Wooden door prices in Kenya

Doors are bought one at a time and fitted a dozen at a time, and the price question people ask is almost always about the door when the answer is usually about the package.

Rates below are Kenyan market figures reviewed September 2026. Indicative, not a quotation.

The whole-house arithmetic

A mahogany door runs about KES 22,000 to 26,000. A frame runs about KES 5,250 to 10,250 depending on section.

A whole-house package of eight to fourteen openings, supplied and fitted, typically lands at KES 200,000 to 600,000. Doing the same openings one room a year costs noticeably more in total, because each visit carries its own setting out and fitting time.

If you have just taken handover of a new maisonette with hollow internal doors, this is the single most cost-effective upgrade available, and doing it in one pass is how to buy it.

Where a door quotation goes wrong

Ironmongery left out. Hinges, locks, handles and door stops on a dozen openings add up, and they are frequently absent from a quotation that looks complete. A heavy hardwood door on two light hinges will drop, so hinges sized to the leaf weight are not optional.

Architrave left out. The trim that frames the opening is what makes a door look finished, and it is the commonest omission on new builds. See skirting, cornice and architrave.

Finishing left out. Whether the doors arrive sealed or bare, and whether the quotation includes staining or painting on site.

Making good. Where a frame is replaced, the wall around it needs patching.

External doors cost more for a reason

An external door in Nairobi takes sun on one face and shade on the other, so the two faces move differently. That is the worst condition for timber, and it is managed with the finish rather than the species: both faces sealed, and critically the top and bottom edges sealed too, which is where water actually gets in.

Anyone quoting an external door with no maintenance expectation attached is selling rather than advising.

Fitting into an old opening

On any house of age, the opening has moved: the head is not level, the jambs are not parallel, the floor has settled. That is where the cost of fitting lives, and it is carpentry rather than installation. Detail on hardwood doors and frames.

Rates

Work	Rate	Notes
Mvule, 12 × 1	~KES 570 / length	The premium joinery hardwood
Mvule, 12 × 4	~KES 2,360 / length
Mahogany, stair step	from KES 840 / step
Mahogany, stair riser	from KES 880 / riser
Mahogany, door frame	KES 5,250 – 10,250 / frame	Section dependent
Mahogany, door leaf	KES 22,000 – 26,000 / door
Cypress	Per-foot table published by suppliers	Updated 2026-09-13; the everyday structural softwood

Indicative market ranges for Kenya, reviewed 2026-09, published so you can budget and compare quotes. They are not a quotation: your price is confirmed in writing after we have seen the job.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the frame priced separately from the door?

Because they are separate items and often bought at different times. The frame is structural and set into the opening; the door hangs in it. Replacing a door in a frame that has moved is how you end up adjusting the same door twice a year, so on an older house the frame is usually the more important half of the job.

Is it cheaper to do all the doors at once?

Materially, yes. A whole-house package of eight to fourteen openings costs substantially less per door than one room at a time, because the setting out, the delivery and the fitting visit are shared. A new maisonette handed over with hollow internal doors is the classic case for doing them in one go.

What is the difference between a flush door and a panel door?

A flush door is a light frame with a board skin and a hollow or particle core: cheap, light, and not repairable, because planing more than a few millimetres exposes the void. A panel door is a solid frame with inset panels so the timber can move without splitting. In an older Nairobi house a panel door is usually what was there originally.

Do these prices include hanging?

No. The table shows supply rates as Kenyan suppliers publish them. Fitting is separate, and on an older house it is the larger part of the skill: openings move, so a door scribed to the opening looks right where one hung square into it shows a visible taper.