Three plumbing jobs bring us to Saihat again and again: roughing in duplex bathrooms before the floor screed is poured, replacing the external pipes that sun and sea air have ruined on villa walls, and fitting out laundry rooms with a proper washing-machine waste, its valve and a utility sink. As your plumber in Saihat, Aemar Al-Maryam General Contracting handles them by appointment after an inspection: bathroom rough-in from SAR 460, a new house from SAR 23 per square metre, SAR 165 to swap a cracked length and SAR 135 for laundry points, all labour figures that firm up once we have inspected and agreed. Message us on 0547879578.
Plumbing in Saihat in brief
- For new houses: duplex and annex rough-in from the drawings, with correct outlets, accurate falls and a test before the screed.
- For existing houses: external pipes renewed with insulated, sun-protected pipe and rust-proof clips, plus laundry room fit-outs.
- Labour from: SAR 23 per m² on new builds, 460 a bathroom, 135 a kitchen or laundry, 165 a cracked length, 140 a heater, 275 a pump, 90 a basin.
- Travel: from Dammam to Saihat is assessed at the inspection, and grouping jobs into one visit reduces it.
Three plumbing jobs Saihat asks us for most
Saihat is a growing city with new districts full of duplexes and family homes under construction, and older districts near the sea with villas that have stood for years. So the requests we get from it come in two kinds: an owner building a new house who wants the plumbing right first time, and an owner of an existing house who wants to fix what time and weather have done. This page is organised around that.
■ Duplex bathroom rough-in
Outlets in the right place, falls to the stack, separate ground-floor drainage and a test before the screed.
■ External pipework
Lines on side walls and up to the roof tank that fail in sun and damp, renewed with materials that last.
■ Laundry rooms
A washing-machine waste with a trap, a supply valve, a utility sink and a floor drain, with no smells and no leaks.
A plumber in Saihat or a plumbing contractor?
For one small fault almost any plumber will do. Roughing in a duplex or renewing a whole run of external pipes needs someone who plans before cutting the first length, tests before closing and writes down what was installed. That is how we work as a plumbing contractor. We still take small jobs and suggest grouping them into one visit, because travel from Dammam is part of the cost.
Duplex plumbing rough-in in Saihat before the screed
Duplex rough-in in Saihat starts from the drawings: we fix the position of every WC, basin, shower and floor drain, the drainage route to the stack or inspection chamber, and where the heater and tanks go, then install all of it before waterproofing, screed and tiles. Labour starts at SAR 23 for every built square metre, or SAR 460 per bathroom and SAR 135 per kitchen if you prefer counting by room, and you can buy the materials yourself or have us supply them.
The bathroom floor before screed: what must already be in place?
Look at a bathroom floor in a new Saihat duplex before the screed and you should see the large 110 mm WC outlet, the floor drain, the basin waste and the shower point if it has no drain of its own, all fixed and capped against dust, with grey pipes running to the stack at a fall you can see. Then the technician checks with a tape that the distance from the WC outlet to the finished wall suits the model you chose, allowing for tile and adhesive thickness, because a few centimetres wrong here means a WC that will not fit or sits away from the wall.
| Point in the bathroom floor | Typical size | What we confirm |
|---|---|---|
| WC outlet | 110 mm | Distance from the wall to suit the chosen model, allowing for tiles |
| Floor drain | Depends on type | At the lowest point, with a trap that holds water |
| Basin waste | 32 to 40 mm | Out of sight behind the pedestal or within the cabinet |
| Shower waste | About 40 mm | Position relative to the tile fall and glass screen |
| Bathroom line to the stack | 110 mm | Fall, direction of fittings and a cleaning eye |
Falls: how far does the pipe drop?
The rule comes from the International Plumbing Code that the Saudi plumbing code was built on: a small pipe up to two and a half inches drops at least two centimetres in every metre, while 110 mm pipe and similar sizes need roughly half that. In a duplex the falls decide how thick the screed has to be: the longer the run from the WC to the stack, the more drop is needed and the deeper the floor. That is why we suggest placing the stack close to the bathroom on the drawings and confirm its position with the engineer or main contractor before the slab is cast.
