Door Opening in a Wall in Dammam – Windows, Vents, Widening & Lintels

Door opening in a wall in Dammam is handled by Aemar Al-Maryam General Contracting as a complete job rather than a cut on its own: we fix where the opening sits and its dimensions, check whether the wall is load-bearing or an ordinary block infill, set the lintel above it, open it, plaster the reveals and hand it over ready for the frame, fit the door or window you have bought, seal the window with silicone, and close any old openings you no longer need. Cutting the opening itself starts from SAR 140, a complete opening with plastered reveals ready for the frame starts from SAR 280, and fitting a ready-made wooden door with its frame starts from SAR 230. Every figure here is indicative and is fixed only after we inspect and agree with you. Phone or message us on 0547879578.

To avoid any confusion: our work is openings in walls, which means creating space for a door, window or vent that was not there before, enlarging an existing one, or closing an old one. We do not offer lock-opening or locked-door services. If you have lost your key, this page is not for you; if you want a new doorway linking the majlis to the living room, a window that brings daylight into a dark room, or a driver door in your villa boundary wall, you are in the right place.

Door Opening in a Wall in Dammam: What the Job Includes From Start to Finish

A door opening in a wall in Dammam involves six stages in sequence: inspecting the wall and identifying its type, preparing and protecting the room, the lintel, the opening itself, finishing the reveals, and fitting the frame and door. Many people assume the job is over when the last block comes out. In reality, at that moment the opening is still a raw wound in the wall: the edges are rough, the blocks above need something to carry them, the floor is covered in dust, and no frame can be fixed until the sides are plastered and dry.

That is why our price list separates two clear items. The opening is cutting the outline and removing the block of wall. The complete opening is the same work plus plastering the reveals, handing the opening over straight and square and ready for a frame, and bagging the debris. If you have your own tradesmen for the finishing, choose the first; if you want a space that is ready for the door carpenter or the aluminium installer, choose the second.

Wall Openings in Dammam: Doors, Windows and Vents

Making openings in a wall in Dammam means creating a space of an exact size in an existing wall for a door, window or vent, with straight edges and a lintel above, without weakening what surrounds it. The method depends on what the wall is made of. In block walls we mark the outline, cut it with a cutter from both faces and then take out the blocks inside gently. Reinforced concrete is only opened with a diamond saw, and that work, with its equipment and cutting depths, is set out on our page about concrete cutting in Dammam.

Some small openings are also “openings in the wall” but are not covered here: the hole for a split AC pipe, a drain pipe, or a small round extractor fan. These are made by core drilling, a round diamond bit that cuts a clean hole of a set diameter, and they have their own page on core drilling in Dammam. This page is about the openings a person walks through or daylight comes in through: doors, windows, vents and boundary-wall entrances.

When Do You Need a New Door or Window Opening in Dammam?

You need a new door or window opening in Dammam when the way you use your home changes but its shape does not: the family has grown, the annex has become living space, the kitchen needs a connection to the living room, or a room without a window is about to become a bedroom. In most of these cases a new opening is much cheaper than demolishing and rebuilding, and gives the same result when it is done in the right order.

• ✓Connecting two rooms or wings: a door between a bedroom and a dressing room, between the majlis and the dining room, or between two flats in a building owned by one person.
• ✓Reaching a new annex: a door from the house into an annex or majlis built alongside it, so you do not have to go out into the yard. If the annex is still at the building stage, see annex and majlis construction in Dammam.
• ✓Kitchen pass-through: a serving hatch or a wide opening that makes the kitchen partly open, one of the most common alteration requests in flats.
• ✓Light and ventilation: a window in a dark inner room, or a vent in a bathroom that has none and keeps collecting damp.
• ✓A wider door: for large furniture, for a wheelchair, or because the old door is an unusual size.
• ✓Boundary-wall entrances: a driver door in the villa wall, a second car gate, or moving the gate to a better position.
• ✓Changing the layout during renovation: moving a door from one wall to another as part of a full renovation in Dammam, with the old opening closed.

