Design and build contractors, Nanyuki
We build houses on this side of the mountain.Drawings to keys, one firm.
We design and build houses around Nanyuki and across the Mount Kenya region, from the first drawing through county approval to the day you get the keys. We also run our own kiln and joinery workshop, so the doors, ceilings, floors and fitted units in your house are made by us.
- Our own kiln and joinery workshop
- Architectural and structural drawings in house
- Fixed, itemised contract sums
Free tool
What will your house actually cost?
Set the size, the finish and the county. Tick the water, the waste, the approvals and the boundary wall. You get the whole budget rather than the pretty part of it, plus a rough list of materials to order. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Open data
What materials cost, county by county
55 items covering cement, steel, stone, sand, mabati, timber, labour and professional fees, adjusted for how far the lorry has to come. Reviewed August 2026, published free for anyone to use, with an API if you want to build on it.
What we build
From a one room cabin to a four floor block
A family house, a cottage that pays for itself on Airbnb, rental units, a farmhouse with no mains anything, or the extension you should have built five years ago.
Bungalows
A bungalow is everything on one level. It is the most common house built in Kenya and usually the cheapest way to get a given number of bedrooms, because there is no staircase, no suspended slab and no second scaffold.
A 3 bedroom bungalow around Nanyuki normally lands between KES 5.5M and KES 10M all in.
Maisonettes
A maisonette is a house on two or three floors with its own entrance. It is what people build when the plot is small, when the view is worth reaching for, or when they simply want the bedrooms separate from the living space.
A 4 bedroom maisonette normally lands between KES 9M and KES 18M all in.
Holiday homes and Airbnb units
Nanyuki has become one of the strongest short stay markets in Kenya. Building for guests is not the same as building for yourself, because every decision has to be judged against what it adds to the nightly rate and how it survives a stranger using it.
A well finished one or two bedroom cottage typically runs KES 3.5M to KES 9M, furnished.
Rental houses and bedsitters
Rental blocks are judged on one number, which is what a unit costs to build against what it earns each month. Everything else follows from that, including the finishes, the layout and how much you should spend on the parts tenants never see.
Bedsitters commonly cost KES 550k to KES 900k per unit, one bedrooms KES 900k to KES 1.6M.
Tiny homes and cabins
A tiny home is a small, well designed house, usually under 50 square metres. Done properly it feels deliberate rather than cramped. Done badly it is a shed with a bed in it, and the whole difference is in the detailing.
A well built cabin of 30 to 50 square metres usually costs KES 1.5M to KES 4M.
Off grid homes
Off grid means the house makes its own power, finds its own water and deals with its own waste. Around Laikipia people mostly do it for practical reasons, because the nearest transformer is three kilometres away and nobody is coming to move it.
Services on a fully off grid house typically add KES 1.5M to KES 4M to the build.
How we work
Seven stages, one firm answerable for all of them
Most builds go wrong in the gaps between the architect, the engineer and the contractor. There are no gaps here, because we do all three. Nobody can blame anybody else and you have one number to call.
- 01
Concept and feasibility
We work out what your plot can take, what it will cost and whether the idea works, before you spend anything on drawings.
1 to 2 weeks
- 02
Architectural design and drawings
Full architectural drawings for your bungalow, maisonette or apartment block, drawn by people who will have to build them.
3 to 5 weeks
- 03
Structural and civil engineering
Foundations, slabs, columns and roof structures designed and calculated for the ground you are actually building on.
2 to 3 weeks
- 04
County approvals and permits
We prepare and submit the drawings, then follow the approval through the county on your behalf.
4 to 8 weeks, depending on the county
- 05
Construction and concrete works
Stone and concrete construction by our own team. Foundation, walling, slabs, roofing and plaster.
Programmed per project
- 06
Joinery and interior fit out
Doors, ceilings, floors, wardrobes and furniture, milled in our own workshop from timber we dried ourselves.
Runs alongside finishing
- 07
Snagging and handover
We walk the house with you, fix the list, and hand over a finished home rather than a nearly finished one.
1 to 2 weeks
What makes us different
We are the ones who have to come back and fix a warped door
Almost every contractor in Kenya subcontracts the joinery. We mill ours in our own workshop, from timber we dried in our own kiln. Doors, ceilings, floors, wardrobes, kitchens and furniture.
Drying timber properly takes weeks and costs money, which is exactly why it is the step most often skipped. Undried timber shrinks and twists once it is inside a warm finished house. Doors stop closing, floors gap, wardrobe doors go crooked. Because we build the house and make what goes into it, that problem lands on our desk, so we have every reason to get it right the first time.
Our work
Follow a build, stage by stage
Every project on this site is published as a timeline, including the jobs still on site, so you can see exactly how far they have reached.
Design & build
Main house, utility house and DSQ, Sweetwaters
Sweetwaters, near Ol Pejeta, Laikipia County
Three buildings on one plot at Sweetwaters, next to Ol Pejeta: a main house, a utility house and staff quarters. Built in machine cut stone with a reinforced concrete frame. The main house and utility house are now roofed and the job has moved inside.
Design & build
Pool and pool house, Lolldaiga
Lolldaiga Hills, Laikipia County
A swimming pool with an arched pool house on open Laikipia rangeland, on a plot ringed by acacia woodland with no mains anything. Setting out began in the rains. The structure is now up to ring beam level and the curved pool terrace has been formed.
Budget
What does it actually cost to build in Kenya?
The question everyone asks first, and the one most contractors dodge. Here are honest market ranges. Then talk to us about your particular plot.
| House type | Typical size | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|
| 2 bedroom bungalow | about 80 to 100 m² | KES 3.5M to 7M |
| 3 bedroom bungalow | about 110 to 140 m² | KES 5.5M to 10M |
| 4 bedroom maisonette | about 180 to 250 m² | KES 9M to 18M |
| 5 bedroom maisonette | about 250 to 350 m² | KES 14M to 30M and up |
| 1 bedroom cottage or Airbnb unit | about 50 to 70 m² | KES 3.5M to 6M |
| Bedsitter block, per unit | about 18 to 25 m² | KES 550k to 900k |
Indicative market ranges reviewed August 2026. Your figure depends on the plot, the ground, the finish and the programme.
Where we build
Nanyuki, and the country around it
Building in Timau is a different job from building in Isiolo. The ground, the water, the weather and the county all change, and so does the price.
Tell us about your plot
Send the location, the plot size and a rough idea of the house you want. We will come back with an honest budget range and what the next step should be.