An old Qatif house with thick walls and beautiful arched windows, but its sockets are two-pin, its wiring has no earth, and the breaker trips whenever the AC and the washing machine run together? That is exactly the work we are good at. Our electrician in Qatif service at Aemar Al-Maryam General Contracting renews the wiring of existing homes with neat surface trunking instead of breaking walls, swaps old two-pin sockets for earthed three-pin outlets, installs control panels for farm well pumps, and carries out rough-in for new builds and annexes. Re-wiring a room starts from SAR 460, a new board from SAR 370 and an earthing system from SAR 275, as labour estimates until inspection. WhatsApp 0547879578.
Qatif, Tarout and the surrounding towns are full of houses that have stood for decades, wired for an age when a home’s load was a ceiling fan and a small fridge. Today every room has an AC unit, the kitchen has heating appliances, and the courtyard has a water heater, a washing machine and a pump. The answer is not always to strip the walls and start again. In most houses the network can be renewed cleanly while the walls stay intact, with an earth added, residual current protection fitted and a dedicated circuit for every heavy load. This page explains how we decide the right method for your house, what it costs, and which corners must never be cut.
At a glance: homes and farms in Qatif
- Our focus here: rewiring older houses, surface trunking instead of chasing, replacing two-pin sockets with earthed three-pin outlets, boards, earthing and RCDs, farm well-pump panels, and rough-in for new builds.
- Booking: by appointment after photos or a visit, with a written itemised quote; we do not run a night-time emergency service.
- Sample prices: whole room SAR 460, board SAR 370, earthing SAR 275, cable section SAR 165, socket or switch SAR 18, new point in an occupied house SAR 75, inspection visit SAR 90. Estimates until inspection and agreement.
- Standard: 230 V supply with three-pin sockets under the Saudi standard, 30 mA RCDs, and insulation testing before energising under the Saudi code SBC 401.
- Area: the city of Qatif, the island of Tarout, plus Safwa, Al Awamiyah, Al Qudaih, Anak and Saihat.
Electrician in Qatif for existing homes: how we start
In Qatif we start from the condition of the house, not from a price list. You send a photo of the board, a few sockets and switches and a corner of each room, and we also want to know the age of the house and whether rooms or annexes were added later. From the photos we can usually tell whether the cables run in conduit we can pull through, are buried straight in the plaster, or are clipped to the wall surface in the old way. We then visit, measure the insulation of each circuit, and write an itemised quote: what gets replaced, what stays, where a surface route is needed, and where a wall has to be opened.
We are an electrical crew belonging to a contracting establishment. We work on agreed days and go room by room so the family can keep living in the house during the work. We do not promise to turn up at midnight; we promise that whatever we install is tested and written down.
■ Network renewal
New cables at correct sizes, an earth, and separate circuits for heavy loads.
■ Surface trunking
Neat PVC trunking above the skirting or below the ceiling instead of breaking the wall.
■ Three-pin sockets
Old two-pin sockets replaced, with a real earth conductor brought to each one.
■ Board and protection
A new board with numbered breakers, an RCD and an earthing system.
■ Farms
Well-pump control panels in sealed weatherproof enclosures.
■ New builds
Rough-in for houses and annexes before plastering.
House rewiring in Qatif: when does it become necessary?
Rewiring a Qatif house becomes necessary when several signs say the network has outlived its life, not simply because the house is old. Some older houses have sound cables in good conduit and only need a new board and an earth; some younger ones have been overloaded by years of improvised additions. So we measure before we judge.
- ✓Two-pin sockets: usually a sign that the network has no earth conductor, or dates from the 127 V era.
- ✓Cracked or darkened insulation: open a socket or switch box and the cable looks stiff or discoloured by heat.
- ✓A socket that runs warm or crackles: a loose connection or a cable smaller than its load.
- ✓Frequent tripping: typically the moment the AC is on and the heater kicks in as well.
- ✓Exposed joints and socket-to-socket spurs: additions made over the years without any calculation.
- ✓Low insulation readings: a megger reveals what the eye cannot, before it turns into a short circuit.
Can Qatif houses be rewired without breaking walls?