In every one of these cases the first question is not “how much?” but “does this wall allow it?”. That is why we always start with the wall itself.

Block Wall or Concrete Wall? How We Open Each Type in Dammam

Most interior walls in modern Dammam villas and apartment buildings are block walls filling the space between concrete columns and beams; these are opened with a cutter and careful hand removal after the lintel is in place. Reinforced concrete walls are cut with a diamond saw. Telling the two apart is part of the inspection: a light tap on the wall, a look at its thickness at existing doorways, and sometimes a small exploratory hole in a place that will not show.

Opening a Door in a Block Wall in Dammam

Opening a door in a block wall in Dammam is careful hand work more than heavy work. The cement blocks common on the Saudi market are 20 cm thick for external and some internal walls and 15 cm for many partitions, and insulated blocks are also used. We draw the opening on both faces, cut its lines with the cutter so the surrounding blockwork does not crack, and then take the blocks out from the top down, one piece at a time, rather than with a heavy hammer that shakes the whole wall. Before that, the lintel has already been cast or set above the opening, or a temporary prop is carrying the blocks above.

A well-known Saudi engineer who publishes advice for home owners summed it up: removing blocks to widen a door or window or to join two rooms is not a concern as long as nothing is broken next to columns and beams, the removal is done gently, and debris is not piled on the slab but carried away as you go. We follow those three conditions on every opening.

Opening a Door in a Concrete Wall in Dammam

A door in a concrete wall in Dammam is never made by breaking, because breaking loosens the concrete around the opening, exposes the steel and leaves cracks. We mark the opening and check the wall before cutting, then saw it with a diamond wall saw and water, and lift the block out in pieces small enough to carry. Cutting depths, equipment and the checks needed in slabs and post-tensioned elements are covered on the concrete cutting page; here we pick up after the cut, with the reveals, the frame and the fitting.

A Door in a Load-Bearing Wall in Dammam: The Engineer and the Balady Permit

Cutting a doorway through a load-bearing wall in Dammam is possible, but it starts with an engineer, not with a contractor. A load-bearing wall carries the weight of the roof or the floor above down to the foundation, and any opening in it changes the path of that load. It therefore needs a design that sets the opening size, its lintel or replacement beam and the temporary propping, followed by work to the approved drawings. This is different from a block wall that fills a gap between two columns and carries nothing but itself.

Signs That a Wall Is Load-Bearing

• ✓The age and system of the house: some older houses were built with walls carrying the roof directly, with no concrete frame of columns and beams. In those houses every opening is a structural alteration.
• ✓Thickness: a wall clearly thicker than 20 cm, or a solid concrete wall, deserves suspicion.
• ✓What is above and below: a beam under it on the floor below, a slab resting on it, or a column standing on it on the floor above.
• ✓Position: a wall in the middle of the house running the length of the rooms, with roof beams crossing it.

These clues help you understand the situation, but only a civil engineer who sees the building and its drawings can settle it. What we tell every customer is this: if the inspection shows the wall is load-bearing, we stop pricing it as an ordinary opening and ask for the engineer’s report first, and we never cut a column or beam under any circumstances without an engineering design.

Does Opening a Door Need a Balady Permit?

A new door in a non-load-bearing interior block partition counts as maintenance in most cases and rarely needs a permit. An opening in a load-bearing wall, a new window in the facade, or a new gate in the boundary wall facing the street is a change to the building’s components or elevation. It needs a report from an engineering office and may require a permit on the Balady platform, through the “building restoration permit” service or the “adding and modifying building components” service. In those cases we work only to the approved drawings.

This step can feel like a delay, but it protects you twice: from a crack or deflection in the floor above, and from an alteration that the municipality could later ask you to reverse. When an engineer is needed, we can work alongside the office you choose and follow its drawings to the letter.

