Renovating in Madinah: set priorities before picking colours
Madinah has older houses near the Central Area and in Al Anbariyah and As Sayh, some built with the black harrah stone, and newer homes in Al…
Madinah has older houses near the Central Area and in Al Anbariyah and As Sayh, some built with the black harrah stone, and newer homes in Al…
A written list with photos means every contractor prices the same job.
Damp patches on ceilings under the roof, or flaking paint? That comes before any interior finishing.
Hairline in the plaster, or wide and growing? Wide ones, or those at door and window corners, need an engineer before a contractor.
Brown water, weak pressure, breakers tripping in summer? If tiles are coming up anyway, this is the time to renew them.
Faded paint, worn stone, or windows that let in dust? Photograph each side of the house.
🏚️ A crack that's growing, a sagging ceiling, or rusty rebar showing through concrete? Don't wait: have a structural engineer inspect before any cosmetic work.
A first guess. The contractor or engineer decides after inspecting.
The membrane cracks over long hot summers, and the first spring rain shows where. Renewing water and heat insulation protects everything below.
Sun and dust wear down exterior paint. The facade needs cleaning and an exterior filler before repainting.
With age and damp from an old leak, plaster comes away from the wall. It's stripped back to sound material and redone.
Madinah requests in 2026 included repairs after kitchen fires: fallen plaster, blackened walls and ceilings. Wiring and ceiling checks come before paint.
Broken tiles, leaks under the floor, rusted fittings. A full bathroom refit often costs less than repeated patching.
Older homes were wired for lighter loads. Any major renovation is a chance to run new AC circuits.
The scope decides whether you need one tradesman, a contractor, or an engineer as well.
Paint, floors, lighting and doors.
Roof, services, bathrooms, kitchen and finishing.
Big cracks, rusty rebar, or an old stone building.
Roof and insulation first, then walls, and floors last.
Pipes and wiring before tiles and gypsum. What gets buried doesn't open up easily again.
Roof and facade work is easier away from the height of summer. For rented flats, outside the Ramadan and Hajj rush.
Photograph pipes and cables while still exposed, and test water and power before tiling.
Ask for written replies, in the quote itself or by message.
Items let you compare and drop what you don't want.
If on them, ask for brands and models by name.
And what happens if it runs late?
Taking away debris is an item many people forget.
Get it in writing.
If you're staying, agree which rooms go first and how the rest is kept free of dust.
It might be justified, but don't let it pass in silence.
New paint under a leaking roof is ruined by the first rain.
A crack that grows has a cause. Ask what it is.
You can't trace where each riyal went, or hold them to any single item.
Pay stage by stage instead.
Examples posted by Madinah home owners on HomeRun in 2026, which are offers and budgets, not invoices. The item marked * is a Saudi-wide price because we found no per-m² renovation price list published for Madinah.
| Service | Rough price |
|---|---|
| Full house repair after a kitchen fire, 150 m² (Al Matar, Oct 2026) | SAR 20,000 |
| Repair after a kitchen fire, 100 m² (Al Matar, Oct 2026) | Offers SAR 7,500 – 16,000 |
| Whole house facade replaced with new windows (Jul 2026) | SAR 15,000 |
| Finishing a 150 m² flat after plaster and first fix (Apr 2026) | Offers SAR 6,000 – 65,000 |
| Renovation per m²* | From about SAR 80 cosmetic to 1,100+ for a luxury redo |
💡 Look at the gap on the flat-finishing request: offers from 6,000 to 65,000 for the same flat. Materials and finish level are usually why. Ask each contractor for an itemised schedule on the same list.
🏠 Roof first: if the insulation is worn, make it the first item in the quote, even if the interior finish is what you really want.
Every example is a published request for a Madinah home (April to October 2026); the per-m² range (*) is from a Saudi-wide cost calculator. We looked at all of them in November 2026. What you end up paying comes out of your own negotiation with the contractor, and Laqeeni has no part in it.
It varies a lot with scope. From real Madinah requests in 2026: a 150 m² house repaired after a kitchen fire for SAR 20,000, and a full facade with new windows for SAR 15,000. Saudi-wide figures for renovation start around SAR 80 per m² for cosmetic work.
With an engineer checking the structure and roof, then the services. Ask the municipality whether buildings in your area have rules before you change the facade.
Interior work can go ahead any time. Roof insulation and facades are easier away from peak summer, and ideally finished before the spring showers.
There's no commission. You deal face to face with whichever contractor you choose.
Last updated: November 2026
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