Questions we get asked about roofs
Most people deal with a roof two or three times in their life, usually in a hurry and usually in the rain. These are the things worth knowing before that happens, including the ones where the honest answer is that a number cannot be given down a phone line. Figures here are market ranges for Kenya reviewed in September 2026, not quotations.
- What does it cost to roof a three-bedroom house in Kenya?
- Typically KES 280,000 to 650,000 and above, materials and labour together. The covering choice moves that band more than anything else: mabati sits at the lower end, stone-coated tile at the upper. These are market ranges reviewed September 2026, not a quotation.
- What is the difference between gauge 30, 28 and 26 mabati?
- Gauge is thickness and the numbering runs backwards, so gauge 26 is the thickest. Box profile runs roughly KES 520 per metre in gauge 30, KES 580 in gauge 28 and KES 720 in gauge 26. Thicker sheet resists denting, and dents matter because they hold water and that is where rust starts.
- Why will you not quote a leak repair over the phone?
- Because there is no honest number to give. A leak can be one perished washer or forty metres of failed ridge with rotten purlins underneath, and nothing about the ceiling stain tells you which. We publish rates wherever a real market figure exists; for leak repair none does in Kenya, so we inspect first and quote what we find.
- The stain is in the middle of the room. Is the hole above it?
- Usually not. Water enters at a joint or a lifted sheet, runs along a purlin or the underside of the sheeting, and drops wherever it can. It is often several metres from the entry point, which is why patching above the stain so often fails and the same room leaks again a fortnight later.
- When is the best time to deal with a suspect roof?
- Before the rains, not during them. Search interest in roof leaks in Kenya runs about fourteen times higher in March than in September, and it climbs steadily from November through to March. The cheapest time to fix a roof is when it is not actively leaking, and the hardest time to find a roofer is the week everyone else is looking.
- Do you do flat roofs as well as mabati and tile?
- Yes, and in Westlands and Kilimani it is most of the work. Flat roofs fail differently: a tired membrane, a blocked outlet, or an upstand detail that was never right. Waterproofing runs roughly KES 800 to 3,500 per square metre depending on the system, with a 100 square metre roof typically KES 120,000 to 250,000.
- Can an old tile roof be repaired rather than replaced?
- Usually, and in Muthaiga and Karen it is normally the right answer. The tiles themselves last decades; what fails is the bedding, the pointing, the flashings and the battens underneath. Replacing a sound tile roof with sheet changes the look of the house and is rarely cheaper once the strip-out is priced.
- Do you fit roof trusses?
- We do timber roof carpentry: rafters, purlins, fascia and barge boards. Most modern Nairobi roofs are framed in steel rather than timber, and steel fabricators handle that. Where a frame is timber the carpentry is ours; where it is steel we work to it. We would rather say that plainly than take work we are not the right trade for.
- Why do two roofing quotations differ so much?
- Usually gauge, brand and what is excluded. A quote covering only sheets and labour is not cheaper than one covering ridge caps, flashings, valley gutters, fascia and guttering, it is incomplete, and the difference comes back as extras. Ask what is excluded before comparing totals.
- Do you do the ceiling after a leak, or just the roof?
- Both, and it matters. Stopping the water does not undo the damage, and a stained or sagging gypsum ceiling usually needs cutting out rather than painting over. Doing the roof and the ceiling as one job means one responsibility instead of two trades disagreeing about whose water it was.
- What carpentry do you do besides roofing?
- Hardwood doors and frames, fitted wardrobes, staircases and balustrades, built-in shelving, wall panelling, skirting and architrave, pergolas and decking, and repair and restoration. Our lead carpenter has forty-three years at the bench, and the restoration work is where that shows most.
- How do I reach you at the moment?
- Through the enquiry form on this site. We are adding a telephone line shortly; until then the form is the way in, and a photograph attached to it tells us more than a paragraph. Do not climb onto the roof to take one.
- Which areas do you cover?
- Across Nairobi: Karen, Runda, Muthaiga, Gigiri, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Westlands, Parklands, Lang'ata and the Kiambu Road corridor. Each area page sets out what genuinely differs about working there, from estate delivery rules to roof type.
Tell us what your roof is doing
A photo of the ceiling stain or the roofline is usually enough to start. We will come back with what is likely wrong, what it costs to put right, and whether it needs doing before the rains.
Photographs welcome · no charge for a written quotation