Often, yes. If the old cables run inside continuous conduit, we fasten the new cable to the tail of the old one and haul it along the same conduit, so the wall is opened only at a blocked box. If the conduits are broken, or the cables were buried directly in the plaster as in some older houses, the second option is surface trunking, described in the next section. The third option is to cut new chases and close them after testing, with a plastering contractor in Qatif and a painting contractor in Qatif to finish.
Switching a Qatif house from 110 V to 220 V
The Kingdom changed the residential voltage system from 127/220 V to 230/400 V by a Council of Ministers resolution, yet older houses in various areas still run on 127 V. There are two halves to it. The owner asks the Saudi Electricity Company to change the supply and meter. Everything inside the house falls to us: a new board, a review of every circuit, sockets changed to three-pin 230 V, and a check of old appliances designed for the lower voltage. Because the scope differs so much from house to house, it is priced after inspection.
Surface cable trunking in Qatif instead of breaking walls
Surface trunking is a white PVC channel with a clip-on cover, fixed to the face of the wall and carrying cables from the board to sockets and switches. It avoids chasing in houses with thick walls or old plaster that crumbles when cut. Installed carefully, running straight just above the skirting or in the angle between wall and ceiling, and painted the colour of the wall, it is barely noticed, and it saves days of chasing, plastering and repainting.
| Question | Surface trunking | Chasing into the wall |
|---|---|---|
| Dust and disruption | Little; the house stays occupied | A lot; the room usually has to be cleared |
| Duration | Shorter, with no plastering afterwards | Longer because of plaster, drying and paint |
| Appearance | Visible but tidy, and it can be painted | Completely hidden after finishing |
| Later maintenance | Easy: lift the cover | Needs drawing through conduit or opening up |
| Weak old walls | Suitable, since it does not weaken the wall | May crumble the plaster and expose cracks |
We size the trunking to the number of cables, use proper corner pieces and end caps rather than hacking the edges, and fix it with screws and plugs suited to the wall, not with adhesive alone. In rooms that are being re-plastered anyway we prefer chasing, and in the same house we often combine both methods room by room. Registered heritage buildings are only worked on with the approval of the competent authority.
Types of surface trunking and where each is used
- Small rectangular trunking: for a single socket or switch, run tight against a door frame or above the skirting.
- Wide trunking with a divider: power cables on one side and data or satellite cable on the other, with no interference.
- Corner trunking: fitted in the angle between wall and ceiling to feed new lighting without drawing the eye.
- Skirting-level trunking: runs along long halls at skirting height and is painted to match.
We use flame-retardant PVC trunking, leave room in it for an extra cable later, and size it from the number and cross-section of the cables rather than from looks.
Before choosing a route
Plan the furniture with the crew first. Trunking that runs behind a fixed wardrobe or a sofa is never seen; trunking across the middle of a bare wall catches the eye. That is why we route along skirtings, door edges and ceiling angles.
Replacing two-pin sockets with three-pin sockets in Qatif
Swapping an old two-pin socket for a three-pin one is not finished by changing the faceplate. The third pin on a modern socket is the earth, and if no real earth conductor reaches it from the board, the socket is three-pin in appearance and two-pin in protection. So we start with the box: is there an earth wire, is the supply 230 V, is the cable sound? Then we fit the new socket to the Saudi plug and socket specification, itself modelled on the UK pattern, and test the connection.
Fitting a new socket or switch starts from SAR 18 per piece when it is part of a larger job in the house, while bringing a new earth or re-wiring a circuit is priced as a separate item. We also recommend retiring adaptors that turn a three-pin socket into a two-pin one, because they defeat the earth, and daisy-chained extension leads that hang several appliances on a single socket.
⚠ A socket that is hot or blackened at the edges
If a socket feels hot or has darkened around the openings, stop using it, switch off its circuit breaker and send us a photo. It is usually a loose connection or an overload, and it should not wait long. Smoke or a smell of burning means cutting the main switch, if it can be reached without risk, and phoning Civil Defence; emergency call-outs are not something we offer.
Bathroom and kitchen electrics in older Qatif houses
An old Qatif bathroom often has a socket next to the basin with no protection, a water heater fed by a cable running through a damp wall, and an extract fan on a temporary connection. When the bathroom is renewed we put that right: no sockets in the splash zones, light fittings near the shower rated IPX4 or higher, all bathroom circuits behind a 30 mA RCD, and the water heater on its own line with a double-pole switch outside the door.
