For the 2-storey, 12-column house used across this site's estimate series (16 doors, 10 windows and 4 ventilators), doors and windows cost about Rs 4.8 lakh with local wood frames and aluminium windows, Rs 6.7 lakh with sal doors and UPVC windows, and Rs 11.2 lakh with sal wood throughout, at Suryabinayak Municipality's 2081/82 rates. That is roughly Rs 250 to Rs 600 per sq ft of built-up area. The choice of material moves the total far more than the number of openings, so the useful way to estimate is to price each opening type separately and then pick a material for each.
This guide shows how to measure frames (chaukosh) in m³, shutters in m², aluminium and UPVC windows by area, and grills by weight, with every rate taken from a published municipal rate analysis. If you want the sizes first, read standard room, door and window sizes in Nepal.
How doors and windows are priced in Nepal
A door or window is not one item in a rate analysis. It is split into parts, and each part has its own unit:
- Frame (chaukosh or chaukhat): measured as a volume of timber in m³ (or cft at the timber yard). Sal is the hard, durable choice; "local wood" means cheaper species such as salla (pine) or other local timber.
- Shutter (khapa): measured in m² of shutter. Types are solid (dila), panelled with glass, flush (plywood both faces on a timber frame) and mosquito-proof (wire mesh).
- Aluminium and UPVC windows and doors: priced by area of the unit, frame and glass included. Aluminium is usually quoted per sq ft and UPVC per m².
- Grill: priced by weight in kg.
- Hardware: hinges, tower bolts, handles, locks and stoppers. These are not priced as separate items in the rate analysis used here, so ask whether your quote includes them.
Rates used in this article
All rates below are from the Suryabinayak Municipality rate analysis for FY 2081/82 (Bhaktapur district). Wood rates include the 15% contractor's overhead. For the aluminium and UPVC rows the PDF prints two figures without clear column labels; both are shown and this article uses the higher one.
| Item (as in the rate analysis) | Unit | Rate (Rs) |
|---|---|---|
| Sal wood work for door and window chaukosh | m³ | 3,25,337.99 |
| Local wood work for door and window chaukosh | m³ | 1,26,207.88 |
| 38 mm dila (solid) shutter, sal wood | m² | 17,248.67 |
| 38 mm dila (solid) shutter, local wood | m² | 10,055.53 |
| Glass panel shutter, sal wood, 3 mm glass | m² | 12,071.87 |
| Flush door shutter, 38 mm sal frame, 4 mm waterproof ply both sides | m² | 9,696.48 |
| Flush door shutter, local wood frame, 4 mm ply | m² | 6,906.48 |
| Mosquito-proof shutter, sal wood 38 mm | m² | 6,864.78 |
| Aluminium sliding window, 5 mm glass, with ventilators | sq ft | 595.16 / 684.43 |
| UPVC sliding window with net, 5 mm glass | m² | 8,152.95 / 8,297.25 |
| UPVC casement window, 5 mm glass | m² | 8,467.09 / 8,616.95 |
| UPVC single door, full panel | m² | 9,410.64 / 9,577.20 |
| MS grill, min 5 mm, one coat red oxide | kg | 164.45 |
| 16-18 gauge rolling shutter | sq ft | 442.75 |
The same PDF notes an average grill weight of 1 kg per sq ft, which is used below. Rates in Kathmandu, Pokhara or the Terai can be quite different, and timber prices change with supply, so treat these as a worked basis and replace them with your own municipality's rate or a supplier's quote.
Step-by-step method
- Make an opening schedule. List each opening type with its clear size and count, floor by floor (D1, D2, W1, V1 and so on). Take sizes from the approved naksa, not from memory.
- Choose the frame section. Common sal frames are around 100 x 75 mm (the 100 mm side runs into the wall). Your drawing or carpenter decides; the table further down shows how much the section changes the cost.
- Find frame length. For a door with no sill: length = 2 x (H + b) + (W + 2b), where b is the frame face width. For a window with a sill: 2 x (H + 2b) + 2 x (W + 2b), plus any mullion. Add horns if your carpenter leaves them.
- Frame volume = length x section. Multiply by the m³ rate. To compare with a timber yard price in cft, 1 m³ = 35.31 cft.
- Shutter area = W x H of the opening for each shutter type, times its m² rate. Windows with both glass and mosquito shutters need both.
- Aluminium or UPVC: unit area x rate. Convert m² to sq ft with 10.764.
