Electrician in Dammam from Aemar Al-Maryam General Contracting: an electrical crew that carries out electrical rough-in for villas, homes, new buildings and annexes, new extensions to existing wiring, distribution board (panel) installation with breakers, residual-current devices and earthing, rewiring of older houses, spotlights, chandeliers and hidden lighting, and dedicated lines for air conditioners and water heaters, with the work date fixed after a site inspection or once we have looked at photos you send over WhatsApp. A rough-in point inside a wiring project starts from SAR 37, rough-in for a new building from SAR 28 per square metre, a new point added to an existing home from SAR 75, a split-AC line with its own breaker from SAR 120, and a distribution board from SAR 370. All of these are labour estimates until inspection and agreement. For small faults, send a photo of the panel or the problem spot and we will tell you whether one visit is enough. Call or WhatsApp 0547879578.
The wiring in a house is a network buried in walls and ceilings that the owner never sees again once plaster and paint go on, yet he lives with its results every day: a socket behind the fridge that runs warm, a breaker that trips whenever the AC and the water heater run together, a switch that ends up behind the wardrobe, a spotlight that stays dark because its cable snapped above the gypsum. Most of these problems are born at rough-in, when a cable size is chosen, two appliances are put on one circuit, or walls are closed without a test. This guide explains how we carry out electrical work in Dammam from the drawing to switch-on: which specifications and figures we use, the price of each item, and a practical way to compare contractors’ quotes before you decide.
In short: electrical work in Dammam with Aemar Al-Maryam
- What we do: electrical rough-in for villas, houses, apartment buildings and annexes; new extensions; distribution boards and breakers; earthing and RCD protection; rewiring older homes; lighting, spotlights and chandeliers; AC and water-heater lines; internet, satellite and intercom conduits; outdoor lighting.
- Booking: the work day is set after a site inspection or a look at your photos; we are not a night-time or round-the-clock emergency service.
- Prices start from: rough-in point SAR 37, building rough-in SAR 28/m², new point in an existing home SAR 75, a whole room SAR 460, AC line SAR 120, distribution board SAR 370, earthing SAR 275, socket or switch SAR 18, spotlight SAR 9, chandelier SAR 55, LED strip SAR 45 per metre. Labour estimates until inspection and agreement; materials to your choice.
- Standards: the Saudi Electrical Code SBC 401, which is built on the international IEC 60364 standards; 230 V three-pin sockets to the Saudi standard; 30 mA residual-current protection for sockets and wet areas.
- Testing: continuity and insulation resistance measured with a megger before plastering, then polarity and RCD trip tests after energising, and a circuit schedule handed to you.
- Coverage: all of Dammam’s districts, Al Khobar and Dhahran close by, and Jubail, Qatif, Saihat, Al-Ahsa and other Eastern Province towns further out.
- Contact: phone and WhatsApp 0547879578, with photos of the board, the space and any drawing you have.
Electrician in Dammam: the work we take on and how booking works
Our home electricians in Dammam work to a fixed appointment once the job is understood. Either we inspect the site or you send photos; from those we work out the number of points and circuits, the materials, the estimated cost and how many days the work will take, and the electrical crew arrives on the agreed day with its testing and installation tools. That approach fits what most people actually need when they type “electrician in Dammam”: a new house that needs full rough-in, an older house whose wiring is tired, an annex that needs its own supply, a hall that needs spotlights and hidden lighting, or new air conditioners that need dedicated lines and breakers.
To be clear from the start: plenty of adverts promise an electrician at your door within minutes, at midnight if need be, and we make no such promise. We are a contracting establishment with electrical crews who work on scheduled jobs, and that is what lets us price the job line by line, work from a drawing, and test the installation before the walls are closed and before it is switched on. Small jobs such as replacing a socket or a switch, or fitting a light, we add to a visit already booked or combine with other work in your home, and the photo usually tells us whether it needs a trip of its own.
■ Electrical rough-in
conduits, boxes, cables and a distribution board for new buildings, villas and annexes before plaster and gypsum.
■ New extensions
extra points, moved sockets and switches, AC and water-heater lines in occupied homes.
■ Panels and protection
installing and replacing distribution boards, breakers, residual-current devices and earthing.
■ Rewiring
replacing old cables in part of the house or all of it, and converting from 110 V to 220 V.
■ Lighting
spotlights, chandeliers, LED strips and hidden lighting in gypsum ceilings, plus outdoor lighting.
■ Low-current systems
conduits and points for internet, satellite TV, intercom, cameras and the doorbell.
Electrical technician or home electrician in Dammam: who turns up at your door?
Depending on the size of the job, you get an electrical technician or a lead electrician from our team. On rough-in and full rewiring the work is led by a lead electrician who reads the drawing and decides the conduit routes, where the board goes and how the circuits are split; with him come technicians who cut tidy chases, fix the boxes, pull the cables and fit the breakers. On larger jobs a supervisor from the establishment coordinates with the other trades, because electrical work never happens on its own: before it come block walls and chases, alongside it plumbing and air conditioning, and after it plaster, gypsum, paint and tiles.