In the old kitchen, modern appliances such as an electric oven, a dishwasher and an air fryer end up on sockets designed for a fridge and a kettle. We run new circuits from the board for the heavy appliances and add worktop sockets with a small surface trunking if the kitchen is not being re-tiled. If the bathroom or kitchen is being fully renovated, it is best to schedule the electrics with a tile installer in Qatif before tiling, and with our bathroom and kitchen renovation service.
Earthing and RCD protection in older Qatif homes
Most of the older houses we inspect in Qatif have no complete earthing system, or an earth tied to an old water pipe, which cannot be relied on. We install a house earth from SAR 275 and measure it on completion; Saudi specification summaries cap the earth-grid resistance at 5 ohms. Then we fit a 30 mA RCD on the sockets, bathrooms, kitchen, courtyard circuits and washing machine. That breaker cuts the supply when current leaks through a person or an appliance casing, and it is the single most valuable addition you can make to an old house.
In houses close to the sea or where damp climbs the lower part of the walls, we keep boxes above the damp line where possible and choose corrosion-resistant boxes and covers for bathrooms and courtyards.
Distribution board installation and replacement in Qatif
Fitting a new board in Qatif or replacing the old one starts from SAR 370 including connection; each added breaker is from SAR 90, and reviewing an existing board with load balancing from SAR 185. In many houses the old board is a small panel of unnumbered breakers, sometimes fuses, with each circuit feeding half the house. The new board gives each room or group its own circuit, each AC unit and each water heater its own breaker, plus an RCD, spare ways and a chart inside the door showing what every breaker switches off.
Farm electrics in Qatif: the well-pump panel and buried cables
Electrical work on a Qatif farm differs from a house in two ways: water is everywhere, and the pump is a heavy load running for long hours. We house the well-pump control panel in a sealed metal enclosure on a raised concrete plinth above irrigation water level, under a canopy that shades it from direct sun. Inside the panel are a motor protection breaker sized for the pump, an RCD, and an earth terminal connected to the farm earthing system.
- 1Know the pump
We ask for the pump nameplate: power, voltage, and whether it is single or three phase, because cable and breaker sizes are worked out from it. - 2Panel position
Close to the well but out of the water’s path, on a raised plinth and in shade. - 3Buried cable
In conduit rated for burial, on a sand bed, under warning tape, and away from the irrigation channels. - 4Protection
Motor protection, an RCD, and earthing for both the enclosure and the pump. - 5Lights and sockets
A separate circuit for farm lighting and outdoor sockets rated against water. - 6Testing
Insulation measured before energising, then a pump run while we watch the connections for heat.
Farm electrics are priced after inspection because the distances between the meter, the well and the rest house vary enormously. Outdoor light points on a farm or rest house start from SAR 75 per point. The well, the pump itself and the water side are outside our scope; we handle the electrical side only.
Electrical fault finding in Qatif: why does the breaker trip?
In Qatif a fault-tracing visit with full circuit tests costs from SAR 90. In older houses two causes come up again and again: one circuit carrying more than it can because appliances have multiplied while the cables have not, and leakage from a cable whose insulation has cracked or taken in moisture. We measure each circuit’s insulation with a megger and isolate circuits one at a time until we find the source. We never cure repeated tripping by fitting a bigger breaker, because that protects the breaker and lets the cable burn.
Electrical rough-in in Qatif for new houses and annexes
New Qatif houses are wired from SAR 28 per square metre of building, or SAR 37 an outlet if counted by points. We mark the points with the owner, lay conduit before plastering alongside the plumber, assemble the board and test before the walls close, working to the Saudi Electrical Code SBC 401 and to the residential building requirements, which expect the electrical drawings for a new building to come from an approved engineering office. Building an annex or majlis in Qatif? We give it its own sub-board and circuits.
Electrical point price in Qatif
Inside a rough-in job, each light or socket point is from SAR 37; AC and water-heater points are higher because their cable is thicker and they need their own breaker. A point added to an occupied house, through a chase that is closed afterwards or along surface trunking, starts from SAR 75; when a whole room is being re-wired, we price it per room from SAR 460.
