Wooden staircase prices in Kenya

Staircases are the most valuable joinery in a house and, judging by search volume, the one people research least before commissioning. staircase design measures 880 searches a month in Kenya; the price terms barely register at all.

That gap is worth knowing, because it means most people arrive at a staircase quotation with no reference point.

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

What moves the number

The type of flight. A straight or L-shaped flight with a landing is the standard job. A floating flight, an open-riser design or a curve is a different order of work: every component is bespoke, and the setting out alone takes longer than building a straight flight.

The timber. Treads take abrasion, so they want a dense hardwood. Mvule or mahogany against cypress is a substantial difference on a flight of fourteen treads, and it is the single easiest thing to cut from a quotation without the customer noticing until the treads dent.

The balustrade. Plain square balusters against turned or machined ones, and a simple handrail against a moulded one, change the cost more than most people expect, because a balustrade is a lot of small components each handled individually.

The exclusions to ask about

Finishing. Whether the flight is delivered sanded and sealed or bare
Making good the floor and wall where the old stair was
Removal and disposal of a previous staircase
Any structural work to the opening or the landing
Building approval, where a stair is being altered rather than replaced

Cladding, the option people miss

Most Nairobi maisonettes have a concrete stair cast with the shell. Cladding it in hardwood with a new timber handrail gives you a timber staircase visually, without any structural work, and at a fraction of building one. If your stair is concrete and you want it to look like timber, ask about this before asking about a replacement.

Where the money is well spent

The handrail and the baluster spacing, every time. A flight with beautiful treads and a rail you cannot comfortably hold is a worse staircase than a plain flight detailed properly, and baluster gaps wide enough for a small child to get through are the most common fault we find on otherwise good work.

Full detail on the types and the timber is on wooden staircases and balustrades.

Rates

Work	Rate	Notes
Straight or L-shaped flight, timber handrail	KES 200,000 – 350,000
Statement flight: floating, open riser or curved	KES 600,000 – 1,500,000+
Balustrade and handrail only, 12 linear metres	KES 36,000 – 108,000
Curved or helical flight	Quoted after measuring	No reliable published Kenyan rate exists; geometry drives the cost, not the timber

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 will you not price a curved staircase here?

Because no reliable published Kenyan rate exists for one, and the geometry drives the cost far more than the timber does. Every tread is a different shape and the strings have to be laminated to the curve, so it cannot be estimated from an area or a length. We measure and then quote, rather than publish a figure we would have to revise.

Can I just replace the balustrade and keep the stairs?

Often, and it is one of the best-value jobs in a house. Swapping a metal rail for timber, or replacing a rail that is too low or too widely spaced, runs about KES 36,000 to 108,000 for a twelve-metre run and changes how the whole hall feels.

What makes one staircase quote twice another?

Usually the timber and the balustrade rather than the flight itself. Mvule or mahogany treads against cypress is a large difference; a turned or machined balustrade against plain square balusters is another. Ask what species the treads are and what the balustrade is, because those two answers explain most of the gap.

Do you fit treads to an existing concrete staircase?

Yes, and it is common in Nairobi maisonettes where the stair was cast in the shell. Cladding a concrete flight in hardwood with a timber handrail gives the appearance of a timber staircase without the structural work, and it is considerably cheaper than building one.