- Grill: window area in sq ft x 1 kg per sq ft x kg rate, or weigh a sample panel.
- Add hardware, painting or polishing, and fixing if they are not in your rates.
Worked example 1: one bedroom door and one window
A 0.9 x 2.1 m bedroom door with a 100 x 75 mm frame. Frame length = 2 x (2.1 + 0.075) + (0.9 + 0.15) = 5.40 m. Volume = 5.40 x 0.075 x 0.100 = 0.0405 m³ (1.43 cft). Shutter area = 0.9 x 2.1 = 1.89 m².
| Door option (0.9 x 2.1 m) | Frame | Shutter | Total (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sal frame + sal flush shutter | 13,176 | 18,326 | 31,503 |
| Sal frame + sal dila (solid) shutter | 13,176 | 32,600 | 45,776 |
| Local wood frame + local flush shutter | 5,111 | 13,053 | 18,165 |
| UPVC single door, full panel (frame included) | 1.89 m² x 9,577.20 | 18,101 | |
A 1.5 x 1.2 m window (1.8 m², 19.4 sq ft) with sill and one mullion: frame length 7.20 m, 0.054 m³.
- Sal frame, glass panel shutter, mosquito shutter and grill: 17,568 + 21,729 + 12,357 + 3,186 = Rs 54,840.
- Aluminium sliding with ventilators plus grill: 19.4 sq ft x 684.43 = 13,261, plus grill 3,186 = Rs 16,447 (Rs 14,717 at the lower printed rate of 595.16).
- UPVC sliding with net plus grill: 1.8 x 8,297.25 = 14,935, plus grill 3,186 = Rs 18,121.
The sal window costs about three times the aluminium or UPVC one, mainly because it needs two shutters (glass and mosquito mesh) on top of a heavy frame.
Worked example 2: the whole 2-storey house
This is the same house as the brick wall and paint posts: 175 m² (1,884 sq ft) built-up area over two floors. Per floor it has one 1.0 x 2.1 m entrance door, five 0.9 x 2.1 m doors, two 0.75 x 2.1 m bathroom or store doors, five 1.5 x 1.2 m windows and two 0.6 x 0.6 m ventilators.
| Type | Size (m) | No. | Frame length each (m) | Frame m³ each | Area each (m²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 entrance | 1.00 x 2.10 | 2 | 5.50 | 0.0413 | 2.10 |
| D2 rooms | 0.90 x 2.10 | 10 | 5.40 | 0.0405 | 1.89 |
| D3 bath/store | 0.75 x 2.10 | 4 | 5.25 | 0.0394 | 1.58 |
| W windows | 1.50 x 1.20 | 10 | 7.20 | 0.0540 | 1.80 |
| V ventilators | 0.60 x 0.60 | 4 | 3.00 | 0.0225 | 0.36 |
Totals: 29.40 m² of door openings, 18.00 m² of windows and 1.44 m² of ventilators. If every frame is timber, that is 1.275 m³ (45 cft) of frame timber, and the windows and ventilators need about 209 kg of grill (Rs 34,411).
Three common specifications priced with the rates above:
| Item | A: Sal throughout | B: Local wood doors, aluminium windows | C: Sal doors, UPVC windows and bath doors |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 entrance (2) | 99,285 | 52,645 | 99,285 |
| D2 rooms (10) | 3,15,025 | 1,81,647 | 3,15,025 |
| D3 bath/store (4) | 1,12,329 | 63,389 | 60,336 |
| W windows with grill (10) | 5,48,404 | 1,64,471 | 1,81,213 |
| V ventilators with grill (4) | 49,213 | 13,158 | 14,957 |
| Total | 11,24,256 | 4,75,309 | 6,70,817 |
| Per sq ft of built-up area | 597 | 252 | 356 |
What each option assumes: in A, entrance doors have dila shutters, other doors sal flush shutters, windows sal glass panel plus mosquito shutters, ventilators a glass panel shutter. In B, local wood frames with dila or flush local shutters, and aluminium sliding windows and ventilators. In C, sal frames with dila or flush shutters for D1 and D2, UPVC full-panel doors for bathrooms (they do not swell when wet), UPVC sliding windows with net and UPVC casement ventilators. All windows and ventilators include an MS grill.
Not included: hardware, painting or polishing (enamel on the 16 doors came to about Rs 27,800 in the paint post), main gate, railing, and any shop rolling shutter. For a shop front, a 10 x 9 ft rolling shutter at Rs 442.75 per sq ft costs about Rs 39,850.