Electrical company in Qatif, or a plumber and electrician in one visit?
Many people in Qatif search for a plumber and electrician together, because the problems of an old house come tangled: a water heater needs a new line and a new pipe, a bathroom is renewed with both its wiring and its plumbing. We put both trades on one schedule with our plumber in Qatif, while each trade is priced by its own items. When the work grows to cover the whole house, a single plan through house renovation in Qatif makes more sense.
Electrical extensions in Qatif for AC units and water heaters
A split AC line with its breaker in Qatif starts from SAR 120 per line, while hooking up a heater or bathroom fan costs from SAR 65. In an old house we never hang a new AC unit on an existing lighting or socket circuit; it gets its own line from the board, on the surface or inside the wall. Each water heater gets a double-pole switch outside the bathroom.
Lighting in older Qatif houses: spotlights and chandeliers
Renewing the lighting in an old Qatif house usually comes with a new gypsum ceiling that also hides cables and surface conduit. A spotlight with its gypsum cut-out starts from SAR 9 per light in a new ceiling, chandeliers are hung from SAR 55, and LED tape runs from SAR 45 a metre. We coordinate with gypsum board installation in Qatif so the cables are pulled before the ceiling closes. Without a gypsum ceiling, new light positions are priced as points in an existing house.
Courtyard lighting and rooftop wiring in Qatif homes
The courtyard of an old Qatif house holds the washing machine, the water heater, the lights and the small tank pump, often all fed by temporary runs that have baked in the sun for years. We re-run them in sun-resistant conduit fixed to the wall, make courtyard sockets and lights water-rated and RCD-protected. Each courtyard light or floodlight costs from SAR 75. The water side of the tank pump belongs to the plumber; we run its line and breaker.
Electricity meter for an annex in Qatif
If an independent annex shown on the building permit or in a municipal letter is added to the house, the owner may apply for a second meter from the Saudi Electricity Company. We prepare the wiring, the annex board, the earthing and the meter position on the boundary wall within the plot. During major renovation the company also offers temporary meter removal, and we plan the work around it.
Materials we use when rewiring Qatif homes
Material choice matters even more in an old house than in a new one, because the air here is humid near the sea and the walls cannot take repeated chasing. We suggest the specification, the brand stays your choice, and we only refuse what does not meet Saudi standards.
| Material | What we ask of it | Why it matters in an old house |
|---|---|---|
| Cable | Copper, sized per circuit, compliant with the standard | Old cables are often too small for today’s loads |
| Surface trunking | Flame-retardant PVC with covers and corner pieces | Fixed without weakening the wall |
| Outdoor and bathroom boxes | Corrosion-resistant and water-rated | Humidity and salt in coastal areas |
| Breakers | Separate breaker per circuit, with a 30 mA RCD upstream | Replacing fuses and shared breakers |
| Sockets and switches | Three-pin, 230 V | A two-pin socket carries no earth |
| Earth conductor | Green and yellow, sized to the circuit | Many old houses have no earth at all |
Before you agree with any electrician, ask for five lines in the quote: the number of rooms and points, the route type in each room, the cable and breaker specification, who buys the materials, and whether making good the chases and painting is included. Those five lines prevent most disputes once work begins.
Electrical prices in Qatif: “starting from” table
Our electrical prices in Qatif are labour rates starting from the figures below, as estimates until inspection and agreement. You choose the materials; how many rooms and points there are, how far the cables travel and what state the walls are in set the final figure.
