Your ceiling can either make or break your home. You would want to incorporate a good ceiling that will complement your environment, aesthetic and most importantly, price. The latter is the main agenda for today. It is important to know the types of ceilings in Kenya and the ceiling prices in Kenya. This will also help you align with the rest of the construction processes with little to no ceiling-related hiccups. Let’s get started!
Factors that make up a good ceiling for your construction needs
Choosing how a ceiling would look and the products it should be made of is absolutely important in making your space beautiful. Before selecting what products you should use for your ceiling, these are the factors that make a good ceiling.
Durability
A must withstand any pressure and not easily get disfigured or broken by any force to make sure it is safe for the people that stay or work beneath the ceiling of a certain room.
Long-lasting
No one would want a ceiling that easily leaks or wears out. A ceiling built to be long-lasting would mean fewer repairs should be done which equals less money.
Made with high-quality products
Anything that is made with high-quality products is sure to give your money’s worth. Though some high-quality products might not be cheap, there’s a lot more you can get from allotting more bucks than the other cheap quality made ones that will surely make you regret later on.
Now that you are familiar with what to look out for when it comes to ceilings for your construction needs. Here are the types of ceiling boards and their prices in Kenya.
Ceiling types and prices in Kenya
In recent years, new ceiling materials have emerged such as the uPVC, copper and vinyl-suspended ceilings.
The budget, aesthetic taste of the homeowner/user and the usage of the room will determine the type of ceiling to be used. Additionally, this will also influence the ceiling board prices in Kenya. Hospitals, offices, schools and residential houses have each different types of ceilings.
uPVC ceiling prices
This is relatively new in Kenya. UPVC ceiling prices in Kenya are going around kes 450 per m2 for the ceiling and kes 300 per m2 for the labour to fix the ceiling.
It’s labour-intensive so there will be a slight increase in labour costs. It uses fewer timber support joists since it comes in form of interlocking strips which join each other.
Its waterproof nature is a huge advantage since most roofs are prone to leaking at one point in their life. They come in a wide array of colours.
Soft board ceiling prices
These are very common in Kenya though they are slowly being replaced by uPVC ceilings.
They cost approximately kes 700 per metre squared(m2) while the labour is around kes 200 per m2. They use more timber support joists compared to uPVC ceilings. Their advantage is that they are faster to fix hence saving on labour costs.
They get frequently damaged by leaking water from the roofs and hence require frequent repair.
They come in various embedded patterns and are mostly white in colour.
T n G ceiling board prices.
Wood is a natural material which gives ceilings a warm and beautiful look. However, the wood used must be processed to extend its useful life such as wood impregnation and wood drying (to reduce shrinkage and prevent fungus, snout beetle, termite and mushroom) and coating the wood with teak oil.
These particular boards are made from tongue and groove hardwood timber.
The tongue and groove board prices in Kenya are approximately kes 1200 per m2 plus kes 300 per m2 for labour. They are labour-intensive so the labour costs will be high.
They are mostly varnished to bring out the natural hardwood finish which makes the rooms warm and cosy. They are very common in high-end homes in up-market suburbs such as Karen and Muthaiga.
They bring out the Feng Shui aspect of comfort and health within the interiors since they are natural.
Gypsum ceilings.
Generally, a gypsum board in Kenya is made of compressed gypsum powder covered by cardboard. Standard sizes are 0.6 x 0.6 m. and 0.6 x 1.2 m. Thickness available is 8, 9, 12 and 16 mm.
Gypsum ceilings normally used T-bar and concealing types which provide smooth joints. Moreover, gypsum is light weighted, easy to cut and convenient to transport and install. However, if the site area is damp like in the bathroom, a gypsum board is not recommended.
Gypsum ceiling prices in Kenya cost approximately kes 1000 per m2 plus kes 300 per m2 for labour.
Suspended board ceilings.
They are also known as drop ceilings. It is a flat ceiling that has been built below an existing ceiling. It is ideal for hiding wires and other mechanical fixtures from an old ceiling in a stylish way.
Suspended board ceilings in Kenya are made up of a lightweight, acoustic panel and a suspended metal grid attached to the existing ceiling with the panels inserted into the grid.
These are mostly used in offices and banking halls where the floor-to-ceiling height is high enough, at least higher than 3m, to allow for the ceilings to be suspended.
The suspended grid rails cost kes 200-300 per m2. Insulation tile backing would be an additional kes 300 per square metre and the decorative rail covers would be kes 200 per square metre. Installation would approximately cost you an average of kes500 per m2.
Bottom line
There are several choices of materials for the ceiling to choose from, for example, wood is a good choice if you need aesthetics, gypsum board has even edge joints while fibre cement board is available as artificial wood and board. You can use these ceiling prices in Kenya to suit your homely objective.
