Should we knock out the old pantry?

Usually not. Lavington's 1970s pantries are deep, well positioned and structurally part of the plan. Converted into a walk-in store with proper shelving and light they add more than the two metres of wall you would gain by removing one.

Our walls are solid stone. Does that complicate the fitting?

It slows it rather than complicating it. Machine-cut stone takes resin anchors very well but needs the right drill and patience. What it does not take is a standard plastic plug, which is how wall units end up sagging in these houses.

Plumber in Lavington, Nairobi

We cover Lavington including Valley Arcade, Hatheru Road, Kingara Road, Jamhuri, Amboseli, Muthangari, James Gichuru Road. Off James Gichuru Road and Gitanga Road. Most plots have a rear service entrance that takes a delivery vehicle more easily than the main gate.

What is different about plumbing in Lavington

Lavington houses around Hatheru Road built in the 1970s have deep original pantries that convert into a walk-in store far better than they demolish.
Valley Arcade properties have solid stone walls where fixing a wall unit needs resin anchors rather than the standard plugs used on block.
Kingara Road kitchens are often long and narrow, so a galley run with a single tall bank works better than an island that blocks the through route.

Kitchens and joinery in Lavington

Lavington’s houses are substantial and mostly built in the 1970s, and both facts shape the joinery. Rooms are generous, walls are solid, and the original plan usually included storage that modern layouts have forgotten about.

Do not demolish the pantry

Almost every 1970s Lavington house has a deep pantry off the kitchen, and clients frequently arrive wanting it gone to open up the room.

Converted properly (full-height shelving, a light that comes on with the door, a worktop for the appliances that clutter a kitchen) it is worth more than the wall length you would recover. It is also the cheapest storage in the house, because the structure already exists.

We will always propose keeping it, and we will build the open-plan version if you would rather.

Solid stone walls

The machine-cut stone in these houses is excellent to fix into and unforgiving of the wrong method. Resin anchors hold beautifully. Standard plastic plugs do not, which is why so many wall units in older Lavington houses sag slightly at one end.

It is slower to drill and it costs a little more in fixings. It is not optional on a loaded wall unit.

Long, narrow kitchens

The Kingara Road and Muthangari stock tends to have kitchens that are long and comparatively narrow, often with a door at each end. That geometry rules out an island (it would block the through route that makes the room work) but suits a full galley run with one tall bank at the closed end.

Clients often arrive wanting an island because the kitchen is large. Large is not the same as wide, and we will measure before agreeing.

What we are usually called out for in Lavington

Fitted kitchens Kitchens templated against your actual walls and built in our own workshop, not flat-packed. Bedroom wardrobes Built-in wardrobes that use the full wall and the full height, with internals planned around what you actually own. Walk-in closets Dressing rooms configured around a real inventory, with ventilation and lighting designed in. TV and wall units Built-in media walls and storage with cable routes, ventilation and fixings designed for the wall you actually have.

Landmarks we work around here: Valley Arcade shopping centre, Lavington Green, James Gichuru Road, Kingara Road. See what fitted joinery costs.