| Item | Unit | From (SAR) | In Qatif homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re-wiring a room | room | 460 | Surface trunking or pulled through conduit |
| Swapping out a faulty length of cable | length or circuit | 165 | Cracked or burnt insulation |
| Changing a socket or switch | piece | 18 | Two-pin to three-pin within a larger job |
| New distribution board, connected | board | 370 | Replacing fuses and small panels |
| House earthing system | system | 275 | A house with no earth |
| New breaker | breaker | 90 | For an AC unit or water heater |
| Board review and load balancing | board | 185 | Repeated tripping |
| New point in an occupied house | point | 75 | An extra socket or a moved switch |
| Test-and-diagnose call | visit | 90 | Megger and RCD checks |
| Split AC line with breaker | line | 120 | A new AC in an old room |
| Water heater or fan wiring | point | 65 | Bathroom or kitchen |
| Outlet in a new-build rough-in | point | 37 | New build or annex |
| Rough-in for a new building | m² built | 28 | A new house or annex |
| Outdoor light or floodlight | point | 75 | Courtyard, farm and rest house |
| Downlight in fresh gypsum | light | 9 | Ceiling being boarded now |
| Chandelier fitting | piece | 55 | Majlis rooms |
| LED strip | linear metre | 45 | Hidden lighting |
| Data or satellite point | point | 90 | Rooms and majlis |
| Whole-house rewire or 220 V conversion | — | On inspection | Depends on the house size |
| Farm pump panel, intercom, cameras | — | On inspection | Distances and loads vary |
Adding just one or two downlights to a ceiling that already exists is charged as a call-out, not per light. WhatsApp a few photos to 0547879578 for a fast estimate; the rest of our rates are listed on the prices page.
Illustrative example: rewiring a three-room older house in Qatif
An old three-room house is to be rewired with surface trunking and no chasing: 3 rooms × SAR 460 = SAR 1,380, 14 sockets and switches changed to three-pin × SAR 18 = SAR 252, a new board at SAR 370, and an earthing system at SAR 275. The total is 1,380 + 252 + 370 + 275 = SAR 2,277 in labour, excluding cables, trunking, breakers and sockets, and excluding any 220 V conversion the house may need. It is an illustration only; the actual cost is set by inspection.
Steps to renew the electrics of an older house in Qatif
- 1Photos and details
The board, a few sockets, every room, and the age of the house. - 2Inspection and measurement
We test circuit insulation and decide what is replaced and what is kept. - 3Choosing the route
Pulling through conduit, surface trunking, or chasing, decided room by room. - 4Itemised quote
Rooms, points, board, earthing, materials and who supplies them. - 5Room-by-room work
So the house stays lived in, isolating only the circuits we are working on. - 6Testing and handover
Insulation and earth readings, an RCD test, and a circuit chart inside the board door.
Mistakes we keep seeing when Qatif houses are rewired
- ✓Changing only the socket face: it stays three-pin with no earth behind it.
- ✓Upsizing the breaker to stop tripping: the cable burns instead of the breaker tripping.
- ✓New cables on old terminations: the weak point stays in the box.
- ✓Trunking stuck on with glue: it falls off after a few months of heat.
- ✓Earth taken to a water pipe: unreliable, especially with plastic pipework.
- ✓A pump panel on the ground with no sealed enclosure: irrigation water reaches it, tripping the RCD or ruining the motor.
Electrician in Qatif, Tarout, Safwa and the surrounding towns
The crew travels from Dammam to the governorate on days set after the inspection, and we group requests from the same town into one trip where possible. Examples of what we cover, by town:
Older houses are common on the edges of the towns and on Tarout Island, which is where surface trunking and socket replacement come into their own, while farms spread around the towns with their pump panels. Neighbouring Saihat has a page of its own. Our services across the governorate are on the Qatif page, and the complete guide to electrical work is electrician in Dammam. Neighbouring pages cover an electrician in Saihat and an electrician in Dhahran for modern villas and smart switches.
Why choose Aemar Al-Maryam for your Qatif home’s electrics?
We measure before we judge
Insulation tests on every circuit before we suggest a full rewire.
We look after the walls
Neat surface trunking where chasing would do damage.
A real earth
No three-pin socket without an earth conductor reaching it.
Written items
A quote by room, point and material before we start.
Service page: electrical works. Our past work is under projects, and you can request a quote here.
What to send on WhatsApp for a Qatif electrical quote
- ✓The board: one close-up and one full photo.
- ✓Sockets: two or three, from different rooms.
- ✓Rooms: a general photo of each room showing walls and ceiling.
- ✓Age and additions: when the house was built and what was added later.
- ✓The farm, if any: a photo of the well, the pump nameplate and the distance from the meter.
- ✓Location: district, town or a map pin.
Renew your old Qatif home’s wiring without tearing it apart
Share pictures of the board and the rooms; our answer covers the method that suits the house, a ballpark figure and a day to inspect.
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