Most modern houses in Saihat do not have a large garden, but many do have a side setback between the house wall and the boundary wall that can take a small family pool. Swimming pool construction in Saihat usually starts, for us, with that narrow strip: a compact concrete basin with a depth comfortable for children, a tiled bench under the water, a shade sail over part of it, and perhaps a round fountain basin in the front setback. A compact concrete basin opens at SAR 12,900 and a fountain at home at SAR 3,200, and each one firms up only after a visit and a scope we both sign off. Our number: 0547879578.
Roughly 14 km separates Saihat from Dammam; the town sits within the Qatif governorate, and the crews of Aemar Al-Maryam General Contracting reach it from our Dammam base. Here we explain how we judge whether a setback can take a pool, the building stages, the fill test on the bare shell and how to tell evaporation from a leak, then waterproofing and tiling, child safety, prices with a worked example, fountains and renovation. Larger systems such as overflow and infinity pools are covered more fully in swimming pool construction in Dammam.
Before you read: a home pool in Saihat
- Typical shape: a compact rectangle in the side yard, close to a metre deep, with a bench seat in the water.
- A test we never skip: we fill the concrete shell before waterproofing and track the level for days against an evaporation bucket.
- Opening prices: small basin SAR 12,900; three-by-six 19,400; fountain 3,200; wall cascade 3,700.
- Equipment: pump, filter, sanitiser and lights come from a specialist and are fitted with them; priced at inspection.
- Travel: the cost of getting to Saihat is agreed at the inspection, as the town lies beyond our closest triangle of cities.
- Start with: photos and the size of your setback on WhatsApp 0547879578.
A compact family pool in a Saihat side setback: is there room?
Usually yes, if the setback is wide enough for a basin of about two and a half metres plus a walkway, and the ground tank, septic tank or main drain does not run underneath. The side setback of a Saihat house is a confined strip squeezed between your own wall and the one next door, so measuring length and width is not enough; we need to know where the footings of both walls are, how far the excavation stays from them, and what runs below ground.
- ✓Distance from footings: the engineer sets the gap between the pool pit and the footings of the house and boundary wall; we never dig beside an existing wall base without an engineering decision.
- ✓What is underground: we ask about the water tank, septic tank and drain route before marking out, and confirm them on site.
- ✓Getting the digging done: a full-size excavator rarely fits a setback, so we use a mini excavator or dig by hand and carry the spoil out to the street.
- ✓Sun and shade: the house wall shades part of the basin at certain hours, which helps decide where the bench and the shade sail go.
- ✓Privacy: we take neighbours’ windows and the boundary wall height into account and may suggest raising or cladding part of it.
A small pool does not have to be a plain one. A tiled bench along one side under the water turns the basin into a place to sit and talk, mosaic graded from light blue to deep blue makes the water look deeper than its size, and a shade sail stretched over half of it keeps the midday sun off the children.
How deep should a family pool for children be?
In a small family pool a depth of about one metre is usually enough, with part of it shallower near the steps for children. Common guidance for children’s pools puts the shallow end at around 90 cm, and we settle the depth with the family according to the children’s ages and the adults’ height, then mark the depths on the edge.
Pool construction company in Saihat: what our work covers
As a pool construction company in Saihat we take on all the structural work of the basin: excavation, the reinforced shell, cast-in pipework and its testing, waterproofing, tiling, and a small room or covered pit for the equipment. We also build the fountain basin or waterfall wall and any planters around it. The hardware (pump, filter, sanitiser, lights) is a specialist dealer’s business: they match it to how many cubic metres the basin holds, deliver it, and our team fits and starts it up alongside them.
■ Digging in tight spaces
A mini excavator or hand digging in the setback, with existing walls and paving protected.
■ Reinforced concrete basin
Built to an engineering office drawing, in salt-resistant concrete cured with water.
■ Tested pipework
Two main drains, a skimmer and return inlets, pressure-tested before concrete goes round them.
■ Waterproofing and tiles
A flexible internal lining, mosaic or pool ceramics, and a tiled bench under the water.
■ Small plant room
A covered pit or built cabinet in a corner of the setback, away from bedrooms.
■ Fountain or waterfall
A round basin or waterfall wall with its waterproofing, pipes and a small pump.
A pool in a Saihat house under construction or one already lived in?