To see where this sits in the full budget, the structure, walls, plaster, tiles and paint of the same house came to about Rs 45 lakh in the whole-house cement and steel post. Doors and windows add roughly 10% to 25% on top of that, depending on the option. The house construction cost calculator gives a quick overall figure.
How much the frame section changes the cost
Frame timber is a large part of a sal door. For one 0.9 x 2.1 m door frame:
| Section (face x depth) | Length (m) | Volume (m³) | cft | Sal (Rs) | Local wood (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 x 100 mm | 5.36 | 0.0348 | 1.23 | 11,335 | 4,397 |
| 75 x 100 mm | 5.40 | 0.0405 | 1.43 | 13,176 | 5,111 |
| 75 x 125 mm | 5.40 | 0.0506 | 1.79 | 16,470 | 6,389 |
| 100 x 125 mm | 5.50 | 0.0688 | 2.43 | 22,367 | 8,677 |
Going from 75 x 100 to 100 x 125 mm almost doubles the timber. A deeper frame is sometimes chosen so the frame covers a full one-brick (230 mm) wall face; often a 100 mm frame with a wooden or plaster architrave does the same job for less.
Choosing between sal, aluminium and UPVC
- Sal wood: strong and long-lasting, suits entrance doors and traditional designs, but it is the most expensive and needs seasoned timber. Unseasoned sal warps and cracks within a year or two.
- Local wood: cheaper; fine for internal frames if seasoned and treated, but softer and more prone to termites and moisture.
- Aluminium: the lowest-cost window in this rate list, slim frames, no painting. Sliding windows open only half the area, which matters for ventilation and escape.
- UPVC: slightly dearer than aluminium here, better seal against dust and noise, does not rot. Good for bathrooms and kitchens.
The structure does not care which you pick. NBC 205:2024 designs the RC frame to carry the walls without help from them and says openings can be placed as the plan needs; its Section 11 covers reinforcing non-load-bearing walls, including walls with openings (sill and lintel bands). Follow that section, or your engineer's drawing, for bands around large windows.
Common mistakes seen on Nepali sites
- Pricing a window as one number. A sal window is frame + glass shutter + mosquito shutter + grill + hardware. Leaving out the mosquito shutter and grill leaves out about 28% of its cost in example 1.
- Buying green timber. Frames fixed with wet sal shrink away from the plaster and shutters stop closing. Ask for seasoned wood and check the delivery before it is cut.
- Fixing frames before the plinth and floor levels are fixed. Door frames set too low end up buried by tiles; leave room for the floor finish (40 mm of tile and bed in the earthwork example).
- Comparing aluminium per sq ft with UPVC per m². 1 m² = 10.76 sq ft. Rs 8,297 per m² is Rs 771 per sq ft, not cheaper than Rs 684 per sq ft.
- Ignoring the opening schedule on the naksa. Changing window sizes on site changes lintels and may not match the approved drawing.
- Not treating the frame. Timber faces that touch masonry stay damp; give them a coat of wood preservative or bitumen before fixing.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a sal wood door cost in Nepal?
At the Suryabinayak 2081/82 rates, a 0.9 x 2.1 m door with a 100 x 75 mm sal frame and a sal flush shutter is about Rs 31,500, and about Rs 45,800 with a solid (dila) sal shutter, before hardware and polishing.
Which is cheaper, aluminium or UPVC windows?
In this rate list aluminium sliding windows are Rs 595 to Rs 684 per sq ft and UPVC sliding windows with net are Rs 8,153 to Rs 8,297 per m² (about Rs 757 to Rs 771 per sq ft), so aluminium is slightly cheaper.
How heavy is a window grill?
The rate analysis uses about 1 kg per sq ft. A 1.5 x 1.2 m window (19.4 sq ft) needs about 19 kg, roughly Rs 3,200 at Rs 164.45 per kg.
How many cft of timber do door and window frames need?
For the 16 doors, 10 windows and 4 ventilators in the example house with 100 x 75 mm frames, about 1.28 m³ or 45 cft, before cutting waste.
Related tools and guides
- Standard room, door and window sizes in Nepal
- House construction cost calculator
- Paint quantity for a house, including door painting
- All free engineering tools
- Engineering MCQ practice
Rates vary by municipality and year. Check your own municipality's current rate analysis or get two or three supplier quotes before you order.
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