Finishing in Madinaty: apartments and villas

What makes finishing in Madinaty different

Madinaty is a planned city with one management and rules that apply to every unit, so finishing here involves organisational steps that a flat in an ordinary building does not.

• One management, written rules: worker access, working hours, debris removal and any change to the outside of a building all have procedures to ask about before you start.
• Repeated models: many units are built to standard models, so the model drawings are a useful starting point for sizes and layout, but every room still has to be measured on site, because what was built can differ from the drawing.
• Apartments and villas: a flat shares a building, a lift and an entrance with neighbours; a villa has a garden, a roof and a façade. Each needs different planning.
• A desert climate: strong sun, hot summers and dust, so well-sealed windows, shading and finishes that do not fade in the sun matter here.
• Following from a distance: if you live elsewhere or abroad, agree from the start how you will follow progress and take decisions without being on site every day.

Scope the work from the handover state

The first question before any quotation is what state the unit was handed over in, because that decides the scope and the order of work. Do not assume your unit came in the same state as your neighbour's: the reference is your contract and its specification annex, not what the seller or the neighbours say.

If the unit has not been formally handed over yet, take handover first and write your remarks in the handover record, because a defect found after finishing starts is hard to trace back to its source.

Before any work: what to ask the city management

Every city and compound has its own rules, and they change from time to time, so we do not list specific rules here. What matters is to get the answers in writing from Madinaty's management or the developer before you fix any dates, and to give a copy to whoever does the work. These are the questions worth asking:

• Do I need a finishing permit or approval before starting? Which documents are needed, and who submits them: the owner or the contractor?
• Must the contractor or the workers be registered? How are gate passes issued for workers, vehicles and materials?
• What are the permitted working hours on normal days and holidays? Does noisy work have its own hours?
• Is there a deposit to pay before work and recover afterwards? On what conditions is it returned?
• How is debris removed, where does it go, and who pays for it?
• Which changes are not allowed or need approval: the façade, balconies, windows, the position of AC outdoor units, pergolas, garden walls, and any change to walls or slabs?
• In apartment buildings: whether and when a lift may be used for materials, and how the entrance, stairs and shared corridors must be protected.

Any structural change, such as opening a wall or adding load on the roof, needs the management's approval and a structural review before it is built, not after.

Apartments in Madinaty: the building and the neighbours

A flat is part of a shared building, and good finishing protects the neighbours as much as it protects your home.

• Bathrooms and kitchen: full waterproofing under the tiles and a water test before tiling, because a leak shows up in the flat below.
• Layout: if you plan to open the kitchen to the living room or join two rooms, first find out whether the wall is load-bearing, and ask the management before anything is demolished.
• Power: check the electrical capacity available to the flat against the AC units and appliances, and fit a board with separate circuits and earth-leakage protection.
• AC: fix the indoor units, condensate drains and pipe routes before plaster and gypsum board, and put outdoor units only where they are allowed.
• Sound: hard floors carry footstep noise, so ask about an acoustic layer under the floor if you have a neighbour below.
• Access: measure the stairwell, and the lift if there is one, before fitted pieces are made, so the kitchen or wardrobe does not stop at the door.

Villas in Madinaty: roof, garden and façade

A Madinaty villa has far more outside space than a flat, and the outside is the first thing to ask the management about before any change.

• Roof: if there is a roof room or terrace, waterproof and insulate the roof before any flooring, with falls to the drains. If you are thinking of a pergola, a shade or closing part of it, ask the management first.
• Garden: drain irrigation water away from the villa walls, choose outdoor paving that is not slippery, and use outdoor-rated lights on a protected circuit.
• Façade: treat any change to the façade, its colours or the outside windows as not allowed until you have written approval.
• Stairs and reception: the place where marble or granite shows most; it is measured and cut after the plaster and screeds are done.
• Concealed AC: needs depth in the suspended ceiling, and planning with the gypsum board work from the start.
• Swimming pool: if the garden allows one, ask the management about its requirements before anything is dug.

Materials for Madinaty's sun and dust

East of Cairo, the desert brings strong sun, dust and a big gap between day and night temperatures, and the materials should be chosen for that.

• Windows: aluminium or UPVC profiles with tight seals that keep dust out, and double glazing on sunny façades to cut heat gain and noise.
• Shutters: they stop the sun before it reaches the glass, which makes a clear difference in west- and south-facing rooms.
• Floors: porcelain, marble and granite all work; matt and honed finishes hide dust and scratches better than high gloss.
• Outside: keep quartz indoors and out of direct sun, and use granite or natural stone outdoors.
• External paint: if repainting is allowed, use an exterior paint made for strong sun, in the colour the management approves.

Steps to finish your unit in Madinaty

1. Gather the papers

   The contract and its specification annex, the model drawings if available, the handover record, and the management's written rules.

2. Survey and measure

   A site visit that measures every room and records the state of the walls, ceilings, water and power points.

3. Fix the layout and level

   Settle the layout, the finishing level and the positions of the kitchen, bathrooms and AC before any first fix.

4. The written quotation

   An itemised quotation, line by line, stating the materials, the quantities and what each line includes and excludes.

5. Approvals

   Whatever the management requires is obtained before the first worker goes in.

6. First fix, then finishes

   Plumbing, power and AC are installed and tested before the walls are closed; then plaster, floors, bathrooms, joinery and paint.

7. Handover

   Every line checked against the quotation, every tap and circuit tried, and every remark written down and closed before final handover.

How Itmam works in Madinaty

Itmam works in New Cairo and the Fifth Settlement, and Madinaty is right next to them. If your unit is in Madinaty, send us its details: we visit, measure and give you a written, itemised quotation before any work starts, and we work to the written rules you get from the management.

Kitchens, wardrobes, doors, vanities, metalwork and marble and granite tops are made in our own workshops, and measured and installed by the same team. You can see marble and granite in person at our showroom in El Deresa, Moharram Bey, Alexandria, or choose from the stone catalogue on this site; imported marble is available too.

On a finishing contract you pay each supplier directly at their price, and the tax invoice is in your name; our management fee for supervision and execution is agreed in writing before we begin, and we add nothing to the price of materials. Itmam was founded in 2016, with 20+ years in the trade.