Floor sanding and varnishing prices in Kenya

This is the best-value work on this site: a tired timber or parquet floor is almost always worth refinishing rather than replacing, and the difference is several times the money.

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

The numbers

About KES 400 per square metre to sand and about KES 300 per square metre to varnish. In bulk the combined rate runs roughly KES 400 to 900 per square metre, so a 150 to 200 square metre house lands around KES 105,000 to 300,000.

For comparison, the table also shows parquet supplied and laid at about KES 90,000 to 150,000 for 60 square metres, which is what replacement costs if refinishing is not viable.

What moves the rate within that band

How many passes. A floor with heavy old varnish or a previous stain needs more coarse work before the fine passes, and coarse passes are where the time goes.

Repairs. Loose or missing blocks, damaged boards and patching all add, and they have to happen between the coarse and fine sanding so the patches level with the original.

Access and furniture. An empty house is quicker than one being worked around room by room.

The finish chosen. Polyurethane varnish is the hardwearing default. Oil and hard-wax finishes cost more and are repairable in patches rather than needing a whole-floor recoat.

Excluded unless stated

Furniture moving and storage
Skirting removal or replacement. Worth doing at the same time if it is going to be done at all, because the saw is already set up and the floor edge is exposed. See skirting, cornice and architrave
Block or board replacement where the timber has failed
Screed or substrate repair, which on a parquet floor laid on screed can be the real job
Painting and decorating, which should happen before the final coats rather than after

Book it in January

Plainly: this is the work to schedule in January and February. Nairobi construction collapses after December, building plan approvals fell 57.8 per cent month on month in a recent January, and refinishing a floor is entirely unaffected by rain. It is the one genuinely counter-seasonal trade on this site, which means capacity and attention rather than a queue.

Rates

Work	Rate	Notes
Sanding	~KES 400 / m²
Varnishing	~KES 300 / m²
Sand and finish, bulk rate	KES 400 – 900 / m²
A 150 – 200 m² house, all in	KES 105,000 – 300,000
Parquet supplied and laid, 60 m²	KES 90,000 – 150,000

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

Is refinishing really cheaper than replacing?

Substantially, and it is the main reason this page exists. Refinishing a 150 square metre floor runs roughly KES 105,000 to 300,000. Replacing the same area in parquet is several times that once you include lifting and disposing of the old floor. Under forty years of scuffed varnish there is usually sound timber.

How do I know if my floor can be saved?

It usually can if the damage is in the finish: scratches, dullness, patchy varnish, water marks that have not gone black. It usually cannot if blocks are loose or drumming underfoot, if boards have blackened, or if the floor has already been sanded so often that nail heads are appearing. About one floor in five that we look at needs partial replacement first.

How long does the house have to be empty?

Sanding is dirty and finishing needs the room left alone while it cures. Plan on the room being unusable for several days rather than hours. Doing it room by room is possible and takes longer overall.

Matt, satin or gloss?

Satin in a family house. Gloss shows every imperfection now and every scratch later; matt hides both but looks flatter. Stain is the decision to think hardest about, because it cannot be undone without sanding the whole floor again, so we put a test patch in the actual room first.