Electrician phone number in Dammam: the steps after your first message
Your first message to 0547879578 is followed by a handful of questions: what needs doing, how many rooms and air conditioners, how old the house is, and whether the walls are still bare blockwork or finished. We also ask for one photo of the distribution board and one of the space. If the job is clear from the pictures we reply with a cost estimate; if it needs measuring we agree a day for an inspection. Either way the items arrive in writing in the same chat: the scope, the materials and who pays for them, the number of days, and anything the price leaves out.
⚠ Burning smell, sparks or smoke? Do not wait for an appointment
If you smell burning, see sparks or smoke from a socket or the distribution board, or a breaker becomes too hot to touch, switch off the main breaker if you can reach it safely, move away, and call Civil Defence or the Saudi Electricity Company’s fault-reporting service. We do not present ourselves as an emergency responder. Once the place is safe we inspect the installation, find the cause and repair it by appointment.
Electrical contractor or call-out electrician in Dammam? When you need a contractor
You need an electrical company or electrical contractor in Dammam when the job is a network rather than a single part: rough-in for a house or an annex, rewiring several rooms, a new distribution board, or adding air conditioners and loads that require the circuits to be rebalanced. A broken socket or a lamp that needs changing is a job for a call-out electrician, and we can also do it within a scheduled visit. The difference is not only in hand skills, it is in planning, calculation, testing and a quote written out item by item.
| Situation | Call-out electrician | Electrical contractor |
|---|---|---|
| A damaged socket or switch | Usually enough | Added to a booked visit or other work |
| Adding two or three air conditioners | Runs a cable from the nearest point | Calculates the load and gives each unit its own line and breaker |
| A new villa or annex | Often works without a drawing | Works from the drawing and tests before plastering |
| An old house where breakers keep tripping | Fits a bigger breaker | Measures insulation, finds the cause and replaces what is needed |
| The quote | One lump sum | Items: points, circuits, board, earthing, testing |
People also search for an “electrical engineer in Dammam”. For new buildings the electrical drawings are prepared by an approved engineering office, as the residential building requirements of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing require, and we build to those drawings and coordinate with the office on any change. For existing homes and small annexes we work from a simple layout that we mark out with you on the wall and on paper before we start.
Plumbing and electrical contractor in Dammam on one project
Many owners look for a plumbing and electrical contractor in one, because the two stages go hand in hand. We have two separate crews who work on the same project in one sequence: electrical and plumbing rough-in both happen after the block work and before plaster, and the two crews agree the routes so that no cable runs over a water pipe. The plumbing side is covered on our plumber in Dammam page.
Electrical rough-in in Dammam for villas, homes and new buildings
Electrical rough-in in Dammam means installing the hidden structure of the network before finishing: conduits inside walls and ceilings, boxes for switches, sockets and lighting outlets, copper cables sized for each circuit, a main distribution board and sub-boards, and an earthing conductor. With us it starts from SAR 28 per square metre of built-up area for labour, or it is priced by the number of points from SAR 37 per point, with materials to your choice.
We carry out rough-in from the approved electrical drawing where there is one. For new villas and apartment buildings, the residential building requirements state that the electrical and low-current drawings and the material specifications must come from an approved engineering office, and that cables and fittings must conform to the Saudi standards. Where there is no detailed drawing, as with small annexes and additions, we sit down with you over the furniture layout: where the bed, the TV and the desk will go, where the fridge and the oven will stand, and where each air conditioner will be mounted, because the position of a socket is decided by the furniture, not by the middle of the wall.
We work to the Saudi Electrical Code SBC 401, which is based on the international IEC 60364 standards adapted to conditions in the Kingdom, and the code requires an installation to be tested and inspected before it is put into service and after any significant alteration. That is why we do not treat rough-in as finished when the last cable is pulled; it is finished when the test results are recorded.
When does electrical rough-in happen? The sequence with plumbing, AC, plaster and gypsum
Electrical rough-in happens once the block work is complete and before plastering, at the same stage as plumbing rough-in and the AC pipework and condensate drains. Getting the order wrong is expensive: if the electrician arrives after the plaster, every chase becomes new breaking and repeat plastering, and if the ceiling is closed with gypsum before the spotlight cables are pulled, changing anything becomes awkward.
- 1Block walls and slabs complete
the finish levels are fixed, meaning the final tile level and the plaster thickness, because box heights are measured from them. - 2Marking out on the wall
we mark every box position and every conduit route with a pencil and a laser line and go through it with you before any cutting. - 3Openings in slabs and beams
conduit holes through cast slabs are made by core drilling after a structural check, through our core drilling in Dammam, and we never break a column or a beam to pass a cable. - 4Chases and boxes
straight chases are cut in the blockwork with a saw rather than random breaking, and the boxes are set at one level. - 5Conduits
power and low-current conduits are laid on separate routes, coordinated with the plumbing crew. - 6Pulling cables
every circuit gets its own cable at the calculated size, with enough cable left at every box to make the connections. - 7Test before plastering
continuity and insulation are measured, then the stage is handed over to our plastering crew in Dammam. - 8Gypsum and tiles, then second fix
after the gypsum, the paint and tile installation in Dammam we fit the sockets, switches, lights and breakers, then test in operation.
Villa and annex electrical rough-in in Dammam: what does it cost?
