Our floor is old terrazzo and looks dull. Replace or restore?

Restore, in almost every case. Terrazzo does not wear out, it loses its polish, and grinding it back with progressively finer diamonds returns it to better than new for a fraction of what tiling over it costs. If the brass dividers are still there, and in South C houses they usually are, you get a floor nobody can buy new.

Can you work around us living in the house?

Yes, and on a two-storey maisonette that is the normal arrangement. We do one level at a time so you always have a floor to use, and grinding is wet, so it is contained and cleaned rather than dusty. Each level needs a couple of days before it is walkable.

Plumber in South B and South C, Nairobi

We cover South B and South C including Mater area, Golden Gate, Balozi, Hazina, Plainsview, Kariobangi South side, Mugoya. Off Mombasa Road and Lang'ata Road. Established estates with straightforward parking and easy loading.

What is different about plumbing in South B and South C

The Mugoya and Hazina maisonettes were built with in-situ terrazzo floors, and grinding those back costs far less than covering them with tile.
Sixties terrazzo in South C was laid with brass divider strips that are usually intact under the dulling, and repolishing brings them back rather than replacing them.
Because the Mugoya and Balozi maisonettes are two-storey family homes, we phase the grinding level by level so the household keeps a usable floor throughout.

Flooring in South B and South C

These estates have the best original floors in the network and most owners do not know it.

What is under the dust

The Mugoya, Hazina and Golden Gate houses were built in the sixties and seventies with in-situ terrazzo, poured and ground on site. That was standard then and it is close to unaffordable now.

Terrazzo does not wear out. It loses its shine, gets covered in a haze of old polish and sealer, and looks tired. Underneath, the material is intact.

Grinding beats covering

Tiling over a sound terrazzo floor costs more, raises the floor level enough to foul the doors, and replaces a better material with a worse one.

Grinding back through progressive diamond grits removes the dulled surface and exposes fresh stone. The result is a floor with more depth than any tile, and the brass divider strips, which in South C houses are usually still there and still straight, come back with it.

Phasing a two-storey house

We work a level at a time so the household always has somewhere to be. Grinding is a wet process, which means slurry rather than dust, contained and cleaned as we go. Each level is walkable within a couple of days and fully cured shortly after.

What we are usually called out for in South B and South C

Terrazzo polishing and restoration Grinding, grouting and repolishing existing terrazzo, usually cheaper and better than covering it. Floor repair Diagnosing why a floor failed before repairing it, so the repair is not the first of several. Floor and wall tiling Ceramic, porcelain and large-format tiling laid flat, with the labour and material costs shown separately. Floor sanding and varnishing Sanding back and refinishing timber and parquet, usually far cheaper than replacing.

Landmarks we work around here: Mater Hospital, Capital Centre, Nairobi West Shopping Centre, Wilson Airport. See every floor type priced.