Building finishing, from lobby to roof

What a building owner needs

A building owner needs a plan for three levels of work, each with its own timing: the shell and its materials; then the shared parts — lobby, stair, façade, roof and services; then the units themselves.

The first decision to settle is how the units will be handed over, because it changes the whole order of work:

Whichever you choose, the shared areas are the owner’s responsibility, and they make the first impression on every buyer and resident.

The building lobby

A lobby needs a hard floor that takes traffic and the sand and water carried in from the street, walls that are easy to clean, and good light, because it is the most used and most seen part of the building.

• Floor: granite or a hard marble, honed, or grooved at the outside steps, because a polished floor is slippery when wet.
• Walls: marble or porcelain cladding to a sensible height, or washable paint, with a skirting that takes knocks and mop water.
• Lift surround: a marble or stainless frame around the lift door, because knocks during furniture moves damage this spot more than any other.
• Mailboxes and intercom: positions and wiring set before the cladding, so the stone is not cut open after it is fixed.
• Ceiling and lighting: a gypsum board ceiling with concealed light or downlights, on a motion sensor or timer.
• Main door: wrought iron, or aluminium and glass, with a lock released from the flats through the intercom.
• A gentle ramp beside the steps where space allows, for prams, older residents and furniture.

The stairwell and balustrade

Every resident uses the building stair daily and furniture goes up it, so it needs a hard stone such as granite or a dense marble, rounded nosings with anti-slip grooves, and a sturdy balustrade fixed into the concrete.

• Every step the same height, checking the first step at the entrance and the last at each landing, because changes in floor thickness alter them.
• A stone colour that does not show dirt and footprints quickly, with matching skirting to protect the walls.
• An iron or stainless balustrade with a continuous handrail; near the sea, 316 stainless, or hot-dip galvanised steel before painting.
• Light on every landing on a motion sensor or timer, and a clear switch by each flat door.
• Timing: while the units are still being finished, either hold back the stair stone until the heavy work is done or protect it well, because materials and tools going up to the flats are what break steps most.

Stone, nosing and balustrade details are on the stone stairs and balustrades page.

The façade and permits

A good building façade is designed as one piece for the whole building: one material and colour scheme, with places planned in advance for AC outdoor units, drainpipes and satellite dishes.

What spoils most building façades after finishing is AC units hung at random, exposed pipes and a dish on every balcony. The fix is to plan outdoor unit positions and pipe and cable routes from the start, and to install a central satellite system for the building.

Before you change a façade’s materials, colours or form, ask the district office or city authority that covers the property what is required, because the procedure differs with the location and the kind of work. If the building is occupied and has other owners, agree with them or with the occupants’ association before you start.

The façade materials themselves — stone, marble, granite and paint — and how they are fixed are on the façades page.

The roof and shared services

The roof and shared services are parts nobody sees, but any mistake in them reaches every flat, so they are built and tested before the upper floors are finished.

• Roof: continuous waterproofing and insulation, falls to the drains and a flood test before any finish, so the top floor never pays for a leak.
• Water tanks and pumps: bases that do not puncture the waterproofing, and a pump that can be reached for service, away from bedrooms.
• Water: an isolating valve for each flat, so one flat can be shut off without cutting water to the whole building.
• Drainage: vertical stacks with rodding access you can reach, not buried behind marble.
• Electrics: a meter room or panel to the electricity company’s requirements, a separate cable to each flat, and stair and lobby lighting on the services meter.
• Low current: spare conduit for internet, intercom and the central dish from the services room to every flat.
• Lift: check the lift company’s requirements for the shaft and any machine room before finishing around it, and fit the door surround once the floor levels are set.

Order of work, and every unit to one spec

A building is finished like a production line: one written specification, a model unit approved first, then each trade moving from one flat to the next in the same order.

1. One written specification

   A list of every item in the flat — floors and porcelain, sanitary ware, doors, windows and electrical points — so no unit differs from another because of what was on the market on the day.

2. A model unit

   One flat is finished first and approved by the owner, so any problem in the design or the materials shows up before it is repeated in every unit.

3. Heavy work first

   Electrical and plumbing first fix and plaster on every floor before the final finishes, so heavy materials never pass over finished floors and steps.

4. Materials from one lot

   Marble and porcelain are ordered in quantities that cover every flat from the same lot, because colour can vary between batches.

5. Shared areas last

   Lobby and stair stone and the final paint go in after the heavy work in the flats, or early with good protection if they must.

6. One handover list for every unit

   Each flat is checked against the same list — walls, tiles, electrics, plumbing, doors and windows — before it goes to a buyer or a resident.

Supply for the building, from shell to finish

Supply-only is available: you can buy shell and finishing materials without contracting us to build, or include them in a finishing contract.

• Shell materials: reinforcing steel, cement, bricks and blocks, sand and aggregate.
• Finishing materials: porcelain and ceramics, paints and waterproofing, plumbing and electrical materials.
• Stone: marble and granite for the lobby, the stairs and the flats from a catalogue of 94 Egyptian stones, in quantities from the same lot.

On a finishing contract you pay each supplier directly and the tax invoice is in your name, so you know exactly what each material costs, with no margin hidden in it.

Itmam and building finishing

We visit the building as it stands today — a shell, an occupied building or an old one that needs renovating — measure it, and give you a written, itemised quotation before work starts, with the shared areas and the units as separate items.

And if you only have the land so far, we build it too, from the plot to handover. Lobby and stair marble is templated, cut and installed by the same team, and balustrades, doors and metalwork are made in our own workshops.

On a finishing contract you pay each supplier directly and the tax invoice is in your name; our fee for supervision and execution is agreed in writing before we begin. We work in Alexandria, on the North Coast and in New Cairo, and elsewhere in Egypt when the job suits us.