The cost of villa electrical rough-in in Dammam is worked out either from the built-up area, starting from SAR 28 per square metre for labour, or from the number of points, starting from SAR 37 per point, and we choose with you whichever is clearer for your drawing. Take a villa with 300 square metres of built-up area: rough-in labour starts from SAR 8,400, not counting the cables, breakers, conduits and boxes, whose prices depend on what you choose.
A villa differs from a flat in the number of floors, the number of air conditioners and the distances back to the board. So we begin with the load: how many air conditioners on each floor and what capacity, whether there is a heater in each bathroom or a central heater, whether there is an outdoor kitchen, courtyard and boundary-wall lighting, a water pump, a driver’s room or an annex. From that we decide whether one main board is enough, or whether each floor gets a sub-board or the air conditioners get a board of their own, which is a common arrangement in villas that makes maintenance easier and keeps cable runs shorter.
An annex is priced the same way: SAR 28 per square metre if we carry out the electrical work alone, and if we build the whole annex, the electrical work is part of the all-in annex price described on our annex and majlis builder in Dammam page.
What is an electrical point and how is it counted? Electrical point prices in Dammam
An electrical point is any outlet where a cable ends in a box: a socket, a switch, a ceiling light outlet, an AC outlet or a water-heater outlet. An electrical point in Dammam starts from SAR 37 in labour when it is part of a rough-in project, and from SAR 75 when it is a new point added to a finished, occupied house, because the second kind means cutting a chase in a plastered wall and then filling and making it good again.
- A light outlet or an ordinary socket: counts as one point.
- A switch that controls several outlets: the switch is one point and each light outlet is another.
- An AC, water-heater or oven point: needs a larger cable and its own breaker, so it usually counts as more than one point or is priced as a dedicated line, from SAR 120 for an air conditioner.
- An internet or satellite point: counted as low-current work, from SAR 90.
Apartment electrical rough-in in Dammam
A flat of about 100 square metres usually needs between 50 and 70 points depending on the number of rooms, bathrooms and air conditioners. At a starting price of SAR 37 per point, rough-in labour comes to roughly SAR 1,850 to 2,590 before the board and materials. The precise figure comes from the flat’s layout, because a flat with three split units and an open kitchen is a different job from a flat with old window units.
Electrical circuits and cable sizes in Dammam
Cable size is an engineering decision, not a habit. It is set by the circuit load, the length of the run, the installation method, the temperature of the space and the rating of the breaker protecting it, and the code requires a conductor to cope with both normal operation and fault conditions. The table shows what is common in homes; we follow what is on the drawing or what we calculate for each circuit.
| Circuit | What it feeds | Common size (copper) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lighting | Lamps, spotlights and ceiling fans | 1.5 to 2.5 mm² | Never mixed with sockets on one circuit |
| General sockets | Bedrooms and living areas | 2.5 to 4 mm² | Protected by a 30 mA RCD |
| Kitchen | Worktop sockets, fridge, microwave | Usually 4 mm² | More circuits than a bedroom |
| Split air conditioner | One unit | 4 to 6 mm² depending on capacity | Its own line and breaker for each unit |
| Water heater and oven | One appliance | 4 to 6 mm² | Own breaker, double-pole switch for the heater |
| Washing machine and pump | One appliance | 2.5 to 4 mm² | Own circuit, RCD for the washer |
| Villa main feed | From the meter to the board | By the meter breaker and the distance | Calculated, never guessed |
We always keep lighting circuits separate from socket circuits, so the room light does not go out when a socket breaker trips because of a faulty appliance, and we give air conditioners, heaters, ovens, washing machines and pumps circuits of their own. We also keep a single colour code on the job: green-and-yellow for earth, blue for neutral, consistent phase colours throughout the project, and every circuit numbered at the board.
Leave spare ways in the board and spare conduits in the walls
An empty conduit up to the roof, to the laundry or out to the courtyard costs little today and saves you breaking walls tomorrow when you add an air conditioner, an electric-car charger or outdoor lighting. We also leave spare ways in the board for those additions.
Distribution board installation and replacement in Dammam
Installing a distribution board in Dammam, connections included, starts from SAR 370 in labour; adding a new breaker to an existing board starts from SAR 90; and servicing a board and rebalancing the loads on it starts from SAR 185. The distribution board, the “tablon” as people call it locally, is where every circuit in the house begins, and it holds the main breaker, the circuit breakers and the residual-current device.
We place the board somewhere dry and easy to reach, away from bathrooms and water outlets, at a height where the owner can open it and read the labels without a stool. Inside, the wires are dressed with ties and every breaker is labelled with its circuit: hall lighting, master-bedroom sockets, majlis air conditioner, upstairs bathroom heater.
Boards and breakers: how many ways do you need?
The number of ways in a board equals the number of circuits plus spares. Common domestic boards come in 12, 18, 24 and 36 ways; a small flat may manage with a medium board, while a villa needs a main board and sub-boards. The rating of the main breaker follows the meter breaker set by the Saudi Electricity Company according to the load, and in the company’s guide residential meter breakers at 400/230 V range from 20 A up to 200 A.
When should a distribution board be replaced?
