Our house is new. Why can we not lay wood?

Because a new slab is still giving off water, and here the ground underneath keeps feeding it. Timber over a damp slab cups and lifts, and it is not a manufacturing fault, it is moisture. We test first. If the reading is high, SPC or tile now, or timber later once it has dried.

How long does a slab take to dry?

The rule of thumb is a day per millimetre for the first 50mm, and in Syokimau it is routinely longer because the ground holds water and the humidity is high through the rains. The only honest answer comes from a meter rather than a calendar, and the test costs very little against a floor that fails.

Plumber in Syokimau, Nairobi

We cover Syokimau including Katani, Mlolongo, Gateway, Airport View, Signature Mall area, Kwa Njenga side. Off Mombasa Road south of the airport. Wide plots, easy delivery, and largely unsurfaced internal roads.

What is different about plumbing in Syokimau

Syokimau houses are new, so their slabs are frequently still releasing moisture when owners are ready to lay a floor over them.
The ground through Katani and Mlolongo holds water, which keeps ground-floor slabs reading damp for far longer than the calendar suggests.
That combination makes SPC and tile the safe choices here, and it is why we test a Syokimau slab before quoting rather than after.

Flooring in Syokimau

Syokimau is almost entirely new housing, and new housing means new slabs. That single fact governs every flooring decision here.

Why the slab matters more than the floor

A concrete slab releases water for a long time after it is poured, and an impermeable floor finish laid over it traps that water at the interface. Timber cups. Vinyl bubbles and lifts at the seams. Epoxy loses its bond and peels in sheets.

None of this is a defect in the flooring. It is moisture, and it is entirely predictable.

The ground here makes it worse

Syokimau and Mlolongo sit on ground that holds water. A ground-floor slab is not only drying from its own pour, it is in contact with soil that stays wet through the long rains. Readings here stay elevated well past the point where a Karen or Runda slab would be dry.

What we do about it

We meter the slab before quoting, which takes very little and changes the recommendation entirely.

Where the reading is high, the choices are honest: SPC or tile, both of which tolerate a damp slab; a surface damp-proof membrane, which costs money and works; or waiting. We will tell you which applies rather than laying what you asked for and letting the floor make the argument in six months.

What we are usually called out for in Syokimau

Vinyl and SPC installation SPC and vinyl plank laid over a properly levelled subfloor: quick, waterproof and genuinely good value. Floor and wall tiling Ceramic, porcelain and large-format tiling laid flat, with the labour and material costs shown separately. Epoxy floor installation Epoxy laid on a slab that has been tested and prepared, the step that decides whether it lasts. Floor repair Diagnosing why a floor failed before repairing it, so the repair is not the first of several.

Landmarks we work around here: Signature Mall, SGR Syokimau Terminus, Gateway Mall, Katani Road. See every floor type priced.