Cabro prices in Kenya: what decides the cost per m²

1. Cabro is sold per square metre

Not per block. A square metre takes roughly 45–50 blocks of the standard 220 × 110 mm face, and contractors budget 50. If someone quotes per block, multiply by 50 to compare. Add 5–10% to the measured area for cuts and breakage.

2. Thickness moves the price most

More concrete per block, more pressing time, more weight to transport. 50mm is cheapest, 80mm dearest. See which thickness you actually need before comparing prices, because a cheap 50mm quote for a lorry route is not a bargain.

3. Colour adds a fixed amount

Grey is the standard and the cheapest. Red, charcoal, yellow, terracotta and green cost more because pigment costs more. It does not change the strength. The premium is usually a fixed amount per m² across all thicknesses.

4. Shape changes it a little

Most interlocking shapes — unipaver, trihex, dumbbell, cross, quad — cost about the same. Decorative products such as 3D hexagon and circle kits can cost more because of the extra moulds and colour sorting.

5. Transport is a separate line

Blocks are heavy: 1 m² of 60mm cabro weighs around 130 kg. Transport is quoted per lorry trip by distance, so one full load is much cheaper per m² than three small ones. Ask whether the price you are given includes delivery to your site.

6. The base can cost more than the blocks

On firm red soil the base is excavation, 150mm of hardcore, blinding and sand. On black cotton soil — Syokimau, Kitengela, Athi River, Juja Farm, parts of Ruiru and the east of Nairobi — it is all of that plus digging out 300mm or more of black soil and replacing it with murram. That line can be the biggest on the quote and it is the one cheap quotes leave out.

7. Laying is priced per m², kerbs per metre

Laying (sand bedding, screeding, laying, cutting, joint sand, compaction) is a per-m² rate. Kerbs or a concrete haunch are priced per metre of edge. Both should be separate lines so you can see them.

How to compare two quotes

1. Same thickness? Same colour? Same shape?
2. Does each include transport to your site?
3. Does each include the base — excavation, murram, hardcore, compaction — and to what depth?
4. Are kerbs included, and how many metres?
5. Is the block machine-pressed and cured 28 days? A weaker block at a lower price is not cheaper.

Only after all five match is the lower total the better deal.

Studiogrey prices

Our prices move with cement and pigment costs, so we do not print a figure that may be out of date by the time you read it. Ask for today's list — it takes a minute on WhatsApp — and it states what is included.