Villa finishing, inside and out

A villa is not a big apartment

Finishing a villa differs from finishing a flat because it has far more systems and outside space, not just more square metres. Each of these needs a decision before the first conduit goes in:

• Two or more floors, and an internal stair whose material and balustrade must be chosen early.
• A roof or annex (ملحق) that needs waterproofing and heat insulation before any finish goes on it.
• Façades, a boundary wall and gates: outside work with its own materials and methods.
• A garden, paths and outdoor lighting, and sometimes a swimming pool.
• Water tanks and pumps, because mains pressure often does not reach the upper floors on its own.
• A larger air-conditioning system, and a choice between split units room by room or concealed ducted units.

That is why a villa starts with layouts and working drawings for electrics, plumbing and air conditioning. Moving a route after the plaster is up means breaking it open again and losing time.

What state is your villa in?

The state of the villa on the day of the survey is the first thing that sets the size of the quotation.

Each state has its own page: finishing from red brick, and completing a semi-finished unit.

The interior, in order

Inside, a villa follows almost the same order as an apartment, repeated on every floor and overlapping with the outside work.

1. Drawings and decisions

   The layout of each floor, where the bathrooms and kitchen go, the air-conditioning type, and the lighting and socket plan. A change here costs a line on a drawing; later it costs demolition.

2. Block-work changes

   Building or removing non-structural walls for the new layout, after a structural engineer confirms that no wall being removed carries load.

3. First fix

   Electrical conduit and boxes, water supply and drainage pipes, copper pipes and condensate drains for the air conditioning, and the connections for tanks and pumps.

4. Waterproofing and testing

   Waterproofing the bathroom, kitchen and roof floors, then a water test before anything covers it.

5. Plaster, ceilings and floors

   Plaster on walls and ceilings, then gypsum board ceilings, then floors, stairs and bathroom wall cladding.

6. Paint and fit-out

   Filler and first coats, then doors, kitchen, sanitary ware and light fittings, then the final coat, cleaning and handover.

The full detail of each stage is in our guide to the finishing steps in order.

Outside: façade, wall, garden and lighting

Finishing a villa from the outside starts with the façade material, because it decides the weight, the fixing method and the maintenance for years.

• Façade: exterior paint systems made for the weather, natural stone cladding, or GRC cornices and mouldings. Each has its own fixing method and its own details for shedding water.
• Boundary wall and gates: steel or stainless steel depending on the design and how close the house is to the sea, protected against rust before painting.
• Garden and paths: soil preparation, falls and irrigation pipes before planting, and slip-resistant paving around any pool.
• Outdoor lighting: fittings rated for outdoor use, on separate circuits protected by an earth-leakage breaker.
• Swimming pool: if there is one, its water and electrical routes are planned with the garden, not after it.

Outside work is scheduled with the inside work so that scaffolding and machinery do not get in the way of the final fit-out indoors.

The materials that matter in a villa

In a villa one material is repeated over large areas, so a wrong choice is multiplied.

You can see real samples in our catalogue of 94 Egyptian stones — marble, granite, quartz and onyx — and choose from the stone itself, not a photograph.

What sets the cost of finishing a villa

The cost of finishing a villa is set by its area, its state, the materials and how much outside work there is, which is why we do not publish a price per metre. The main drivers:

• The area of each floor, the number of floors, and the roof or annex.
• The number of bathrooms and kitchens, which carry more cost per metre than any other room.
• The stone chosen for floors, stairs and façade.
• The air-conditioning system: split units or concealed ducted units.
• The outside scope: façade, boundary wall, garden and pool.
• The level of finish you want: super lux, ultra super lux or hotel-style.

Any figure given before a survey is a guess. The accurate answer is a written quotation, item by item, with quantities and specifications, so you can see where every part of the budget goes.

How long it takes, and what slows it down

A villa takes longer to finish than an apartment, and what stretches the time is usually waiting, not the work itself.

• Late decisions: a change of layout or material after the work has started.
• Made-to-order items: kitchen, wardrobes, doors, windows and metalwork are all made after the final measurements.
• Drying and testing: plaster and waterproofing need time, and water tests should not be cut short.
• Approvals from the compound or the local authority for any change to the façade or to the built area.
• Imported materials, if you choose any.

The single biggest saving of time is settling the main decisions before work starts, because every decision that waits becomes waiting on site.

How Itmam finishes a villa

We visit the villa, measure it, and give you a written, itemised quotation before any work starts — for the whole villa inside and out, or only the part you need.

On a finishing contract you pay each supplier directly and the tax invoice is in your name. Our fee is for supervision and execution, agreed in writing before work starts.

Kitchens, wardrobes, doors, vanities, metalwork and stone tops are made in our own workshops, and stone is templated, cut and installed by the same team.

If you are still at the land stage, we build too, from the plot to the finished villa. We work in Alexandria, on the North Coast and in New Cairo, and elsewhere in Egypt when the job suits.