How much should waterproofing cost in a Dubai villa?

Waterproofing cost depends on the surface and the detail, not on a rate per square metre printed in a brochure. A leak on a roof, a terrace, a bathroom floor or a basement wall each needs a different method, a different membrane and a different amount of labour around the drains and edges.

Corvana does the waterproofing on a villa job as part of the renovation, or as a repair on its own. Our villa waterproofing service explains the work itself. This page answers the question behind the search: what it should cost, and what moves the figure up or down.

What moves the waterproofing cost?

• Surface area. Square metres of roof, terrace or wet area, measured on site rather than read off the plan.
• The system. A liquid membrane, a sheet membrane or a cementitious coating. Each has its own material cost and its own drying time between coats.
• The old layers. Laying over a sound membrane costs less than stripping it back to the slab. The water test decides which one the surface needs.
• The details. Drains, upstands, pipe penetrations and door thresholds take the most hand work per metre, and most failures start there.
• Access and the community. A gate pass, a work request or a crane for the roof adds time and cost before the first coat goes on.

What does waterproofing cost by surface?

Each surface has its own cost drivers. Knowing them tells you where the money in a quote goes, and which line to question if one looks wrong.

• Roof and parapets. Usually the largest area and the most sun. The price rests on the membrane named in the brief, the upstand height and a water test before the finish goes back. Our roof waterproofing page covers the detail.
• Terraces and balconies. Priced on the fall to the drains and the joint at each door threshold. A terrace with its tiles lifted costs more than one where a coating goes over the existing finish.
• Bathrooms and wet areas. Laid under the tiles as part of the bathroom renovation, so the waterproofing sits inside the bathroom price rather than as a separate line.
• Basements. The most variable. The water table, the wall type and whether the work is internal or external decide the method, so we want a site visit before we put a figure on it.

Where a figure is missing from this page, the reason is that we have not yet seen the surface. A written price follows a site visit or a set of photos, and we send it on WhatsApp with the scope written out line by line.

Keeping the waterproofing cost down

Mostly by catching the leak early. A stain found in its first season usually means a patch of membrane and a repaint. The same leak left through several summers can mean the screed, the tiles and the ceiling below all coming out. Ask for the water test in writing before the finish goes back, and ask the warranty question before you sign: how many years, what it covers and what would void it.

If the work is part of a wider renovation, the renovation timing guide shows how the waterproofing step sits in the programme, and phasing the works shows where it belongs in the order of the work.

Send us a photo of the stain