The Lintel Over the Opening in Dammam: Sizes, Bearing and Casting

The lintel over an opening in Dammam, called «العتب» or «العتبة» locally, is a small reinforced concrete beam set above a door or window to carry the blocks above it and pass their weight to both sides of the opening. Without it the blocks above slowly start to drop, diagonal cracks appear from the corners of the opening, and the doorway narrows until the door rubs on its frame. So our rule is simple: every new opening in a block wall gets a lintel, unless the top of the opening meets the underside of an existing concrete beam, in which case the beam itself acts as the lintel.

These are the working rules we follow for the usual openings in homes. They come from published Arabic structural references and accepted practice:

A worked illustration: a 90 cm door in a 20 cm block wall needs a lintel at least 90 + 15 + 15 = 120 cm long, 20 cm wide and about 20 cm deep. The reinforcement and the number of bars are set by whoever designs it, so we do not give you a bar size here; every opening carries a different load. For reference, international masonry practice sets a minimum bearing of about 100 mm at each end, and many builders use more; our 15 cm rule sits comfortably above that.

Precast Lintel or Cast in Place?

A precast lintel is quicker to install and usually better cured because it was cast in controlled conditions, but it only works if its depth and length suit the opening. The classic mistake is a thin 10 cm precast piece placed over an opening that needs more. A cast-in-place lintel needs tight, level formwork and a week of curing, but it takes the exact size of the wall. We choose between them according to the opening and the time available, and explain why.

A Lintel Next to a Column or Over an Old Opening

If the opening sits next to a column, the column is never broken to give the lintel a seat. Instead, steel dowels are drilled about 15 cm into the column and bonded with epoxy, and the lintel ties into them. If you are widening or moving an old opening, the old lintel is removed completely and a new one is cast for the full length of the new opening. The new lintel is never joined to the old one, because that joint would become the weakest point above the door.

Years later you might notice a slanting crack that starts at the corner of an old doorway in your home; that is often the mark of a short or missing lintel. Treating it starts with finding the cause, and you will find how we approach it on crack repair in Dammam.

Steps for Opening a Door in a Wall in Dammam

Our steps for opening a door in a wall in Dammam number nine. They begin with agreeing the size with the door supplier and end with handing over a clean, plastered opening ready for the frame. Order matters more than speed: a mistake at an early step, such as the size or the lintel, cannot be put right by any finishing that comes later.

1. 1
   Agree the size with the supplier
   We take the required opening size from the door supplier: leaf width with the frame, plus a fitting gap of 1 to 2 cm on each side.
2. 2
   Inspect and identify the wall
   Block or concrete? Load-bearing or not? Are there electrical, water or AC lines in it?
3. 3
   Isolate power and move services
   We switch off the circuit running through the wall and trace any pipe so it can be rerouted before opening.
4. 4
   Protection
   Covering the floor and furniture, screening the work area with plastic sheeting, and setting up dust extraction and water spray.
5. 5
   Marking both faces
   Marking the opening on both faces with a level and checking that the two outlines match.
6. 6
   The lintel
   Casting the lintel in place or setting a precast one, or a temporary prop if a beam sits directly above.
7. 7
   Cutting the outline and removing blocks
   Cutting the outline from both sides, removing blocks from the top down, and carrying debris away as we go.
8. 8
   Preparing the reveals
   Trueing the edges, fixing mesh where old meets new, adding metal corner beads, and plastering the sides and head of the opening.
9. 9
   Handover
   Measuring the opening after plastering and checking it against the supplier’s size, cleaning up, and bagging or removing the debris.

If the wall is concrete, only step seven changes: the diamond saw takes the place of the cutter and hand removal. If the opening is for a window, an extra item is added for the sill and its slope, as the next section explains.

Opening a Window in a Wall in Dammam

Opening a window in a wall in Dammam goes through almost the same steps as a door, with two additions. The first is the sill, the bottom edge the frame rests on, which should slope slightly outwards so rainwater does not sit on it. The second is the height of the window above the floor, which depends on its purpose: light only, ventilation, or a view. Most new windows we open are in external block walls, so they need a lintel like a door, and their outside reveals need plastering that matches the facade.

