Building in Madinah? Start with the ground, not the drawings
Madinah is ringed by harrat, black basalt lava fields, which is how Al Harrah Al Gharbiyah and Al Harrah Ash Sharqiyah got their names. Building on…
Madinah is ringed by harrat, black basalt lava fields, which is how Al Harrah Al Gharbiyah and Al Harrah Ash Sharqiyah got their names. Building on…
Quotes are only comparable when they price identical drawings and items.
Contractors price from the structural and architectural drawings. Without them, every quote is based on its author's imagination.
It tells you the ground type and foundation depth. On harrah land rock may be close to the surface; elsewhere there may be clay that needs replacing.
Ask the engineer or design office for one and have every contractor price against it. It's the easiest way to expose the differences.
Ask for the address of a house the contractor built in Madinah, see it yourself, and ask the owner whether deadlines were kept.
⚖️ Don't start digging before the permit is out and the plot boundaries are confirmed. Any annex or extra floor needs a permit just like the house.
Most can be settled in the contract before digging starts.
The contractor priced ordinary digging and hit basalt. Breaking it needs machinery and more time. Agree a price per cubic metre for rock excavation at the start.
Some sites need soil replacement or wider footings. A soil test reveals it before it turns into a surprise on the bill.
Heat and dry air make concrete lose water too fast. Pouring at night or at dawn, then wetting it for days afterwards, protects it.
The shell is done but the plumber and electrician haven't turned up. Tie payments to clear stages and dates.
Thinner rebar or a different block. Write the specification by name and size, and have the supervising engineer sign off.
Rain is scarce but arrives in spring, and the roof takes a beating from the sun. Water and heat insulation must be written in.
The contract type decides what you buy and what the contractor buys.
The concrete frame and blockwork; finishing is up to you later.
The contractor hands over a house ready to live in.
A roof room or an annex in the yard.
They sign off the digging, footings and steel before each pour. Don't approve a stage they haven't seen.
Ask for photos of the rebar before pouring and the waterproofing before backfill. Afterwards they're hidden.
From June to September, agree that pours happen at night or dawn, with water curing.
A payment as each stage is finished and accepted by the engineer, not by the month.
Answers belong in the contract or an annex to it.
If not, is there a per-cubic-metre rate for breaking and removal?
Concrete strength and rebar sizes as per the structural drawings.
And who pays the fees?
A time for each stage and a clear delay clause.
On the structure, the waterproofing and leaks.
Ask for the register and contractor number and keep them.
Any one is enough to stop and ask.
The figure will change once work starts.
A confident contractor welcomes inspections.
A sensible first payment is small and tied to a real start.
"Top-quality materials" won't protect you. Names and sizes will.
Prices per m² of built-up area. Items marked * are Saudi-wide prices, as no dated Madinah shell price turned up. Rock excavation is usually priced separately.
| Service | Rough price |
|---|---|
| Turnkey, medium finish (Madinah estimate) | SAR 1,050 – 1,550 per m² |
| Shell with materials* | SAR 390 – 950 per m² |
| Labour only (client buys materials)* | SAR 120 – 250 per m² |
| Soil test for a house* | SAR 3,000 – 15,000 |
| Excavation and rock breaking | Ask for a price per m³ |
💡 A worked example: a villa with 300 m² built-up area, turnkey to a medium finish in Madinah at the SAR 1,050 – 1,550 estimate, comes to roughly SAR 315,000 – 465,000, before land, fees or rock excavation.
🪨 On harrah plots, ask every contractor for the rock excavation price on its own line. It's the item that widens the gap between quotes.
The turnkey figure comes from a building-cost calculator with its own Madinah row (2026, no exact date). Shell, labour and soil-test figures (*) are Saudi-wide, from a contracting firm (September 2026) and the same calculator. All opened in November 2026. They're estimates to help you read quotes, not a quote themselves; the contract and the money are for you and the builder.
A published Madinah estimate for turnkey with a medium finish is about SAR 1,050 – 1,550 per m², materials and labour included. We found no dated Madinah price for a shell with materials; Saudi-wide figures run from about SAR 390 to 950 per m². Rock excavation is usually extra.
Basalt is strong for foundations but harder to dig, and may need breaking with machinery. Get a soil test and a written rock-excavation price from each contractor.
Yes, but preferably at night or dawn, with the concrete kept wet for several days so it doesn't crack. Write that into the agreement.
No. Laqeeni only introduces you; the contract and every payment stay between you and the contractor.
Last updated: November 2026
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