not automatically better. A low price may leave out preparation or coats; a high price may include work you do not need. Compare quotations on the same scope, line by line. FinishGrid's quote checker, which will help with this, is coming soon.

How to prepare your painting budget

1. Work out the wall area. Measure the rooms you want painted, or use room sizes and wall height to approximate it.
2. Be honest about the condition of the walls. Good, needing preparation, needing significant repair, or new plaster (smooth or rough).
3. Decide the scope. Walls only, or ceilings, doors, trim and exterior too? List them.
4. Choose a finish level and number of colours. Both affect the cost.
5. Get a planning range. Use the FinishGrid estimator to see what a project like yours is likely to cost, and what is and isn't included.
6. Get quotations on the same scope. Give every contractor the same description, so the prices are comparable.
7. Keep some room in the budget. Surfaces can reveal problems once work starts, so avoid planning to the last shilling.

Frequently asked questions

How FinishGrid estimates painting costs

FinishGrid keeps four kinds of information separate, so that each number means what it says:

• Technical data: how products are meant to perform, such as coverage, from product documentation where appropriate.
• Market prices: realistic price ranges for neutral product categories and pack sizes, rather than one manufacturer's list prices.
• Real consumption: technical coverage, plus FinishGrid planning allowances where real projects use more, such as full skimming of rough plaster.
• Project cost: FinishGrid's method for combining these with the work your walls need.

An estimate then takes into account your wall area, the condition of the surface, the preparation that condition requires, the products and number of coats, the pack sizes they are sold in, the labour for each stage of the work and the assumptions listed with every result. Real projects differ, which is why every estimate is shown as a range with its assumptions.