Renovating an old villa in Riyadh, step by step
Renovating an old villa is not finishing at a larger scale. The difference is that half the decisions are made after a wall is opened, and every mistake in sequencing means paying for the same work twice. This is the order we follow, and why each step sits where it does.
Last updated: September 2026
Survey before you commit
Before the purchase or before signing, an engineer should walk the building and look at four things: the condition of the concrete and any exposed reinforcement, the path of moisture through slabs and party walls, the age and type of the plumbing, and whether the electrical board has the capacity you intend to use. Two hours here saves tens of thousands later.
Ask for the approved drawings if they exist. Villas built twenty years ago or more usually carry undocumented alterations, and some of them touch load-bearing walls.
What always gets replaced
In any villa older than fifteen years, three systems are replaced rather than repaired: water pipework, the electrical board and circuits if the cable sizes are dated, and waterproofing to roofs and wet areas. Keeping them to save money is the decision we most often see come back a year later.
Drainage is different: camera it before deciding. Sometimes it is sound and cleaning is enough; sometimes it has collapsed under the floor, and the gap between those two cases is large in both budget and duration.
Structure and cracks
Not every crack is serious. Fine surface crazing in plaster is expected in an older building. A diagonal crack at the corner of an opening, one that runs across more than one element, or one accompanied by deflection in a slab, needs a structural assessment before any cosmetic work.
Covering a structural crack with filler and paint hides it for a few months, after which it returns wider and you have paid for the same surface twice.
The correct sequence
Out-of-order work is the leading cause of renovation cost overrun. This sequence is what prevents rework:
- Survey and report, then agree the scope and budget.
- Design and sign off the final layout before any demolition.
- Selective demolition and waste removal.
- Structural repair and waterproofing.
- First fix: plumbing, electrical, HVAC, then pressure testing before anything is closed up.
- Plaster, flooring and gypsum.
- Paint, joinery and fittings, then snagging and handover.
Budget and duration
A renovation budget needs a larger contingency than new build, ten to fifteen percent, because some of the surprises only appear once things are opened up. On duration, a mid-size villa fully renovated usually runs five to nine months, and the figure is driven by the extent of structural repair more than by finished area.
When rebuilding is cheaper
When three conditions coincide, rebuilding is usually cheaper and gives a better result: widespread structural damage needing reinforcement in more than one element, a layout that cannot be improved without removing load-bearing walls, and floor-to-ceiling heights too low for modern HVAC routing. At that point half the renovation budget goes into repairing what you will later demolish.