Can you match our original ironwork?

Usually. Original forged profiles are not catalogue items, so they are made rather than bought: we take a section from an existing piece and reproduce it. That is a programme cost rather than a large material one, and it is the item most often underestimated on a period house.

Should we restore the old gates or replace them?

Restore, in nearly every case. Genuine wrought iron is better metalwork than anything made to a domestic budget today. Shot-blasted, repaired, re-galvanised and coated, an original Muthaiga gate outlasts its replacement and suits the house.

Plumber in Muthaiga, Nairobi

We cover Muthaiga including Old Muthaiga, Muthaiga North, Thigiri, Muthaiga Golf Club area, Kitisuru Road end. Off Limuru Road and Muthaiga Road. Narrow service entrances mean long sections are checked against the route before fabrication.

What is different about plumbing in Muthaiga

Old Muthaiga houses have original wrought iron gates and railings where matching a forged profile matters far more than any catalogue pattern.
Muthaiga North boundary walls are established stone, so new railing standards are cored into them rather than bolted to the face.
Period Muthaiga stairwells have generous headroom that allows a full-height balustrade design a modern flat could not take.

Metalwork in Muthaiga

Muthaiga’s houses came with metalwork made when it was made properly. The first question here is usually what to keep.

Forged, not bent

Genuine wrought iron is forged: worked hot, with the profile shaped rather than cut from flat bar. A modern mild steel replacement copies the outline and misses the depth, and against a period house the difference is immediately visible.

We take a section from an existing piece and reproduce it. It is slower than ordering a pattern and it is the only way to match.

Coring into established stone

Muthaiga boundary walls are substantial stone, and a railing bolted to the face of one relies on the mortar rather than the stone.

Standards are cored in and grouted or chemically anchored, which puts the load into the wall itself. It is slower, it needs the right equipment, and it is the difference between a railing that stays put and one that works loose over a few seasons.

Height as an opportunity

The generous stairwell headroom in these houses allows full-height balustrade designs that a modern apartment simply cannot take. It is one of the few places where the period building gives you more options rather than fewer, and it is worth using.

What we are usually called out for in Muthaiga

Mild steel railings Mild steel railings, galvanised and powder coated rather than painted, for balconies, stairs and boundaries. Gates and perimeter Sliding, swing and pedestrian gates built for the ground they actually run on. Steel staircases Straight, dog-leg and floating steel stairs, set out from measured levels rather than a drawing. Window grills Grills made to each opening, with spacing that resists entry and at least one escape route per floor.

Landmarks we work around here: Muthaiga Golf Club, Limuru Road, Muthaiga Country Club, Aga Khan Hospital. See what railings cost.