We replace a board when it is old and its breakers no longer trip as they should, when it is too small to take new circuits, when it has no residual-current device, or when it shows signs of heat, rust or charred terminals. In houses where air conditioners have been added over the years we often find breakers that were swapped for higher ratings to stop them tripping. That is more dangerous than the tripping itself, because the cable is still small and the breaker no longer protects it.
⚠ Never fit a bigger breaker just because one keeps tripping
A breaker trips to protect its cable. Replacing it with a larger one without changing the cable lets the cable overheat inside the wall with nothing to switch it off. The right fix is to move loads onto new circuits, or to upsize the cable and the breaker together after calculation.
Earthing and residual-current protection in Dammam
Earthing in Dammam starts from SAR 275 for installing a home earthing system, and earthing is one of the conditions the Saudi Electricity Company sets before it connects a new residential building. Earthing is a safe path that carries current into the ground when a live conductor touches a metal casing, so that the breaker trips instead of the current passing through the person touching the appliance.
We install earthing with one or more rods driven into the ground and connected by a copper conductor to the earth bar in the board, and an earth conductor then runs with every circuit to every socket and outlet. We measure the earth resistance once the rods are in. Summaries of the Saudi specifications for electrical works state that the total resistance of the earthing system should not exceed 5 ohms; if the reading is higher we add rods or improve the connections. We never use the water pipe as an earth: in most homes it is plastic today and conducts nothing at all.
The 30 mA residual-current device: where does it go?
A residual-current device (RCD) compares the current going out with the current coming back, and trips when a small part of it leaks to earth through a person or a wet appliance. The international standards on which the Saudi code is built require additional protection by an RCD of no more than 30 mA for socket-outlets rated up to 32 A and for bathroom circuits, and the Saudi specifications call for it on kitchen and bathroom sockets, wet areas, outdoor sockets and washing-machine circuits.
- General sockets: behind a 30 mA RCD.
- Bathrooms and kitchens: every circuit protected by an RCD.
- Courtyard, roof and pool: outdoor circuits on an RCD with water-resistant fittings.
- Testing: the test button is pressed after installation, and we measure the trip time with an instrument.
Sockets and switches in Dammam: type, heights and how many
Modern sockets in Saudi Arabia are 230 V three-pin outlets made to the Saudi standard, which is based on the British standard, and they are what we install in every new rough-in. Fitting a socket or a switch at the second-fix stage starts from SAR 18 per piece in labour.
Many homes in the Kingdom used to run on a 127/220 V system. The Council of Ministers then decided to move residential and commercial buildings to a 230/400 V system; new areas and buildings are now built with 230 V sockets, while the old system is being phased out gradually under the supervision of the Saudi Electricity Company.
| Outlet | Common height above finished floor | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Light switch | About 120 cm | Beside the door, on the handle side |
| General socket | 30 to 40 cm | Set by the furniture layout |
| Bedside socket | Close to bedside-table height | Agreed with the room layout |
| Kitchen worktop sockets | Above the worktop at a suitable gap | Along the worktop on separate circuits |
| Washing machine and oven | Usually 60 to 70 cm | Its own circuit for each appliance |
| AC socket or isolator | Near the indoor unit | With a breaker or isolator close by |
These are common market heights, not mandatory figures. What matters most is that they are measured from the finished tile level, not from the concrete floor, otherwise the tiles rise and cover half the box. That is why we ask the tiling crew for the finished floor level before fixing the first box.
The number of sockets is decided by use. A bedroom needs at least two beside the bed and one at the TV or the desk; a living room needs sockets on the wall where the TV will stand and next to the seating; a kitchen needs sockets along the worktop for its small appliances. A missing socket becomes an extension lead across the floor, a common cause of overheating.
Bathroom and kitchen electrics in Dammam
Bathroom electrics in Dammam are installed according to the bathroom zones set out in the code: a zone inside the shower tray or bath, a zone above and around it, and a further zone a little farther out. We never put a socket inside those zones; fittings within them must be water-resistant to at least IPX4, anything inside the tray or bath itself needs a higher rating, and every bathroom circuit sits behind a 30 mA RCD.
- ✓Water heater: its own line and breaker, with a double-pole switch with an indicator lamp outside the bathroom door.
- ✓Extract fan: its own point, on the light switch or a separate switch, with a duct to the outside.
- ✓Mirror and lighting: moisture-resistant light fittings and a mirror socket kept clear of the wet zones.
- ✓Bathroom boxes: corrosion-resistant boxes and conduits, because Eastern Province humidity eats ordinary metal.
The kitchen is the room in the house that needs the most circuits: the fridge, the oven, an electric hob if there is one, the dishwasher, the microwave, the kettle and the cooker hood. We spread the worktop sockets across more than one circuit, give the oven and hob a dedicated circuit, and protect the lot with an RCD. When the kitchen or bathroom is part of a full refit, we coordinate through our bathroom and kitchen renovation service, because socket positions follow the cabinets and the sanitary fittings.
Electrical extensions in Dammam for air conditioners, water heaters and additions
Electrical extensions in an existing Dammam home are any new line added to a network that is already there: a new socket point, an AC line, a moved switch, or the wiring for a room that has been added. A new point in an existing house starts from SAR 75, a split-AC line with its own breaker from SAR 120, and wiring a complete room from SAR 460.