Why the ground floor gets its own drain
One clause in the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing rules for building homes is explicit: the ground floor gets a drainage connection of its own to the main line and does not pass through the stacks of the floors above. Here is why it matters. Were the main line to block while the ground floor shared the same stack, the upper floor’s waste would come back up through the floor drain in the ground-floor bathroom. In a duplex we apply this from rough-in, giving the ground floor its own line to the inspection chamber.
Suspended drainage on the upper floor
On the upper floor of a duplex the waste can be buried in the bathroom floor as usual, or hung beneath the concrete slab and concealed by a dropped ceiling in the room underneath, a method called suspended drainage. Its advantages are a lighter floor and a leak that can be reached through a ceiling hatch instead of breaking tiles. Its drawback is that it takes height from the ground-floor ceiling and needs a false ceiling with access panels. We decide with you before the pour, because pipe sleeves through the slab are either left during casting or cut afterwards by diamond coring, explained in core drilling in Saihat. The false ceiling itself is covered in gypsum board installation in Saihat.
An annex on the duplex roof or in the yard
Many Saihat duplex owners later add a roof room or a yard annex with a small bathroom. If we know at rough-in, we leave a capped supply point and a plugged waste in the right place, so the annex does not need a floor broken or a long exposed line later. The building side is covered in annex and majlis builder in Saihat.
A separate meter for each unit
Many duplexes in Saihat are built as two units, one for the family and one to rent or for a married son. The National Water Company makes a meter for each residential unit a condition of the building permit, so we plan the network from day one with each unit’s own inlet and tank, or a clear split that does not overlap, rather than re-piping later.
Bathroom plumbing rough-in in Saihat: stages and price
A standard Saihat bathroom costs SAR 460 upwards in labour. That buys two supply pipes, hot and cold, to each fixture, waste connections for the WC, basin, shower and gully, a stop valve serving only that room, and, if you picked them, the in-wall mixer valve and the hidden cistern frame go in too. We organise the work like this:
- 1Choose the fixtures
We ask for the WC, basin and mixer models, or at least their type, because outlet positions follow them. - 2Drainage in the floor
Outlets at the right sizes and positions, a fall to the stack, and caps to protect them. - 3Supply in the walls
PPR fused with a heated tool at roughly 260 °C, and outlets at heights that suit the fixtures. - 4Test and photograph
A water column for the drains, pressure for the supply, and photos of the routes before closing. - 5Hand over to waterproofing and tiles
Then we return after tiling to fit the fixtures and check every point.
For choosing and laying tiles after rough-in read tile installer in Saihat, and for wet-area waterproofing roof waterproofing and insulation in Saihat.
Finishing bathroom plumbing after tiling
Once tiles and grout have set we return for finishing: the wall-hung WC on its frame or a floor WC on a new seal, the basin on its pedestal or vanity, the mixers and concealed mixer trims, and the bidet spray on its own angle valve. Then each outlet is turned on and its connections are checked while under pressure, fill and empty the basin and floor drain to make sure the traps hold water without gurgling. In a duplex with four or more bathrooms we finish one bathroom at a time so the work does not clash with the carpenter and electrician.
Water lines in a duplex: valves and distribution
In a new duplex we run the main line from the tank or pump in a larger size than the bathroom branches, split it to the two floors in two tidy lines, and fit a valve for each floor and for each bathroom, kitchen and laundry. That way, if a bathroom upstairs needs a repair, the ground floor keeps its water. Supply lines are PPR joined by heat fusion; we pick the pressure class for the hot line from the maker’s temperature and pressure chart, and insulate the hot line because it loses heat in outside walls.
| Line | What we fit on it | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Main inlet | Main valve and an optional sediment filter | Shuts the whole house easily and protects mixers |
| Each floor’s line | An isolation valve | Service one floor without the other |
| Each bathroom, kitchen and laundry | An isolation valve somewhere visible | Fix one point without cutting the rest |
| Each fixture | An angle valve | Change a mixer or WC without closing the bathroom |
With many bathrooms we sometimes suggest a manifold with a separate line to each fixture, which means fewer joints buried in walls. We mark all of it on the drawings and give you a copy after the test.
