Meru County
Building in Timau
Timau sits higher up the mountain on the Meru side, in serious farming country. The plots are bigger, the views are better and the weather is harder on a building than anywhere else we work.
What people are building here
- Farmhouses and country homes on shamba and ranch land
- Guest cottages on farms
- Farm stores, pack houses and staff housing
What changes the design and the price in Timau
It is genuinely cold
Insulation in the roof and a fireplace or wood stove are not luxuries at this altitude, they are what makes the house usable in July. Single skin walls and an uninsulated roof make a house that is expensive to heat and unpleasant at dawn.
Rain and drainage
More rain than Nanyuki, and it arrives hard. Ground falls away from the mountain, so surface water has to be led around the house deliberately. Gutters, aprons and a drainage plan are part of the design, not something added when the first storm reveals the problem.
Access decides the programme
Farm tracks that are fine in January stop a loaded lorry in April. We plan deliveries around the rains and improve the access road first where it is needed, because materials handled twice cost twice.
Approvals
Timau falls under Meru County. Rural agricultural land still requires approval, and it is worth starting early because the county offices are in Meru town.
What materials cost here
Strong local stone supply. Access roads on shamba plots are often the deciding factor on the final price.
Materials here run about 1 percent below our Laikipia base price on the same items.
Have a plot in Timau?
Send us the location and roughly what you want to build. We will visit, look at the ground and come back with an honest figure.