Bathroom Renovation in Dubai: Waterproofing First, Finishing Last
Most of a bathroom renovation disappears under tile and paint. The membrane, the falls that carry water to the drain and the sealed joints round every pipe are what keep water out of the slab and out of the ceiling of the flat below, and none of them can be checked once the room is finished. That is why the order of work counts for more here than in any other room. We are a Dubai LLC, and the people on your bathroom floor are our own employees: they waterproof, tile, board and paint the room, and they do the grout and the sealant.
Last updated: 16 October 2026
On this page
- Bathroom renovation services in Dubai: our trades and the others on site
- The order of work in a bathroom renovation
- Waterproofing and the water test: the stage that decides the bathroom
- Refresh or full renovation: what does your bathroom need?
- Bathroom design Dubai: the decisions to make before the membrane goes down
- Bathroom renovation cost in Dubai: what moves the price
- Permission before you start: landlord, building and paperwork
- Bathrooms in apartments and villas
- Choosing a bathroom renovation company in Dubai: what to ask
- Bathroom renovation Dubai: areas we cover and how to book
- Frequently asked questions about bathroom renovation in Dubai
Fittings are a separate supply. The toilet, basin, vanity, taps and shower screen come from your suppliers, and a plumber and an electrician work before and after us. If you are planning a bathroom renovation in Dubai, this page sets out which trades are ours and which belong to others, the order the stages run in, how the waterproofing is tested, what moves the cost and whose permission you need first. It applies whether you own the flat, rent it or look after the villa.
To start, send photos of the bathroom, the floor and the ceiling to +971 55 209 9785 on WhatsApp, with the name of the building or community. A site inspection costs AED 100, and you get a written quote after the visit.
Bathroom renovation services in Dubai: our trades and the others on site
Dubai bathroom renovation services range from a full strip-out to a repaint. Ours run from the base of the floor to the paint on the ceiling, and stop where the fittings begin.
| Task | Done by | Our part, or the hand-over |
|---|---|---|
| Waterproofing | Us | Membrane on the floor and up the walls, sealed at the drain and the pipes, left to cure and tested before tile. See waterproofing |
| Floor and wall tiling | Us | Base repair, the fall to the drain, layout, niches, trims and grout. The tile detail is on bathroom and kitchen tiles |
| Ceiling | Us | Moisture-resistant board, repairs, the extractor opening and priming. See false ceilings |
| Walls and paint | Us | Wall repairs, mould treatment where needed, primer and a mould-resistant finish above the tile |
| Silicone and snagging | Us | Sealant where tile meets fittings and a last pass for marks and chips. For small repairs later, see handyman services |
| Toilet, basin, bath, vanity and taps | Your supplier and a plumber | Supply, fixing and connection |
| Shower screen and glass | The glass supplier | Measured once the tile is fixed |
| Pipes, drains, wiring, extractor and heated floor | Plumber and electrician | First fix before the membrane, connection after the tile |
| Moving the toilet, shower or drain | A consultant and licensed trades | Drawings and approvals, which sit outside finishing work |
We work with whoever you have picked for the fittings. Before we start, we agree the sequence with them and tell the plumber and the electrician what must be in place: drain and pipes in their final positions, the extractor route marked, wall frames fixed. Then we come back when our stage is due. We do not supply or fit sanitaryware, vanities or shower screens.
Waterproofing and tiling belong with one team. The tiler is the person best placed to damage a membrane, and a crew that laid it knows where the pipes and the drain pass through it.
The order of work in a bathroom renovation
A bathroom is built from the base up, and each layer has to be dry and sound before the next one covers it. The quote names the stages your room needs. This is the usual sequence.