Our standing advice: do not order an aluminium window before the opening is plastered. Measuring before plastering leaves a gap of 5 to 15 mm between the frame and the wall once the finishing is done, and that gap ends up stuffed with silicone and becomes a route for dust and water. The right time to measure is after the reveals have dried, and we give you the final size in writing to send to the workshop.

Facade and Privacy Rules for a New Window in Dammam

A window on the facade is part of the building’s appearance, and changing the elevation is an alteration that needs the engineering office and the municipality. The residential building requirements issued by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing state that direct openings from an upper roof annex towards the neighbouring boundaries are not permitted, and that such annexes take their light from setbacks, courtyards or light wells. These requirements are written for new permits, and the municipality may apply them to alterations in existing buildings according to its own procedures, so we do not advise any customer to open a window looking straight into a neighbour’s home.

For bedrooms on upper floors, the same document requires an emergency escape window whose sill is no higher than 1.1 m above the floor, and it sets minimum window areas in relation to the floor area of the room. So if you are opening a window for a new bedroom, keep its sill low enough.

Bathroom and Kitchen Window Openings in Dammam

A bathroom window is small by nature: the requirements mentioned above limit a toilet window to no more than 0.30 m², half of it openable, which is roughly 60 × 50 cm. It is placed high for privacy, and its sill is sealed well because steam condenses on it. A kitchen window works best above the sink or next to the cooking area, and we coordinate its position with the kitchen designer if you are refitting the kitchen as part of kitchen renovation in Dammam, and likewise for bathrooms as part of bathroom renovation in Dammam.

Vents and Ventilation Openings in Dammam

Ventilation openings in Dammam are small windows or rectangular openings that let air change in the places that trap damp and smells: an inner bathroom, a laundry room, the kitchen, the stairwell, a storeroom, or the maid’s or driver’s room. The Gulf word «دريشة» (plural «درايش») simply means a window, so if you searched for “doors and windows openings” in its local form, you were looking for exactly what this page covers.

A small vent is made just like a window, only smaller: marking, lintel, cutting, removal, plastered reveals and a sill sloping outwards. The one difference is that some very small openings, such as a round fan opening 15 or 20 cm across, are cleaner and quicker with a core drill than with a saw, so we suggest whichever suits the size of the fan or grille you plan to fit.

Widening a Door in Dammam

Widening a door in Dammam means removing the old frame, cutting the wall to the new width or height, taking out the old lintel completely and casting a new one for the full length of the new opening, then plastering the reveals and preparing them for a new frame. Door widening starts from SAR 140 for the cutting and removal, and the new lintel is priced at inspection. The reason for removing the old lintel is simple: it was long enough for the old opening, so once the opening is wider, one of its ends either hangs in mid-air or rests on far too little wall.

Situations we see often include a 70 cm bathroom door widened to take an 80 cm leaf, a bedroom door raised because new floor tiles lifted the floor level and the door now rubs, and an entrance door widened into a double door. In the last case the opening grows from 90 cm to around 150 or 180 cm, a span that needs a properly considered lintel and possibly an engineer’s opinion as it approaches two metres.

Approximate sizes from Saudi suppliers. The real opening size equals the leaf plus the frame plus the fitting gap, so confirm it with your supplier before anything is cut.

Widening a Door for a Wheelchair in Dammam

If someone at home uses a wheelchair, the measure that matters is not the leaf width but the clear width the chair passes through when the door stands open at a right angle. The best-known international reference on this, the US accessibility standards, sets that clear width at no less than 815 mm, which usually means a leaf of 90 cm or more once the thickness of the leaf and frame are deducted. We also look at the threshold with you; ideally there should be no level change between the two rooms to catch the wheels.

