Guides
Aluminium Windows in Kenya: Residential and Project Supply
Nairobi and Mombasa are a day apart by road and two climates apart in the specification. A Nairobi apartment block wants glass that holds a cool morning in and traffic noise out; a Mombasa hotel wants a coating that survives salt on the hardware and a unit that carries the conditioning load. This guide sets out how a Kenyan order is split, specified and packed.
One country, two specifications
The split is the first decision, not the last. Highland work at altitude runs mild and dry, with cool mornings and warm afternoons, so a single pane is comfortable on a sheltered face and an insulating unit is chosen for quiet rather than for heat. Coastal work runs hot and humid with salt in the air all year, and there the unit pays for itself. Splitting the schedule by city costs nothing at quotation stage.
Nairobi: cool air, dust and traffic noise
A Nairobi window has to close against road noise as much as against weather, and the two requirements pull the same way: a heavier build, an even compression line and a frame that does not rattle. The 110 series casement, five chambers on a 1.4 mm wall, covers living-room fronts, while the 50 series keeps bedrooms on a 50 mm frame. Thermal transfer wood grain suits the stone and timber elevations common on the city estates.
Mombasa and Lamu: salt on the hardware
Salt reaches a coastal window as a film rather than a splash, and it works first at cut edges, screw heads and the sliding track. Fluorocarbon holds colour and edge coverage longest in that air, quoted with a stainless track and EPDM foam gaskets at every leaf. Open drainage under the sill matters too, because a channel that holds water stays wet long after the rain has gone. A coastal schedule also gains from keeping one hardware specification across windows and doors, so a spares box serves the whole block.
Series for housing, apartments and hotels
Housing and apartment work resolves to three lines: the 50 series casement for bedrooms, the 110 series for the rooms a family sits in, and the 95 series sliding window for the long balcony fronts that coastal blocks are built around. Hotel and resort work adds a terrace door, where the 35x16 slim sliding door keeps the frame line thin, and one finish carries across windows and doors.
Packing, ports and the first enquiry
Mombasa and Lamu both take full containers, and the packing plan differs by route because one shipment runs a short sea leg and the other transfers up the coast. Frames can travel separately from glass so a site glazes as each block is closed. Send the opening schedule, the split by city, the finish and the unit count; the reply carries the dimensional pack as a PDF with CAD on request. A mixed container is packed by site rather than by item, so the first block can be installed while the second is still on the water.
FAQ
Frequently asked
Why does a Kenyan order need two specifications?
Because the highlands and the coast ask the frame to do different work. Highland air is mild and dry, so a single pane is comfortable and an insulating unit is bought for quiet. Coastal air is hot, humid and salty, so the unit holds the conditioning load and the finish has to resist chloride. One schedule, two builds, quoted together.
What glass goes into a Nairobi apartment?
Standard 5-20 A-5 insulating glass is the usual build where road noise or an exposed elevation matters, with single glass acceptable on a sheltered face. The cavity is written on the order because the bead is cut to it, and a triple build can be quoted where a room faces a busy road.
Which hardware survives Mombasa air?
A stainless track on the sliding lines, ball-bearing rollers so the sash keeps its line, and a keyed multi-point lock that pulls the leaf onto its gasket. Hardware in coastal air fails at the moving parts first, so ask for the track material in writing rather than reading it from a picture.
Can one container serve both cities?
It can, though the pack is usually marked for the site that receives it. Frames and glass can ship in separate crates so a highland block and a coastal block are not waiting on each other. Ask for the packing list with the quotation, since the marks and the loading plan are settled together.
What should a first Kenyan enquiry contain?
Opening sizes and the opening type, the city or region for each item, the glass direction, the finish code and the unit count. Add the drawings where they exist. The reply then returns the dimensional pack as a PDF with CAD on request, samples on request, and lead time confirmed with the quotation.
Send your opening schedule
Series, glazing and finish come back as one quotation, with the full dimensional pack on PDF and CAD on request.