| Step | Who | What happens | What it protects |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Inspection and scope | Us | We look at the walls, floor, ceiling and drain and write down what the job covers | The quote and the programme both come from it |
| 2. Approvals and access | Us, with the building | The request to the building, any NOC, lift and parking bookings, and notice for a water shut-off | Managed buildings generally want the request approved before materials come in |
| 3. Strip-out | Plumber for the fittings, us for old tile | Fittings are disconnected and removed, old tile comes up where it is being replaced, and the rest of the home is covered | Waterproofing needs a bare, sound base |
| 4. First fix | Plumber, electrician | Pipes, drain positions, wiring, extractor route and any heated-floor cable | Services go in before the walls and floor close over them |
| 5. Base and falls | Us | Wall and floor repairs, levelling, and the fall towards the drain checked | The membrane takes the shape of the base |
| 6. Waterproofing and test | Us | Membrane applied and left to cure, then water-tested | Nothing covers it until it passes |
| 7. Tiling | Us | Floor and walls tiled to the layout, niches formed | Tile is fixed onto a tested base, with the tiler working round the membrane |
| 8. Grout and ceiling | Us | Joints grouted, ceiling board hung, jointed and primed | Wet and dusty work ends before the fittings arrive |
| 9. Fittings and screen | Supplier, plumber, glass supplier | Toilet, basin, bath, vanity and taps go in. The screen is measured on the finished tile, then made and fitted | Glass is cut to the real wall, not the drawing |
| 10. Silicone and last coat | Us | Sealant where tile meets fittings, final coat and touch-ups | Fitters leave marks, so this goes last |
| 11. Final connections and handover | All trades | Connections finished, then a walk-round with you and a single list of anything to put right | Problems are caught while everyone is still on site |
Two decisions are worth settling before the strip-out ends. The first is the drain. Its final position sets the fall in the floor, so the plumber, the tiler and you should agree it in writing before step 5. The second is the shower screen. The glass supplier measures on finished tile, which means the screen is ordered after the walls are tiled and the programme has to leave room for its delivery.
There is no day count on this page, because it would be a guess. Time follows the scope, the membrane's cure time, when the tile and fittings arrive and the working hours the building permits. The programme in your quote sets out the stages in order.
Waterproofing and the water test: the stage that decides the bathroom
Tile and grout slow water down. The membrane under them stops it. When a membrane has a fault, the room still looks perfect for a while, and then a stain appears on the ceiling below, long after the work has been paid for.
What the test is
We test the membrane before covering it. The drain is blocked, water is held on the floor for a set time, and we check below for any sign of a leak. The cure time follows the product's maker, and your quote states the cure time and the test for your bathroom.
Why it comes before the tile
A fault found at this stage costs a patch. The same fault found after tiling costs the tile, the membrane and sometimes a neighbour's ceiling. That is why the test sits in the middle of the programme and not at the end. The method behind the membrane itself is on our waterproofing page.
What to ask any firm
Ask whether the test is written into the quote, who carries it out and whether you can see it before tile goes on. "The tiler seals the corners as he goes" is not a test. Some buildings also ask for a method statement with the renovation request, so check whether yours wants the waterproofing described in it.
The flat below
In an apartment, the floor you are waterproofing is the ceiling of someone else's home. Inside the unit, the bathroom floor and walls are the owner's responsibility. If your bathroom sits over another unit, tell us early. Checking below needs access to that ceiling, and the building or the neighbour has to arrange it.
Refresh or full renovation: what does your bathroom need?
Not every tired bathroom needs stripping. Failing grout, worn silicone, a few loose tiles and hollow-sounding tile are covered in the "Retile or regrout?" table on our bathroom and kitchen tiles page. This table covers the rest, which sits above the tile or behind the fittings.
| What you see | What a refresh does | When a refresh is not enough |
|---|---|---|
| Black spots or peeling paint on the ceiling or upper walls | Clean, treat, prime and repaint with a mould-resistant finish | The extractor does not work, or the marks come back, which points to damp or a leak |
| A stained or sagging ceiling | The board is repaired or replaced and repainted once the leak is fixed | The water comes from the floor above, or from your own membrane |
| Silicone and grout failing | Silicone cut out and renewed, grout renewed | Tiles sound hollow or are damp behind: strip, waterproof, retile |
| A dated look | Repainted walls and ceiling, fresh silicone, new taps from a plumber | You want a different layout or a different kind of shower |
| Old toilet, basin or vanity | Not our work: a plumber and your supplier | The new pieces need pipes or drains in new places |
A refresh makes sense when the waterproofing is sound and the problem is the surface. If water has reached the ceiling below, or tiles sound hollow, painting over the fault only hides it until it returns. We tell you at the inspection which of the two you have.
Bathroom design Dubai: the decisions to make before the membrane goes down
Bathroom design in Dubai is mostly a matter of fittings and tile, and the fittings belong to your supplier and plumber. We do not design sanitaryware or joinery, and we settle the tile layout on site. A few decisions have to be made before the membrane goes down, because moving them afterwards means cutting into it. Colour, size and pattern are covered on our bathroom tiles design page.
Drain and shower
The drain's position and the kind of shower you want set the fall of the floor. A walk-in shower with no tray needs a base built to fall towards the drain and then waterproofed as one piece. Settle the type before the strip-out is finished.
Niches and shelves
A niche is a hole in a wet wall, so it is waterproofed on every face before it is tiled. Fix its size and height before the membrane goes on.
Where the tile stops
The height of the tile decides how far up the wall the membrane has to go and where the paint begins. Paint above the tile goes on after the tiling is done and needs to be a mould-resistant finish.