Opening a Door Between Two Rooms in Dammam

Opening a door between two rooms in Dammam is one of the most frequent requests, and in most homes it means an opening in a block partition that does not carry the roof, done in the usual steps: lintel, cutting and removal, plastered reveals, then frame and door. The opening starts from SAR 140, and the complete opening ready for the frame from SAR 280. The question we always ask before starting is: do you want a door between the two rooms, or do you want them to become one room?

If the goal is one large room, such as merging two rooms into a majlis or living room, the answer is not a wide doorway but removing the dividing wall entirely. Removing a non-load-bearing block wall of normal size between two rooms starts from SAR 185, and the details, including how the floor and ceiling are dealt with afterwards, are on demolition contractor in Dammam. If the goal is easy movement while each room keeps its privacy, a door is the answer, and it can be a pocket door sliding into the wall or a pair of doors.

• ✓Check the wall from both sides: a built-in wardrobe, light switches or an AC pipe may sit exactly where the new door is planned.
• ✓Think about which way the leaf swings: so that it does not hit a bed, a wardrobe or a light switch.
• ✓Mind the floor: the opening exposes a strip of floor under the old wall that needs matching tiles or a marble threshold.
• ✓Keep away from the column: leaving at least about 15 cm between the edge of the opening and a column makes the lintel bearing and the frame fixing easier.

A door between two rooms is also a good moment to think about light switches and sockets on that wall. Moving a switch a few tens of centimetres before the plaster goes on costs little; moving it after painting means opening the finished wall again. Our electrician in Dammam page explains how we handle these small changes.

Opening a Gate in a Villa Boundary Wall in Dammam

Opening a gate in a villa boundary wall in Dammam is possible and something we do regularly, whether a small driver door or a second car gate. But the boundary wall is part of the approved plan of the house and faces the street, so a new gate needs a check of the plan and with the municipality first. The work also differs slightly from an interior wall: a boundary wall is usually block between concrete columns with a beam or tie on top, and an opening in it needs side piers or concrete edges to carry the hinges of the steel gate and take its daily movement.

A Driver Door in the Boundary Wall

A driver door opening in the boundary wall starts from SAR 140, with its side piers and lintel priced at inspection. The residential building requirements allow a door for the driver’s room in the boundary wall when it suits the design of the wall and gate, with a width of no more than 0.80 m. That figure is written for new permits, but it is a good guide to what the municipality accepts, so we design driver doors within it unless you hold an approved plan that says otherwise.

The Car Gate and the Pavement

A car gate is much wider. The same requirements set a villa vehicle entrance at no less than 3 m wide, and require ramps and steps to stay within the plot rather than extend beyond the width of the pavement. An opening of that size in an existing wall needs new piers and either a beam over it or an open design without one, and it is priced at inspection. The pavement in front is public property: any ramp or change to it for vehicle access needs municipal approval, and the municipal penalty schedule includes fines for obstructing pedestrians on the pavement and for altering its path.

Fitting Doors and Windows After the Opening in Dammam

Fitting doors and windows after the opening in Dammam is the stage the home owner actually sees, and we do it once the plaster on the reveals has dried. We do not manufacture or supply doors or windows: you buy them from the supplier you prefer, we prepare the opening to their size, fit the ready-made wooden door with its frame, and coordinate with the aluminium installer for aluminium windows and doors. Fitting a ready wooden door with its frame starts from SAR 230 per door, and fitting aluminium windows or doors is priced at inspection or handled by the supplier.

Fitting a Door Frame in Dammam

The frame is what the leaf hangs on, and its accuracy decides whether the door will close smoothly or start to rub and stick after a few months. We leave a gap of 1 to 2 cm between frame and wall on each side, set the frame plumb and level with wedges and a spirit level, fix it with mechanical anchors, and fill the gap with polyurethane foam. We do not fill it with cement mortar, because mortar holds moisture that swells and twists the timber. Fitting the frame before the wall is plastered is a common mistake: plaster shrinks slightly as it dries, and cracks then appear along the frame after painting.