AC power lines in Dammam
Air conditioners in Dammam run for most of the year and at high loads, so every split unit gets its own line from the board, with a cable sized to its capacity, its own breaker, and a suitable isolator or socket near the unit. Putting two air conditioners on one line, or feeding a unit from the room’s ordinary socket, leads to hot cables and repeated tripping at the height of summer. When you add air conditioners to an existing house we check the board first: does it have spare ways, can the meter breaker carry the new load, or does the meter need upgrading with the Saudi Electricity Company?
The AC condensate drains and the copper refrigerant pipes belong to the plumbing and AC crews, and we agree the route with them so that all the lines run in one tidy chase.
Water heaters and extract fans: the electrical side
Connecting a water heater or an extract fan starts from SAR 65 per point. We run a dedicated line with its own breaker to the heater, fit a double-pole switch outside the bathroom, and make sure the heater body is bonded to earth. Mounting the heater itself on the wall and connecting the cold and hot water and the safety valve is the plumber’s job, covered on our plumber in Dammam page. We spell this out so that you do not assume one price includes the other.
Adding a new point in a finished house
A new point in a finished house means cutting a chase in a plastered, painted wall and then filling and plastering it again. We cut the chase with a saw along two straight lines rather than breaking it out with a hammer, so the damage is smaller and the repair easier. If the nearest source is a socket on a circuit that is already heavily loaded, we run the new line straight from the board. After the extension the wall needs filling and painting, which we coordinate with our painting contractor in Dammam or leave ready for paint, as agreed.
Electrics for annexes, majlis and roof rooms in Dammam
Annex electrical rough-in in Dammam starts from SAR 28 per square metre in labour when we do the electrical work alone, and it is included in the annex price when we build the whole thing. An annex is treated like a small house: it has its own sub-board, earthing, separate lighting and socket circuits, AC lines and a heater point if it has a bathroom.
The question that always comes up here is the meter: does the annex take its power from the house meter, or does it need a meter of its own? If the annex is a majlis or a guest room that belongs to the house, feeding it from the house board through a sub-board is the usual solution, once we have confirmed that the meter breaker can carry the extra load. If it is an independent dwelling unit, an additional meter is a service the Saudi Electricity Company provides for independent units licensed by the municipality; the owner applies for it himself, and our role is to prepare the internal wiring, the board, the earthing and the meter location to the company’s requirements. The permit side is covered on our annex and majlis builder in Dammam page.
Spotlights, chandeliers and hidden lighting in Dammam
Spotlight installation in Dammam starts from SAR 9 per spotlight, including its cut-out in a new gypsum ceiling; a chandelier from SAR 55 per piece; and LED strip or hidden lighting from SAR 45 per linear metre, all labour estimates. Fitting one or two spotlights in an existing house is priced as a visit rather than per piece.
Good lighting is planned before the gypsum, not after it. With the ceiling designer, or with you, we mark the spotlight positions at regular distances from the walls, decide which groups go on one switch and which on another, and give the chandelier a box fixed into the concrete slab that can carry its weight, not one held only by the gypsum board. For hidden lighting we leave a place for the low-voltage driver that can be reached through an access panel, because the driver usually fails before the strip, and it should never be buried above a closed ceiling.
The lighting cables are pulled before the ceiling is closed, in coordination with our gypsum board installation in Dammam: the gypsum crew puts up the framing, we run the cables and leave the ends at each opening, the ceiling is closed and the spotlight holes are cut after painting. The price of the gypsum ceiling is one thing and the price of the lighting wiring inside it is another, and we write them as separate items on the quote.
| Lighting type | Where it suits | What it needs at rough-in |
|---|---|---|
| Spotlights | Halls, rooms and corridors | An outlet per group and split switching |
| Chandelier | Majlis and large halls | A box fixed into the slab and a dedicated line for heavy pieces |
| Hidden LED strip | Gypsum ceiling edges and behind screens | A driver in an accessible place |
| Wall lights | Corridors and stairs | Boxes at one consistent height |
| Bathroom lighting | Above the mirror and in the ceiling | Moisture-resistant fittings |
Outdoor, courtyard and boundary-wall lighting in Dammam
Outdoor lighting in Dammam starts from SAR 75 per point and covers courtyard floodlights, boundary-wall and gate lighting, and garden and pathway lights. The outdoor environment in the Eastern Province is humid and salty and the sun is strong, so we choose fittings with a suitable ingress-protection rating against water and dust, boxes that will not rust, and we put every outdoor circuit behind an RCD.
Cables buried in the courtyard run inside conduits at a sufficient depth, on a bed of sand, with a warning tape above them, so that nobody cuts them later when digging to plant a tree or lay paving. Outdoor lighting gets its own circuit, with a timer or a light sensor if you want one, separate from the house circuits, so that if rain gets into a floodlight only that breaker trips.
Low-current rough-in in Dammam: internet, satellite, intercom and cameras
An internet or satellite point starts from SAR 90 per point, while intercoms, cameras and electric-car chargers are quoted once we have seen the site, as their scope differs widely between houses. Low-current cabling needs its own conduits, kept apart from the power conduits, so that the mains current does not interfere with the signal.