Extractor and ceiling
Mark the extractor, the lights and any access hatch before the ceiling closes. A flat ceiling in moisture-resistant board is easier to keep clean than one with deep coves, which gather dust and damp. See false ceilings.
Mirrors, rails and wall frames
Mirrors, lights, towel rails and the frame for a wall-hung toilet are fixed to the wall behind the tile. Mark their positions before tiling, so the tile is cut once and nothing is drilled through a finished surface.
Bathroom renovation cost in Dubai: what moves the price
There is no headline price for a whole bathroom on this page, and a figure with no scope behind it would only mislead you. Search for bathroom renovation cost Dubai figures and they differ several times over, and one guide gives the same kind of bathroom three overlapping ranges. They count different things: fittings in one, labour alone in another, a rental refresh against a room fitted with imported stone. Several leave VAT unmentioned.
The table shows who prices each line and what pushes it up or down.
| Line | Who prices it | What pushes it up or down |
|---|---|---|
| Toilet, basin, bath and vanity | The sanitaryware supplier | The range, and wall-hung or floor-standing |
| Shower screen | The glass supplier | The size, and whether it is made to measure |
| Plumbing | The plumber | Pipes and drain staying put or moving |
| Electrical | The electrician | The extractor, lights, mirror and any heated floor |
| Waterproofing | Us | The area, the height up the walls, the number of drains and pipes, the cure time and the test |
| Tiling | Us | Floor and wall area, the tile and its size, the pattern, the niches and how sound the base is |
| Ceiling and paint | Us | The board, the repairs and the coats |
| Removal and disposal | Agreed per job | Who carries out what, set down as a line in the quote |
| Building requirements | The building | Lift and parking bookings, permitted hours and any deposit the building holds |
How we price our part
The AED 100 inspection comes first. The written quote after it prices waterproofing, preparation, tiling, ceiling and paint as separate lines, and sets out the products, the cure time, the test, the programme and the warranty terms. Prices are before 5% VAT. We publish no rate per square metre for bathroom tiling: the base, the waterproofing and the layout matter more to the price than the area, and our bathroom and kitchen tiles page explains why a bathroom costs more per square metre than a plain living-room floor.
Keeping quotes comparable
Whatever bathroom renovation Dubai cost a firm gives you, ask what it includes and what it leaves out. A quote that includes sanitaryware cannot sit beside one for tiling alone, so split each quote by trade before you weigh them. Be wary of a low figure that omits the waterproofing, the removal or the test. Those costs have not gone away, only been left for later.
Permission before you start: landlord, building and paperwork
A Dubai bathroom renovation usually involves two sign-offs: the landlord's, if you rent, and the building's in every case. What you are changing decides whether more is needed.
| If this is you | Ask first | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| You own an apartment | The building management or owners' association | Towers commonly require a renovation request and a contractor permit, even for finishes, and fix the hours for noisy and dusty work |
| You own a villa | The community or developer, where one exists | Contractor rules vary by community, so check them before work is booked |
| You rent | Your landlord, in writing, and then the building | The landlord's consent comes before anything else |
| The plan moves the toilet, shower or drain | A consultant, the building and whichever authority applies | That is beyond finishing: drawings and approval are needed, and a plumber or consultant normally arranges them |
We deal with building paperwork, including NOCs where a building requires them. Give us the building or community name when you first write, and we tell you what its management is likely to ask for.
If you rent
Two articles of the tenancy law, Law No. 26 of 2007, matter here. Article 19 sets the rule for alterations: the tenant needs the landlord's consent before changing the property or carrying out restoration or maintenance works, and any licence the competent official entities require has to be obtained first. Article 21 covers handover: the tenant gives the property back as it was received, allowing for ordinary wear and tear and for damage the tenant did not cause. A new bathroom is neither of those exceptions.
Ask the landlord for permission in writing before work begins, and ask whether they would want the original bathroom reinstated when you leave. Treat this as a summary rather than legal advice; the tenancy contract itself has the final word. The kitchen renovation page covers the same rules for a kitchen.
Bathrooms in apartments and villas
Apartments
An apartment bathroom shares its walls, drainage and usually an extractor duct with the rest of the building. The management sets the working hours, the route waste takes out and how lifts and corridors are protected, and it should tell you what notice it needs before the water is shut off. Bathroom renovations in a tower are as much a matter of building rules as of building work. If it is your only bathroom, decide where you will wash before the work begins. The rest of the flat is covered on our apartment painting page.
Villas
A villa often has several bathrooms: a master, a guest bathroom, a powder room and one off the maid's room. Do them one at a time, so the family keeps one in use. Each wet floor gets its own membrane and its own test. If the bathrooms belong to a bigger job, such as new floors or a full repaint, plan them together. Villa painting covers the rest of the house. Our villa renovation page shows how the wet rooms fit into the whole-house order. The wider map of rooms and trades for any home is on our home renovation page.