External pipes on Saihat villas near the sea
On the side walls of many Saihat villas runs exposed pipework: a line from the pump up to the roof tank, lines coming down from the roof and AC condensate pipes. These pipes spend the day in direct sun and the night in sea humidity, so their colour fades, then they crack, and the ordinary steel clips holding them rust until the pipe sags or falls. When the supply pipe to the roof tank cracks, the whole house loses water.
Why do exposed pipes fail?
Plastic pipe does not like direct sunlight. Ultraviolet light weakens its surface over time until it turns brittle, which is why makers of plastic pipe advise protecting it when it is installed in the open. Damp salty air near the sea eats ordinary steel clips and screws. On top of that, water in an exposed line heats up a lot in summer, so the cold tap runs hot.
How we renew external pipework
- ✓We take down all the damaged pipe, not just the cracked part, because the pipe next to it has had the same sun.
- ✓We run new pipe lagged in foam, then covered with an outer sleeve that protects it from the sun.
- ✓We fix it on stainless clips that do not rust, set close enough to stop sagging.
- ✓We keep the exposed run as short as possible and move part of it into shade or a box where space allows.
- ✓We pressure-test the line and watch its joints before leaving.
If the damage is in one length, replacing it is from SAR 165; if it covers all the external lines we price it after inspection, depending on length, height and whether scaffolding is needed. If a leaking pipe has soaked the wall and left cracks or flaking paint, the treatment is in crack repair in Saihat and painting contractor in Saihat.
Roof lines and the roof tank
The roof is the harshest place for pipes in Saihat: direct sun all day, very high heat in summer and condensation at night. The riser from the pump to the roof tank, the downpipe from the tank to the house, the overflow and the drain-off all need the same protection. We lift pipes off the roof tiles on supports so they are not stepped on and do not trap water beneath them, and keep them away from the waterproofing layer so clips do not pierce it. If the roof is due to be waterproofed soon we coordinate with the waterproofing crew so pipe penetrations are made before the membrane, not after.
A frequent mistake is running the roof tank overflow straight into the roof gutter without an air gap, or leaving the drain-off open to insects. We fit a protective mesh on the overflow and end it above a drain with a gap, so nothing can find its way back into the tank.
AC condensate pipes on the wall
Condensate running down a wall leaves stains and can reach the foundations. A condensate line to a proper drain or trap is from SAR 90 per unit, and we combine it with the external pipe renewal on the same visit.
Washing machine connections and laundry rooms in Saihat
The laundry in Saihat flats and duplexes has become a room of its own or part of the balcony, and it needs dedicated plumbing rather than a temporary link to the kitchen sink. A proper washing-machine connection consists of a 40 mm standpipe with a trap fixed to the wall, into which the machine’s hose hangs loosely, and a separate supply valve with a handle that is closed when the machine is not in use.
What does a washing-machine waste need?
A washing machine pumps out a large volume of water in seconds, so a standpipe that is too short or has no trap will overflow at the top or let smells rise. We set the standpipe at a height that matches the machine’s instructions, keep a water-holding trap at its foot, and leave space around the hose inside the pipe so the discharged water cannot be siphoned back into the machine. We add a floor drain in the room where possible; it is what saves the floor when a hose comes loose.
The utility sink and a point for the dryer
A small stainless sink in the laundry is handy for soaking clothes and cleaning household tools; fitting one complete with mixer costs SAR 90 upwards, and a replacement mixer SAR 75 upwards. If the dryer is a type that collects condensate, we run a small waste to the same standpipe instead of a container that has to be emptied by hand. The full set of laundry points, supply and waste for the machine and the sink, is priced like the kitchen item at SAR 135 upwards.
⚠ Do not connect the washing machine to the hot line unless needed
Most modern washing machines heat their own water and take cold only. Connecting one to hot water when the maker does not call for it can upset the wash programmes. Read the machine’s manual before rough-in and we will prepare the right outlet.
Heaters and pumps in Saihat duplexes
In a duplex the upper floor usually has one or more heaters near its bathrooms and the ground floor has its own. A wall-hung electric cylinder with its combined relief valve costs SAR 140 upwards to install. The relief outlet is piped to a drain, never left to spill on the floor; the thermostat goes to 60 °C, the storage level public health advice gives for Legionella; and a blending valve tempers the supply to the kids’ bathroom, because anything over 44 °C can scald. For a central cylinder serving the whole duplex through a return loop we quote after seeing the house.