Fitting an Aluminium Window in Dammam

For aluminium windows, the aluminium installer measures the opening after we have plastered it, then makes and fits the frame, or we fit it if that is what we agree. What matters most is the gap between frame and wall. Published technical guidance for aluminium windows recommends a gap of around 5 mm on each side for openings under 3 m wide, and no more than 10 mm. A larger gap means the measuring was wrong, and it will be filled with a thick bead of silicone that does not last. In Dammam’s humid, salty air near the sea, choose a frame with a corrosion-resistant finish and keep the sealant around it maintained.

Finishing the Opening Reveals in Dammam: Plaster, Corner Beads and Paint

Finishing the reveals of an opening in Dammam is what makes a new door look as though it was built with the house rather than added later. We true up the sides and the head of the opening, fix mesh tape roughly 15 cm wide over every place where new meets old, such as where the concrete lintel meets the blockwork, then set metal corner beads so the arrises are sharp and straight, and plaster the reveals and the area around them until they are flush with the wall.

Cement plaster is kept moist for about a week so it does not crack, and it is not painted until it is properly dry. If the area around the opening is larger than the reveals, for example where the wall plaster was damaged over a wide area, we price it by the square metre: from SAR 11 per m² for screeded plastering labour, and from SAR 13 per m² including materials. More about plastering is on plastering contractor in Dammam.

As for paint, we usually recommend repainting the whole wall on both sides rather than patching around the opening, because new paint over part of an old wall shows a different shade and sheen however well the colour matches on paper. Painting the wall after the opening starts from SAR 14 per m² with economy paint, and the options are explained on painting contractor in Dammam.

Window Sealing With Silicone in Dammam

Window sealing with silicone in Dammam is what keeps rainwater and dust out of the gap between the window frame and the wall, and it starts from SAR 11 per linear metre, including removal of the old sealant and new material. It matters in Dammam in particular: fine dust gets in through the smallest gap, humidity and salts near the coast break down old silicone faster, and the few winter rains often arrive with wind that drives water sideways into window edges.

Proper sealing does not mean a lot of silicone; it means the right gap, the right material and the right method. These rules come from published technical guidance on sealing around windows, and we work to them:

1. 1
   Remove the old sealant completely
   We cut out the cracked silicone and clean away all residue and dust; new silicone over old does not bond.
2. 2
   A backing for wider gaps
   Where the gap is over 6 mm, a closed-cell foam backer rod goes behind the silicone so it does not sink in.
3. 3
   Depth and width
   Silicone at least 6 mm deep, with a width-to-depth ratio between 1:1 and 2:1.
4. 4
   Inside and outside
   A continuous bead on both faces, plus a seal between the frame and the sill.
5. 5
   The right material
   Neutral-cure silicone for aluminium and masonry, rather than acetic types that can affect some surfaces.
6. 6
   Drainage slots
   We never block the drainage slots at the bottom of an aluminium frame; they are the way out for water that enters the track.

If water comes in at the top of a window rather than its sides, the cause may be an outside sill sloping inwards or a crack in the facade plaster above it, and silicone alone will not cure that. Water coming through the roof has nothing to do with windows, and its treatment is covered on roof waterproofing in Dammam.

Closing an Old Door or Window Opening in Dammam

Closing an old opening in Dammam, whether a door no longer used, a window or an old window-type AC opening, is done with blocks of the same wall thickness, mesh over the joints and plaster flush with the wall, and it is priced at inspection because the size of these openings and the condition of their edges vary a lot. The mistake we correct most often is an opening filled with whatever blocks were to hand, set in weak mortar and plastered straight away, which a few months later shows a rectangle of cracks tracing the outline of the old door on the wall.

1. 1
   Remove the frame
   Taking out the wooden frame, aluminium frame or AC bracket, along with any fixings or remains.
2. 2
   Clean the edges
   Breaking away loose plaster around the opening until sound blockwork shows on every side.
3. 3
   Build up
   Blocks of the same thickness as the existing wall, in strong mortar, with the top course packed tight under the lintel.
4. 4
   Mesh over both joints
   Mesh roughly 15 cm wide covering the joint between new and old blocks, on both faces.
5. 5
   Plaster and cure
   Plaster flush with the surrounding wall, then keep it moist for several days before filler and paint.