The best time to build a setback pool in Saihat is before the yard is paved. In a house still under construction the pool enters the drawings from the start, so the engineer designs the house and boundary footings knowing where the pit will be, drainage and power are run to the plant space before the yard slab is cast, and the pool joins the permit drawings with no separate application. The cost is lower too, because digging happens while the ground is open and machines can get in easily.
In an occupied house, which is the usual case, work starts by lifting the yard tiles or interlock along the pit and storing or removing them, then protecting the remaining floor, walls and facade from dust and knocks. We agree working hours with the family so noise does not disturb sleepers or neighbours, and close the pit with a temporary barrier every evening because there are children in the house. Once the pool is finished we relay whatever was lifted, or tile the new walkway with falls that carry water away from the basin.
Where does the plant room go in a narrow house plot?
The pump and filter need to be close to the basin so the pipes stay short and suction stays strong, but a narrow setback has no room for a full plant room. Our answer is usually one of three: a concrete pit with a lift-off lid for maintenance, a block-built cabinet in a corner of the setback with a ventilated door, or the space beneath an external staircase if there is one. In every case we leave enough room to open the filter and lift the pump out, mount the electrical panel above the floor away from spray, and drain any water that collects in the pit to the sewer so the equipment never floods.
Small pool sizes and prices in Saihat
The price of building a pool in Saihat is set first by its size. The sizes that usually suit a side setback are the compact 2.5 m by 4.5 m basin and, where width permits, a three-by-six. Anything larger needs a back yard or garden.
| Size and system | Suits | Price from |
|---|---|---|
| About 2.5 × 4.5 m, roughly 1 m deep | side setback, young children | SAR 12,900 |
| 3 × 6 m, graded depth, skimmer | wide setback or back yard | SAR 19,400 |
| About 4 × 9 m, skimmer | larger yard or garden | SAR 29,500 |
| Large garden pool, about 10.5 m long, skimmer | large garden | SAR 38,800 |
| Overflow with balance tank | water flush with the stone | SAR 60,000 |
The basin price covers digging in ordinary ground, the reinforced concrete, the internal lining, pool ceramics, the cast-in pipes after testing, and a prepared place for the equipment. It does not cover the equipment, rock, groundwater pumping, a fence or travel, which are set at inspection. The other items are in the next table.
| Extra item | Unit | From |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible cementitious lining for permanent immersion | m² | SAR 74 |
| PVC membrane | m² | SAR 92 |
| Pool epoxy | m² | SAR 138 |
| Fixing mosaic or ceramics inside the basin | m² | SAR 92 |
| Glass mosaic tiles, material only | m² | SAR 110 |
| Tiled walkway round the basin, labour | m² | SAR 37 |
| Removing old tiles | m² | SAR 14 |
| Side-mounted stainless ladder | each | SAR 460 |
| Inspecting a pool you already have | visit | SAR 140 |
| Small or medium home fountain | fountain | SAR 3,200 |
| Underwater lighting for the fountain | set | SAR 460 |
| Equipment, travel, fence, custom tiled bench | — | at inspection |
All prices are provisional until the inspection and agreement, and shift with depth, finish, access and soil conditions. Our prices page lists our other services.
Worked example: a family pool in a side setback with a front fountain
A rough example for a Saihat house: a basin of about 2.5 × 4.5 m, roughly a metre deep, in the side setback, a tiled walkway 90 cm wide around it, and a small round fountain in the front setback with its lighting.
| Item | Calculation | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Small basin | base price | SAR 12,900 |
| Walkway 0.9 m wide | (4.3 × 6.3) − 11.25 = 15.84 m² × 37 | about SAR 586 |
| Small round fountain | base price | SAR 3,200 |
| Fountain lighting | one set | SAR 460 |
| Total | about SAR 17,146 |
The example leaves out the pool equipment, the walkway tiles themselves, the shade sail and travel. The water volume of this basin is about 11.25 m³, so the permitted loss in its fill test is roughly 5.6 litres a day, close to half a millimetre of level. That tiny figure is why the next section matters.
Fill-testing the bare pool shell in Saihat: evaporation or a leak?