Where does the upper-floor heater go?
Upstairs, the cylinder goes near the bathrooms that draw from it, keeping the hot pipe short so the wait is short too, on a wall that can hold its weight when full, and where a technician can reach it without taking down a ceiling or a cabinet. We leave a drain or discharge pipe beneath it for the relief valve, because a heater hung above a false ceiling with no discharge can ruin the whole ceiling if its valve opens. If the floor has two bathrooms far apart, two small heaters usually serve better than one large heater far from one of them. Before walls are closed, the electrician gives each cylinder its own circuit and correctly rated breaker.
Low pressure on the upper floor
The complaint we hear most from people on the upper floor of a duplex is a weak shower. The usual reason is that the roof tank sits too close to the level of that floor’s bathrooms, so gravity alone cannot push the water hard enough. What works is a compact booster set downstream of the roof tank, with a pressure vessel and switch, rather than a new network. A pump with its pipework is from SAR 275, a pressure call-out from SAR 135, and setting or reconnecting a roof tank from SAR 920.
- ✓Ministry rules for new homes size the two tanks together for at least five days of household use, so the sums change once a duplex is split into two units.
- ✓A clear metre or more between any drinking-water tank and the cesspit, and tight waterproofing inside and out.
- ✓We never fit a pump on the meter; the National Water Company counts removing the meter to connect directly as an offence.
- ✓Saihat is among the cities fed by the Eastern Province desalination plants, and water stays clean as long as the tank is sealed and kept clean.
Drain problems and smells in Saihat flats and houses
Even a new house can smell of sewage or block repeatedly if its drainage was rushed. The causes we find most often are a floor drain without a trap or set above the surrounding tiles, an unvented waste pipe that sucks the water out of traps each time the WC is flushed, a WC seal that was not seated properly, and an inspection chamber whose cover does not seal. We check them in order and fix the source, not the smell.
- ✓Freeing a blocked basin or gully: SAR 90 upwards for the call.
- ✓A new or rebuilt inspection chamber is from SAR 185, with a sealed lid and the channel at the right depth.
- ✓A line that keeps blocking usually has a poor fall or a dip, so we suggest relaying that length instead of clearing it every month.
- ✓In the Eastern Province we waterproof buried chambers, because the shallow groundwater and its salts attack concrete.
Plumbing tests before tiling in Saihat
All the outlets and falls described above are worthless if they are buried untested. The drains are filled until water stands 3 metres up the temporary pipe and must not drop for fifteen minutes or more, which is what the Saudi plumbing code requires. The supply lines are pressurised with water in stages until they exceed their working pressure, as PPR makers’ instructions advise, and kept under observation before the plasterer comes near them. We send you photos of the gauges and routes: they are the map of your house for whoever works on it after us.
Plumbing prices in Saihat
We do not charge more in Saihat than in Dammam; the only addition is travel, which we assess at the inspection according to the working days, and its share per item falls when several jobs are combined in one visit. Materials are your choice, and every figure firms up after the visit.
| What we install | Unit | Lowest labour from |
|---|---|---|
| Duplex or new house plumbed from the plans | Each built m² | SAR 23 |
| A bathroom with its standard outlets | One bathroom | SAR 460 |
| Kitchen or laundry room, supply and waste | One room | SAR 135 |
| A cracked supply pipe inside or on the wall | One length | SAR 165 |
| All external lines or the house network renewed | By length | Set at the visit |
| Cylinder heater with safety valve and discharge | One heater | SAR 140 |
| Central heater on a return loop | By house | Set at the visit |
| New mixer | One piece | SAR 75 |
| Bathroom or utility basin with its mixer | One piece | SAR 90 |
| Upper-floor booster or lift pump | One pump | SAR 275 |
| Tank on the roof, fitted or re-piped | One tank | SAR 920 |
| Underground tank built new | By size | Set at the visit |
| Manhole with a sealed lid | One manhole | SAR 185 |
| Condensate taken off the wall | One unit | SAR 90 |
| A blocked gully or basin freed | One call | SAR 90 |
| Weak shower and tap pressure fixed | One call | SAR 135 |
| Existing bathroom rebuilt end to end | One bathroom | SAR 2,300 |
Items without a figure differ from house to house; snap them with a tape measure in shot, message 0547879578, and we price them from there. Everything else we do is listed with rates on the prices page.
