Can my island be made from one piece?

Usually yes in a Karen house, which is exactly why we survey the route first. A single slab avoids a seam across the most visible surface in the kitchen, but it has to physically reach the room, and it must be carried on edge. Carried flat, a slab that size breaks under its own weight.

Why is templating so slow in an older Karen house?

Because nothing is square. We scribe the back edge to the actual wall rather than cutting a straight line and filling the gap with silicone. It takes longer at template and it is the difference between a top that fits and one that has a visible taper against the wall.

Plumber in Karen, Nairobi

We cover Karen including Bogani, Hardy, Karen Centre, Miotoni, Marula Lane, Kerarapon, Karen Plains, Mokoyeti, Windridge, Kuwinda. Off Ngong Road and Langata Road via Karen roundabout. Slab vehicles need estate clearance a day ahead.

What is different about plumbing in Karen

Karen islands routinely exceed three metres, which means a single slab, a six-man lift and a delivery route surveyed before anything is cut.
Karen island tops routinely overhang for seating, and past about 300mm of unsupported granite the projection has to be bracketed back to the carcass.
The older Karen stone houses have walls out of square by enough that a worktop is scribed to the wall rather than cut square to the plan.

Countertops in Karen

Karen produces the largest pieces we fabricate and the least square rooms we fit them into. Both facts shape how the work is planned.

Islands are a logistics problem before they are a stone problem

An island top over three metres is common here, and clients rightly want it in one piece, a seam across the middle of the most looked-at surface in the kitchen is worth avoiding.

That is achievable, and it means a slab that must travel on an A-frame, come through a gate that has been cleared in advance, and be carried on edge by enough people. We survey the whole route before cutting, because the point of failure is never the workshop.

Scribing, not cutting straight

The stone houses across Bogani, Miotoni and Karen Plains were built well and not precisely. A wall can bow enough over three metres that a straight-cut worktop leaves a visible wedge at one end.

We template the actual wall line and scribe the back edge to it. It is slower and it is why a properly fitted top in an old house looks like it was made for the room.

Hard water and sealing

Most Karen plots run on borehole water, and it is hard. Around a sink, unsealed granite picks up deposits and staining within a season.

We seal before handover and we tell you the reseal interval: annually is right for a working kitchen here. The test is simple enough to do yourself: water left on the surface for fifteen minutes should not darken the stone.

What we are usually called out for in Karen

Granite countertops Granite templated on site, cut and polished in our workshop, and sealed before handover. Quartz countertops Engineered quartz: non-porous, consistent and sealing-free, at a premium over granite. Marble countertops Marble for those who want it, with a frank account of etching, staining and where it belongs. Repair, resealing and polishing Chips, etching, dull patches and staining: most of it fixable in place, without replacing the top.

Landmarks we work around here: Karen Shopping Centre, Karen Country Club, Ngong Racecourse, Karen Blixen Museum. See what countertops cost.