Mild Steel Railings in Nairobi: Galvanised, Not Just Painted

Painted mild steel is the false economy of Kenyan metalwork

Mild steel is strong, cheap, easy to work and it rusts. Paint slows that down; it does not stop it. Water gets in at the welds and the cut ends, and within two rainy seasons a painted external railing is bleeding rust down the wall it is fixed to.

Hot-dip galvanising then powder coating costs meaningfully more up front and lasts many times longer, because the zinc protects the steel even where the coating is scratched.

For anything outdoors we quote galvanised as standard and painted as the cheaper option, rather than the other way round. That is the opposite of how it is usually presented.

What we make in mild steel

Balcony and terrace railings, staircase balustrades, boundary and perimeter railings, mezzanine edge protection, and Juliet balconies. Mild steel takes decorative work (scrollwork, forged detail, panel infills) far more readily than stainless.

Rates

KES 3,000 – 5,000 per metre painted, 5,000 – 8,000 per metre galvanised and powder coated, installed. The gap between those two numbers is the whole argument of this page.

Spacing and height

A balustrade protecting a drop needs to do two things: be high enough, and have gaps small enough that a child cannot pass through. 100mm maximum gap is the working rule, and horizontal members that form a ladder should be avoided anywhere children use.

We build to that as standard. Where a client wants a wide-spaced horizontal design for the look, we will say plainly what it does and does not do.

Welds

Welds are ground back and dressed before finishing, not left proud and covered in paint. A weld that has been filled rather than ground is the commonest defect we are called to look at, and it is where the rust starts.