Worked example: a new duplex in Saihat plus external pipes on the family home
The owner of a new 360 m² duplex in Saihat wants all its plumbing roughed in, and on the same visit wants three cracked external lengths replaced on the wall of the family’s older house in the same district:
| Item | Calculation | Labour |
|---|---|---|
| Duplex plumbing rough-in | 360 × 23 | SAR 8,280 |
| Replacing three external lengths | 3 × 165 | SAR 495 |
| Estimated total | SAR 8,775 |
Rough-in here covers the bathrooms, kitchen and laundry shown on the drawings. Left out: the pipes, fixtures, heaters and pump themselves, the membrane and tiles, and travel, which is assessed at the inspection. The figures are illustrative; the actual cost is fixed after studying the drawings, inspecting and agreeing.
Common mistakes in duplex plumbing
| Mistake | What happens later | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Roughing in before choosing fixtures | A WC that will not fit or a basin with visible connections | Ask for the models before rough-in |
| Ground floor tied into the upper stack | Waste backing up into the ground-floor bathroom | A separate ground-floor line to the chamber |
| Stack placed far from the bathroom | A thick floor and not enough fall | Review the stack position before casting |
| Exposed external pipes on steel clips | Cracking, rust and sagging | Lagging, a UV sleeve and stainless clips |
| Washing machine draining into the kitchen sink | Overflow and smells | A standpipe with a trap and its own valve |
| Roof tank with no boost for the top floor | A weak shower | A booster pump after the tank |
What to send on WhatsApp
- ✓For a new house: the architectural drawings or a photo of them, the number of floors and bathrooms, and whether the duplex is one unit or two.
- ✓For external pipes: a wide photo of the wall, a close-up of the cracks and clips, and roughly how high the line runs.
- ✓For a laundry room: a photo of the space, the wall width, and the washer and dryer types if you know them.
- ✓For low pressure: photos of the roof tank and pump, and which floor the water is weak on.
- ✓Your district and location pin.
Message them to 0547879578; we answer with a first figure, or ask to come and measure if the job needs it.
How to book a plumber in Saihat
- 1Send the drawings or photos
Drawings for a new house, or photos of the external wall, bathroom and laundry for an existing one. - 2Initial estimate
We reply with first items and an estimated cost, or ask to inspect. - 3Inspection
We measure and review the stack, tank positions and external routes. - 4Written scope and start date
You receive the list of work and materials, and we agree when we begin. - 5Rough-in, test, finish
We install, test and photograph, then come back after the tiler to fit the fixtures.
Why Aemar Al-Maryam in Saihat?
■ Rough-in from the drawings
We review the plans before building and suggest what saves you trouble later.
■ Materials that suit the climate
Lagging, a sun-protective sleeve and rust-proof clips for external lines.
■ One coordinated team
Plumbing alongside electrics, tiles, gypsum board and waterproofing.
■ Honest appointments
No promise to arrive in minutes, just a time we keep.
For the electrical work that goes with heaters and pumps, read electrician in Saihat. Photos of completed jobs sit in our project gallery.
Saihat districts we work in
We reach Saihat from Dammam and work in its newer districts, where new duplexes are going up, and in its older districts that need renewal:
■ Al-Khaleej and Al-Kawthar
Duplexes and new family homes.
■ Al-Deira, then Al-Nour
Existing houses, external pipes and laundry rooms.
■ Qurtuba and Gharnata, then Al-Fayha
New builds and bathroom rough-in.
■ Al-Ghadir and Al-Zuhour, and Al-Danah
Flats, duplexes, heaters and pumps.
■ Al-Nimr and Al-Khasab, Al-Naqa and Al-Salam
Annexes, renewals and pipe replacement.
The Saihat page gathers our services in the city, and the complete guide is plumber in Dammam. Nearby there is plumber in Qatif, where we renew older houses with insulated lines, and plumber in Dhahran, where we work on central heaters and guest bathrooms in villas.
Useful links
Plumbing done right the first time in Saihat
Send the drawings or photos of the space now, and we will come back with the scope, a ballpark cost and a visit date.
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