An old window-type AC opening needs extra care: it is usually in an external wall, with a small lintel or none at all above it, and cracked plaster around it from years of vibration. If you want a split unit in its place, there is no need to fill it completely before we decide where the new pipe hole goes; sometimes we close it and leave a hole of exactly the required diameter in the new blockwork.

Door and Window Opening Prices in Dammam

The cost of opening a door in a wall in Dammam starts from SAR 140 for cutting the outline and removing the block in a block or concrete wall of normal thickness, and from SAR 280 for a complete opening with plastered reveals ready for the frame and the debris bagged. The lintel is priced at inspection, and the frame and door are separate items. These are indicative figures confirmed after inspection and agreement; they move with the wall type and thickness, the opening size, the floor level, access, and how much lintel and finishing work the opening needs.

The SAR 280 “complete opening” applies to door and window openings and is a different item from the “wall-cutting job” on our concrete cutting page, even though the figure is the same. For items priced at inspection, WhatsApp 0547879578 with pictures of each side of the wall plus the opening dimensions, and an estimated figure comes back to you.

Worked Example: a New Bedroom Door

Suppose you want a new bedroom door with a 90 × 210 cm leaf in a 20 cm interior block wall that is not load-bearing, and you have already bought a ready-made wooden door with its frame:

For illustration only: the reveal area plastered within the “complete opening” here is about one square metre (sides and head 2.1 + 2.1 + 0.9 = 5.1 m × 0.20 m depth). And if one debris load has room for more than one opening, grouping several jobs into a single visit spreads its cost across them.

Cost of Opening a Window in a Wall in Dammam

The cost of opening a window in a wall in Dammam is worked out from the same items. Example: a 120 × 120 cm window in an external block wall: a complete opening at SAR 280, plus silicone around the frame inside and out, 2 × 4.8 m = 9.6 m × SAR 11 ≈ SAR 106, giving a total from about SAR 386 before the lintel, the supply and fitting of the window by its supplier, and any facade procedure with the municipality.

What Changes the Price?

• ✓Wall type and thickness: block is easier than concrete, and thick or heavily reinforced concrete is priced at inspection.
• ✓Load-bearing or not: a load-bearing wall adds an engineering design and temporary propping.
• ✓Opening size: a wider opening needs a longer, deeper lintel, and anything over about two metres is designed by the engineer.
• ✓Floor level and access: working on an upper floor without a lift adds time to moving debris.
• ✓Services in the wall: a pipe or cable where the opening goes has to be rerouted first.
• ✓Level of finish: opening only, complete opening, or with the whole wall repainted and the door fitted.

To compare with our other services and their starting prices, see the estimated price guide.

How Long Does Opening a Door Take in Dammam, and How Do We Keep Dust Down?

Opening a door in a block wall in Dammam takes only a few hours for the cutting and removal, but a complete opening takes days: a cast-in-place lintel is kept moist and not loaded for about 7 days, and the plastered reveals need several days of curing before the frame and paint. So we plan the job in visits: one for the lintel, one for the opening and reveals, and one for the frame and door. With a precast lintel the timeline is shorter.

Dust is what worries people living in the house during the work most. We cover the floor with plastic and cardboard, wrap or move the furniture, hang a plastic sheet across the doorway so the dust stays in the work room, use cutters with dust extraction wherever possible, and spray the cutting area with water. Wet cutting in concrete greatly reduces the fine dust that harms the lungs. Debris is bagged as we go rather than piled on the slab, and removed in a load from SAR 90.