Choosing a bathroom renovation company in Dubai: what to ask
Search for a bathroom renovation company Dubai residents recommend and you will find three kinds: a firm with its own crews, a main contractor that hands every trade to someone else, and a showroom that adds building work to a sale. Bathroom renovation companies in Dubai of all three kinds do good work. What differs is who answers for the ceiling below when a stain appears. Put these questions to each one, including us.
| Ask | A good answer | A warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Who waterproofs, and who tests it? | A named crew, with the cure time and the test written into the quote | "The tiler seals the corners as he goes" |
| Who does the tiling? | The firm's own employees, with a supervisor you can meet. Ours are employees | The job taken, then passed on |
| What does the quote list? | Waterproofing, preparation, tiling, ceiling and paint as separate lines, with VAT shown on its own | A single lump sum for "the bathroom" |
| Who owns the falls and the drain position? | The tiler and the plumber agree it in writing before the membrane goes on | Nobody, or "we will see on site" |
| Who deals with the building? | A named person who handles the request, any NOC and the lift | "You will need to arrange that yourself" |
| What does the warranty cover? | Workmanship, in writing, with other trades' work stated as excluded. Our own work carries one year from handover | A spoken promise, or no terms |
Check the trade licence too. The name on it should match the company on your quote.
Bathroom renovation Dubai: areas we cover and how to book
We take on bathroom renovations Dubai-wide, in flats, villas and townhouses, and not in other emirates. In your first message, include the building or community and the floor. Access is checked before anyone visits.
Booking is by WhatsApp at +971 55 209 9785 or through the quote form. The most useful photos show the whole room from the door, the floor and ceiling close up, the wall behind the shower and the drain, plus the plumber's or supplier's drawing if you have one. We tell you what the photos are enough to price and what has to wait for the visit.
Keep reading
Frequently asked questions about bathroom renovation in Dubai
How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Dubai?
The scope sets it, so this page gives no single figure. The trades involved, how much is replaced and what the building requires all move it. For our part, the AED 100 inspection is followed by a written quote with each task on its own line, quoted before 5% VAT. The suppliers of sanitaryware and glass, and the plumber and electrician, price their own work.
How long does a bathroom renovation take?
The scope sets this too, along with the membrane's cure time, when the tile and fittings arrive and the working hours the building permits, so there is no day count here. Your written quote carries a programme that puts the stages in order.
Can I live at home during a bathroom renovation?
Usually, yes, though the bathroom is out of use while the work runs. A second bathroom makes it easy. With only one, say so when you write and we plan the stages to keep the gap short. Our bathroom and kitchen tiles page covers how a retile is staged.
Is the waterproofing tested before tiling?
Yes. The membrane is tested before anything covers it: the drain is blocked, water is held on the floor for a set time and we check below for signs of a leak. The cure time and the test are written into your quote.
Do I need landlord permission or a building NOC?
Renting means yes, in writing, before anything starts. Separately, the building may want its own approval, and some require an NOC even for finishes. We handle that paperwork with the building, NOCs included where they apply, so all we need from you is the building's name.
Can you renovate a bathroom without replacing all the tiles?
Often. Worn silicone, tired grout and a few loose tiles can be put right on their own, and the ceiling and walls can be repainted without touching the tile. If tiles sound hollow or are damp behind, a refresh will not last, and we say so before you pay for it. If you do retile, our bathroom tiles design page helps with the choice.
Do you supply and fit toilets, vanities, taps and shower screens?
No. We do the finishing trades: waterproofing, tiling, ceilings, paint, grout and sealant. Your supplier provides the sanitaryware and a plumber fits it, the glass supplier makes and fits the screen, and an electrician does the wiring. We agree the order of work with them.
Can you move the toilet or the shower?
Not as a finishing job. Moving a toilet, shower or drain changes the pipes and the fall of the floor, so it needs a plumber and, in many buildings, drawings and approval. Once the new positions are fixed, we build the base, waterproof it and tile around them.
What is the cheapest way to renovate a bathroom?
Leave alone what still works and change what shows wear: fresh silicone and grout, a repainted ceiling, and new fittings only where the old ones have failed. Savings come from using fewer trades. They do not come from dropping the waterproofing or the test, since a quote without them has put the cost off, not removed it.
Get a bathroom renovation quote
Tell us what you need, or send photos on WhatsApp. A site inspection costs AED 100, and you get a written quote after the visit.
- +971 55 209 9785
- info@dubairepairpro.com