- Internet: conduits from the router location to every room where it is used heavily, and a point at every TV.
- Satellite TV: a conduit from the roof to the TV position, with the cable pulled through.
- Intercom and doorbell: a conduit from the gate to the screen position inside the house.
- Cameras: conduits to the corners of the boundary wall and the entrances, and one to the recorder location.
- Smart home: needs a neutral in every switch box, and must be decided before rough-in, not after.
House rewiring in Dammam and converting from 110 V to 220 V
Full house rewiring in Dammam is priced after inspection, while replacing a damaged section of cable or a single circuit starts from SAR 165, and rewiring a whole room from SAR 460. Houses in Dammam whose wiring has been in place for a long time usually suffer from insulation hardened by heat, cables too small for today’s loads, and no earth conductor at all.
Signs that your house needs rewiring
- ✓Breakers that keep tripping: especially when the AC or the water heater is switched on.
- ✓Sockets and switches that run warm: or discolour around the pin holes.
- ✓A smell of burnt plastic: near the board or inside a wall.
- ✓No earth conductor: or two-pin sockets from the old system.
- ✓Flickering lights: or lights that dim when large appliances start.
- ✓Cracked cable insulation: visible when a socket or switch is opened.
- ✓Before a full renovation: if the whole house is being renovated, that is the best time to rewire it.
Can a house be rewired without breaking the walls?
In many houses, yes. If the old conduits are continuous and sound, we use the old cable to draw the new cable through the same conduit without opening the wall. If the conduits are blocked, broken or missing, we open limited chases only where needed, or use surface trunking in places that are out of sight. After testing we tell you which method is possible in each room.
Converting a house from 110 V to 220 V in Dammam
Converting from 110 or 127 V to 220/230 V has two sides. The supply side belongs to the Saudi Electricity Company, and the owner arranges it with them. The internal side is ours: a new board and breakers, a check of every circuit, replacing the sockets with the Saudi three-pin type, and making sure the older appliances in the house will run on the new voltage. We price a conversion only after seeing the house, since the state of the wiring drives the cost, and it usually forms part of a full rewire or a wider renovation in Dammam.
Electrical fault finding in Dammam: tripping breakers, short circuits and leakage
Testing the installation and diagnosing faults in Dammam starts from SAR 90 per visit and includes insulation measurement, leakage tracing and identifying the circuit responsible. We do it by appointment, usually fixing what we find in the same visit or in a follow-up visit once agreed.
| What you notice | Likely cause | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| A breaker trips when one appliance runs | Overload, or the appliance is on the wrong circuit | Move the appliance onto its own circuit |
| The RCD trips | Leakage to earth from an appliance or a wet cable | Isolate circuits one by one and measure insulation |
| Tripping after rain | Water in an outdoor light or socket | Replace the fitting and seal the box |
| A socket runs hot | A loose terminal or a worn-out socket | Tighten the terminals or replace the socket |
| Lights flicker | A poor connection or a heavy load | Check the terminals and the board |
We never cure a tripping breaker by fitting a bigger one, and we never disconnect an RCD because it is “annoying”. A trip is a message from the installation, and our job is to read it and remove its cause.
Electrical testing before switch-on in Dammam: tests before closing the walls and before handover
Electrical testing in Dammam happens in two stages with us. Before plastering we measure the continuity of the conductors and the earth, and the insulation resistance with a megger; after finishing we test polarity, the RCD and actual operation. The Saudi Electrical Code requires an installation to be tested and inspected before it is put into service and after any significant alteration.
| Test | When | What it reveals |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity | Before plastering | A broken cable or loose terminal, and whether the earth reaches every point |
| Insulation resistance | Before plastering and before connecting appliances | Damaged cable insulation or a short between conductors |
| Polarity | After installation | A socket or switch wired the wrong way round |
| Earth resistance | After driving the rod | Whether the earth path can carry a fault away |
| RCD | After energising | Whether it trips on leakage, and within the required time |
For ordinary 230/400 V circuits, insulation is tested at 500 V DC, and the minimum acceptable reading in the international standards is 1 megohm. New, sound cables read far higher, so a near-minimum reading on new work means we review that circuit before plastering.
At the end we hand you the circuit schedule, the number of every breaker and what it feeds, plus photos of the conduit routes taken before the walls were closed, so that any technician who comes after us knows where the cables run before drilling into a wall.
Electricity meters in Dammam: additional meters for annexes, meter location and temporary removal during renovation
Electricity meters are a service of the Saudi Electricity Company and the owner applies for them; our role is to prepare what comes before and after the meter: the meter location, the cable from it to the board, the earthing and the internal wiring. We do not install meters and we do not promise the company’s timings.
- Before a new building is connected: in its guide for engineering offices the company requires a copy of the building permit, completed thermal insulation, a meter location prepared to its technical requirements, and earthing. Insulation is covered on our roof waterproofing and insulation in Dammam page.
- Meter location: inside the plot boundary on the line of the boundary wall, in keeping with the façade, as the residential building requirements state; in the company’s guide up to 8 meters can be mounted on the front wall from outside.
- Additional meter: for independent units licensed by the municipality within an existing building, applied for by the owner and inspected by the company.
- Meter upgrade or capacity split: a company service when loads increase or the capacity needs dividing.