Common Mistakes in Door and Window Openings in Dammam

Most problems with newly opened doors and windows in Dammam come down to a few repeated mistakes of sequence rather than skill. We list them here because knowing them is enough to ask any contractor the right questions:

• ✓Opening without a lintel: trusting the blocks to “hold themselves up”, then seeing diagonal cracks from the corners and sagging at the top.
• ✓A thin or short lintel: a 10 cm precast piece, or a bearing of only a few centimetres on each side.
• ✓Joining a new lintel to an old one: when widening, instead of removing the old lintel and casting a full new one.
• ✓Breaking the column to seat the lintel: instead of fixing epoxy-bonded dowels into it.
• ✓Breaking with a heavy hammer: which shakes the whole wall and loosens plaster and tiles in the next room.
• ✓Piling debris on the slab: a heavy load concentrated on one spot of the floor.
• ✓Measuring the window before plastering: a large gap stuffed with silicone that lets in dust and water.
• ✓A frame fixed with mortar: moisture swells the timber, and the door rubs and sticks.
• ✓A window sill sloping inwards: rainwater runs into the room instead of out.
• ✓Closing an opening without mesh: the outline of the old opening shows on the wall after painting.

Door and Window Openings Beyond Dammam: Al Khobar, Dhahran, Qatif, Jubail and Other Eastern Province Cities

We open, widen and close doors and windows across Dammam, including the older central districts of Al Jalawiyah, Al Anoud, Al Badiyah, Taibah, Badr, An Nur, Al Qadisiyah and Al Khaleej; the eastern and northern districts of Ash Shati, Ar Rayyan, Ghirnatah, Al Athir, Al Hamra, Adh Dhabab, Al Mazruiyah and Al Faisaliyah; and newer districts such as Al Firdaws, An Nada, Al Manar, Al Fursan, Ash Shulah, Uhud, Ar Rawdah, Al Itisalat, Ibn Khaldun, Al Jamiyin and King Fahd Suburb. You can see what we offer in the city on the Dammam area page.

Outside Dammam we serve Al Khobar, with districts such as Al Aqrabiyah, Al Hada, the Green Belt, Ath Thuqbah and Al Olaya, where we pay extra attention to window sealing because humidity and salts are higher near the coast; for a full home renovation there, see renovation contractor in Al Khobar. We also work in Dhahran; Qatif, where many older houses may have load-bearing walls that call for a closer check; Saihat; Jubail, where building alterations in Jubail Industrial City go through the Royal Commission; Hafr Al-Batin; Khafji; Abqaiq; Ras Tanura; and Al-Ahsa.

In cities further from Dammam, travel is priced at inspection, and the economical approach is to group the openings, widening and closing work you need into one visit; the more work in a visit, the smaller each opening’s share of the travel and debris costs.

How to Order a Door Opening in a Wall in Dammam: What to Send on WhatsApp

Ordering a door opening in a wall in Dammam takes one WhatsApp message to 0547879578 with a few photos and details. We reply with an estimated cost based on our starting prices and agree an inspection time with you. Sharp, well-lit photos narrow the gap between our estimate and the final price.

• ✓Photos of the wall from both sides: with the position of the opening marked in tape or pencil if possible.
• ✓The size you want: the door or window dimensions (width × height), or the supplier’s figure if it is already bought.
• ✓Wall thickness: measured at the nearest existing doorway in the same wall.
• ✓Building and storey: villa, flat or apartment building, the storey, and lift access.
• ✓What is on the wall: switches, an AC unit or a basin close to where the opening will go.
• ✓What you want after the opening: opening only, complete opening, or with the door fitted and the wall painted.

1. 1
   Your message
   Wall photos and the opening size on WhatsApp, or a call if that is easier for you.
2. 2
   A first estimate
   We send the items we expect and the price of each, and say clearly what can only be settled on site.
3. 3
   The visit
   We check the wall, decide whether an engineer or permit is needed, and agree the lintel.
4. 4
   The work
   Lintel, then opening, then reveals, then fitting, on the agreed dates.
5. 5
   Handover
   A clean opening that matches the supplier’s size, with debris removed or bagged.

To see work of this kind, visit our projects page, start from the door and window openings service, or send your request through the inspection request page.