Finishing levels in Egypt, item by item

These names are not a fixed standard

Lux, super lux and ultra super lux are market labels, not grades that every company defines the same way. What one firm calls super lux another may call lux, and the reverse; a developer may print the word in an advert without a single detail behind it.

So the label alone protects nobody. What protects you is a written specification for each item: the material, its size, grade and thickness, how it is installed, and what the item includes and leaves out. ‘Porcelain’ on its own can mean any porcelain. ‘Porcelain, this size, this grade, on this adhesive, with joints this wide’ tells you exactly what you will receive. The same goes for names like ‘deluxe’ and ‘high lux’: compare items, not names.

The comparison table

This is what each level usually means in the Egyptian market in terms of materials and workmanship. It is not a fixed standard. Use it as a list of questions to put to any company, not as a promise of what you will receive.

One thing should not change between levels: waterproofing under bathroom, kitchen and balcony floors, a water test before tiling, and proper earthing. These are conditions of safety and of a finish that lasts, at any level. They are not extras reserved for ultra.

The level is not the handover state

The level describes the quality of materials and workmanship; the handover state describes where the work begins: on red brick, semi-finished with plaster and some first fix, or finished by the developer at whatever level they wrote down. Any of them can end at any level.

But the state you receive affects the level you want. Take a semi-finished unit to ultra super lux and you may have to remove or change part of what is there: wiring that does not suit concealed AC, or floor levels that will not allow a level-entry shower. Check what exists before you build on it.

Where the cost difference sits

The difference between levels is not spread evenly over every metre. It sits in a handful of items:

• Floors: moving from ceramic to large porcelain or marble changes the material, the laying and the finishing after it, across every metre of the unit.
• Bathrooms and kitchen: concealed mixers, wall-hung sanitaryware, glass, stone tops and made-to-measure units are the most expensive items per square metre.
• AC: concealed ducted AC needs equipment, design work and gypsum ceilings, so it cannot be compared with pipework for split units.
• Joinery and lighting: full-height doors, made-to-measure wardrobes, a lighting design and control circuits move the cost more than most people expect.

That is why we do not publish a price per metre for each level: one number cannot describe your choices in these items. We visit, measure and give you a written, itemised quotation, so a change of level in one item shows up in that item.

How to make sure you get the level you agreed

1. Write every item down

   In the quotation and the contract: the material, its size, grade and thickness, the installation method and what the item covers. The words ‘super lux’ on their own are not a specification.

2. Sign the samples

   Ask for a sample of every visible material: tiles, stone, paint, doors and hardware. Each side keeps a signed sample, and what arrives on site is checked against it.

3. Inspect before it is closed up

   The inspections that matter most happen before walls and ceilings are closed: electrical and plumbing first fix, a pressure test on the water pipes, and a water test on the waterproofing. After tiling, these faults are hard to find and harder to fix.

4. Accept it item by item

   At handover, check flatness, joints, corners and paint under side light, tap the tiles to find hollow spots, and try every socket, mixer, door and window. A written handover checklist saves a lot of arguments.

Which level suits you?

The right level depends on how you will use the unit and for how long, not on which name sits highest on the list.

• The home you will live in: spend on what is hard to change later — waterproofing, first fix, floors, bathrooms and AC. Paint and accessories are easy to change afterwards.
• A flat to rent out: durable materials in sizes that are easy to replace. Good super lux is usually enough, with a step up in the bathrooms and kitchen because they wear fastest.
• A chalet on the North Coast: resistance to salt and damp matters more than visible luxury, so materials and hardware made for the sea come first.
• A unit to sell: buyers look at floors, bathrooms and kitchen first, so those are the items that deserve attention, with a written specification to hand over.
• You can mix levels: ultra super lux in the reception and main bathroom, super lux in the children’s rooms and guest bathroom. A sensible choice, as long as it is written item by item.

And hotel-style finishing?

Hotel-style is not a fourth level but an approach: hidden services, surfaces that take daily use, considered lighting and quiet rooms. It is usually built at a level close to ultra super lux, but what sets it apart is the detailing, not the materials alone, and its decisions start with the plumbing, wiring and ceilings, not the decoration.

How Itmam handles levels

We do not sell the name of a level; we write a specification. We visit and measure the unit, then give you a written, itemised quotation before work starts, with every item’s material, size and installation method. We work in Alexandria, on the North Coast and in New Cairo, and elsewhere in Egypt when the job suits us.

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. That keeps the comparison between levels clear: you see the price of each material from its supplier, and our fee separately.

Kitchens, wardrobes, doors, vanities and stone tops are made in our own workshops, and stone is templated, cut and installed by the same team. You can browse a catalogue of 94 Egyptian stones: marble, granite, quartz and onyx.