- Temporary meter removal: can be requested from the company for demolition or full renovation, and is arranged before demolition work in Dammam starts.
- Jubail Industrial City: power there comes from Marafiq, not the Saudi Electricity Company, so Marafiq’s requirements apply.
The electrical materials we use in Dammam
Materials decide the life of an electrical installation more than most people think. We use materials that conform to the Saudi standards, as the residential building requirements require, we show you the grades available and the price difference between them, and we never push a particular manufacturer.
| Material | What we use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cables | Insulated copper, sized per circuit | Copper conducts reliably and runs cooler |
| Conduits | Rigid and flexible plastic electrical conduit | Protects the cable and allows it to be replaced later |
| Boxes | Switch, socket and junction boxes | Corrosion-resistant boxes in bathrooms and outdoors |
| Breakers | One per circuit plus a 30 mA RCD | Protection against overload and leakage |
| Distribution board | Enough ways plus spares | Room for future additions |
| Earthing | Copper rod and green-and-yellow conductor | A safe path for fault current |
| Sockets | 230 V three-pin | The Saudi standard for modern buildings |
Our electrical work process in Dammam, stage by stage
Our process is the same whether the project is a new villa or one room in an existing house; only the scale changes.
- 1Contact and photos
you send photos and the drawing on WhatsApp, and we ask about loads and appliances. - 2Inspection
we visit when needed, measure, and check the board and the meter. - 3Itemised quote
points, circuits, board, earthing, testing, materials and who buys them. - 4Marking out
we mark the box positions and routes on the wall and go through them with you. - 5Rough-in
chases, conduits, boxes, cable pulling and the board. - 6First test
continuity and insulation before plastering, with photos of the routes. - 7Second fix
sockets, switches, lights and breakers fitted after painting. - 8Final test and handover
polarity, RCD and operation, then the circuit schedule.
Plan your wiring before the plaster goes on
Send the drawing or photos of the space with the number of rooms and air conditioners, and we will send you the items, an estimated cost and we agree a day for the inspection or for starting.
Electrical prices in Dammam: our “starts from” table
Our electrical prices in Dammam begin at SAR 37 for a rough-in point and SAR 28 per square metre for building rough-in. Prices are labour estimates unless stated otherwise; cables, breakers and fittings are to your choice, and the final figure is set after inspection or from the drawing according to the number of points, the loads, the distances, the floor and the state of the walls.
| Item | Unit | Starts from (SAR) |
|---|---|---|
| Rough-in point (light or socket) within a rough-in project | Point | 37 |
| Rough-in for a new building, villa or annex (labour) | m² of built-up area | 28 |
| New point added in an existing house | Point | 75 |
| Wiring a whole room (rough-in or re-wiring) | Room | 460 |
| Split-AC line with its own breaker | Line | 120 |
| Water heater or extract fan connection | Point | 65 |
| New breaker added to the board | Breaker | 90 |
| Board servicing and load rebalancing | Board | 185 |
| Distribution board installed or replaced, with connections | Board | 370 |
| Home earthing system | System | 275 |
| Replacing a damaged cable section | Section or circuit | 165 |
| Socket or switch fitted at second fix | Piece | 18 |
| Spotlight with gypsum cut-out | Piece | 9 |
| Chandelier | Piece | 55 |
| LED strip or hidden lighting | Linear metre | 45 |
| Outdoor light or courtyard / wall floodlight | Point | 75 |
| Internet or satellite point | Point | 90 |
| Installation testing and fault diagnosis | Visit | 90 |
| Full house rewiring or 110 V to 220 V conversion | — | After inspection |
| Intercom, cameras or electric-car charger | — | After inspection |
The SAR 9 spotlight price applies to spotlights in a new gypsum ceiling; fitting one or two in an existing house is priced as a visit. Bigger projects are priced from the drawing or from an inspection visit, and you can start by sending photos and measurements to WhatsApp 0547879578 for a first estimate. All prices are estimates until inspection and agreement. Prices for the establishment’s other services are on our prices page.
What pushes the electrical cost up or down?
- ✓Number of points and circuits: every AC, heater and oven is a separate circuit, so a house with many appliances costs more.
- ✓State of the walls: rough-in at shell stage is far cheaper than extending into a finished wall that has to be cut and made good.
- ✓Floors and distances: a board far from the rooms means longer runs and larger cable sizes.
- ✓Lighting: many spotlights, hidden lighting and chandeliers add points and switches.
- ✓Low-current work: internet, cameras and intercom are separate items.
- ✓Choice of materials: the grade of sockets and breakers and the type of board change the materials cost a great deal.
Worked example: electrical rough-in for a 300 m² villa in Dammam
An illustrative example of labour only, with materials separate: a new villa with 300 square metres of built-up area.
| Item | Calculation | Labour (SAR) |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical rough-in (conduits, boxes, cable pulling, board assembly) | 300 m² × 28 | 8,400 |
| Sockets and switches fitted at second fix | 120 pieces × 18 | 2,160 |
| Spotlights in the gypsum ceilings | 40 pieces × 9 | 360 |
| Estimated labour total | 8,400 + 2,160 + 360 | 10,920 |
That total comes before cables, breakers, fittings and earthing materials, and before outdoor lighting and low-current work if you want them. It shows how a quote is built, so you can compare two quotes item by item.
Common electrical rough-in mistakes in Dammam, and how we avoid them
These are mistakes we see again and again when we are called to a house whose electrics were done by someone else, and each has a way to avoid it:
| Mistake | Result | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Lighting and sockets on one circuit | The lights go out with any faulty appliance | Separate circuits, always |
| Two air conditioners on one line | Hot cables and summer tripping | A line and a breaker for every unit |
| Boxes set from the concrete level | The tiles cover the box | Measure from the finished tile level |
| Breaking columns and beams for conduits | A weakened structural member | Routes through blockwork, core holes after a check |
| Closing walls without testing | A buried fault found after painting | Megger and continuity before plastering |
| No earth, or the earth tied to a water pipe | No protection when a faulty appliance is touched | An earth rod and an earth conductor in every circuit |
| Internet conduit touching the power conduit | Signal interference | Separate routes with a gap |
| Hidden-lighting driver buried above the gypsum | The ceiling is broken open when it fails | An access panel close by |
One mistake deserves a special warning: cutting chases next to cracks or in damaged elements. If a crack shows up in a wall where we are about to run a route, we stop and have it reviewed first by our crack repair team in Dammam, and we never pass a route through a beam or a column just because it is the shortest way.
How to choose an electrical contractor in Dammam, and what his quote must list
Choose the electrical contractor in Dammam who writes your quote out item by item and explains how he will test the installation, not the one with the lowest lump sum. A lump sum hides the differences: the number of points, the cable sizes, who buys the materials, and whether the board and the earthing are included.
- ✓The items: the number of points by type, the circuits, the board and its size, the earthing and the AC lines.
- ✓The materials: the cable size for each circuit, the type of conduits and boxes, and who supplies them.
- ✓The testing: whether insulation and continuity are measured before plastering, and whether you get a circuit schedule.
- ✓What is excluded: filling and plastering the chases, painting, chandeliers and low-current work.
- ✓The duration: the days for rough-in and the days for second fix, and how they depend on the site being ready.
- ✓Coordination: who coordinates with the plumber, the gypsum crew and the tilers so that finished work is not broken.
Electrics inside a renovation or finishing project in Dammam
Much of the electrical work we carry out comes as part of a larger project: renovating an older house, finishing a villa, or refitting a bathroom and kitchen. In that case the electrics are scheduled with the other items in one programme, so the cables are changed before the plaster, the lighting is run before the gypsum, the sockets go in after the paint, and the owner never pays twice for breaking the same wall.
■ Full renovation
swapping out old wiring when the whole house is refurbished through our renovation work in Dammam.
■ Lightweight walls
boxes and routes in cement board walls in Dammam.
■ Opening routes
chases and openings through concrete cutting in Dammam.
■ Ceilings
lighting in gypsum ceilings together with the gypsum board crew.
Useful links for electrical and finishing work
Electrician in Al Khobar, Dhahran, Qatif and other Eastern Province towns
From our Dammam base the same electrical crews travel to towns across the Eastern Province and work to the same specification; what differs is how the visits are arranged and the travel cost to the farther towns, which is set at inspection.
Electrician in Al Khobar and Dhahran
Al Khobar and Dhahran are close to Dammam and we serve them on almost the same schedule: inspection, then the quote, then the work. Al Khobar has many villas and flats that need extra air conditioners or new lighting, and older houses that need rewiring as part of a full renovation, as described on our renovation contractor in Al Khobar page. Area pages: Al Khobar and Dhahran.
Qatif, Saihat, Jubail, Al-Ahsa and the other towns
We also work in Jubail, Ras Tanura, Qatif, Saihat, Al-Ahsa, Abqaiq, Hafr Al-Batin and Khafji. In the farther towns travel is priced at inspection, and grouping the work into one visit, for example rough-in, the board and the lighting together, lowers the cost of each item. In Jubail Industrial City, Marafiq’s requirements apply to meters and connections.
Dammam districts our electricians cover
Our electrical crews set out from Al Rawdah and work across Dammam’s older quarters and newer schemes alike. Districts we regularly reach include:
These are examples, not a complete list; wherever you are in Dammam, share your location in the chat and we will fix a day. See the Dammam coverage page for more.
What to send on WhatsApp to get your electrical work priced in Dammam
Good photos and a few numbers bring our estimate close to the final price, and on small jobs they can make an inspection visit unnecessary. Useful things to send to 0547879578:
- ✓A photo of the board: open if possible, plus a photo of the meter and its breaker.
- ✓The drawing or dimensions: the electrical or architectural drawing, or approximate room sizes.
- ✓The numbers: how many rooms and bathrooms, how many air conditioners and water heaters.
- ✓The state of the building: shell stage or finished and occupied, and the age of the house.
- ✓What you need: rough-in, an extension, a board, rewiring, lighting or a fault check.
- ✓Lighting: whether there are gypsum ceilings, spotlights and hidden lighting.
- ✓Location: your district or a map pin.
Book an electrician in Dammam with a fixed date and a line-by-line quote
Phone us or send the photos today; our reply lists the items, an estimated cost and a proposed inspection day.
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