We run the fill test in Saihat on bare concrete before any waterproofing or tile, because this is the last chance to see the shell as it really is. We fill the basin to operating level, leave it three days so the concrete takes up water, then start a 72-hour measurement. The reference we use for water-retaining concrete basins (ACI 350.1) accepts a daily loss of up to half a litre per thousand litres stored (0.05%).
The catch is that water also leaves by evaporation, and on hot, dry summer days evaporation can exceed the permitted loss itself. So we put a bucket or open container beside the basin in the same sun and wind, and read both at the same time:
- 1A fixed mark
a measuring gauge fixed to the basin wall and a pencil mark at the waterline at a set hour. - 2The comparison bucket
an open container of water on the rim, its level marked at the same hour. - 3Daily readings
both levels read every day at the same time, with a rough note of the air temperature. - 4The calculation
the bucket’s drop is subtracted from the basin’s drop; what remains has left through the concrete or pipes. - 5The decision
within the limit, we move on to waterproofing; above it, we check pipes, joints and construction joints before any finish.
The pipes have their own pressure test before concrete goes round them, so if the basin fails we quickly know whether the problem is in the concrete or the joints. If a crack shows up, we treat it as described on crack repair in Saihat and repeat the test.
Building a concrete pool in Saihat, step by step
Building a pool in a tight Saihat setback needs careful sequencing, because every material comes in through the same gate:
- 1House visit
measuring the setback, locating footings, tank and septic tank, and choosing where the equipment goes. - 2Drawing
the basin is designed by an engineering office, which also settles the permit question. - 3Excavation
mini excavator or hand digging, shoring the sides near walls if needed, and removing spoil as we go. - 4Shell
blinding, floor and wall steel, drains, skimmer and returns, then the pour and a week of curing. - 5Fill test
filling, soaking and measuring against the evaporation bucket, as above. - 6Waterproofing and tiles
a two-coat flexible lining, then mosaic, bench, coping and walkway. - 7Equipment and start-up
fitting the equipment with the supplier, filling in stages and balancing the water.
In summer the concrete is poured early in the morning, sprayed and covered; the details are on concrete pouring in Saihat. A small pool usually takes three to six weeks, including the waits for curing, testing and tile setting before filling.
Pool waterproofing and tiling in Saihat: graded mosaic and a bench in the water
Pool waterproofing in Saihat is done on the inside using a flexible cement-based lining made to stay under water for good: two passes, with reinforcing tape or mesh worked into corners and round the skimmer and every fitting (SAR 74 per m² upward). Depending on the finish, a PVC sheet (SAR 92 upward) or an epoxy coat (SAR 138 upward) can be used instead. Outside, the walls get a bituminous layer before backfilling if the soil is damp. Roof and tank waterproofing for the same house is covered on roof waterproofing in Saihat.
- Graded mosaic: pieces run from light at the waterline to dark on the floor following a drawn plan, so the gradient does not look patchy.
- The tiled bench: cast with the shell or built on it, waterproofed with the basin, and tiled with slip-resistant tiles and a clearly marked edge.
- Adhesive and grout: an immersion-rated adhesive that fills the back of each piece, and epoxy grout where sanitising is heavy.
- Before filling: the tiles rest for about three weeks, then water goes in gently, roughly three-quarters of a metre a day at most.
The setback walkway can be interlock rather than tiles, as on interlock paving in Saihat, and indoor tiling is on tile installer in Saihat.
Child safety in a Saihat home pool
A side-setback pool sits right against the house, often with a kitchen or living-room door opening onto it, which makes safety more pressing than with a pool at the far end of a garden. International guidance for home pool barriers is clear, and we apply it as written:
- ✓A barrier round the water: no lower than 1.2 m, no gap a 10 cm ball could pass, and no footholds for climbing.
- ✓Self-closing gate: swinging out away from the pool, shutting and latching on its own, its catch set high where small hands cannot reach.
- ✓A house door onto the pool: if a wall of the house serves as one side of the enclosure, fit an alarm on the door or a safety cover on the pool, as the guidance advises.
- ✓Main drains: each pump draws from a pair of floor outlets set 90 cm or more apart, both fitted with anti-entrapment grilles.
- ✓Electrics: 12 V lighting in the water with the transformer kept away, bonding of metal parts and a 30 mA RCD; circuits are covered on electrician in Saihat.
A cover is not a substitute for watching
Covers, alarms and fences reduce the risk, but a child near water needs an adult who can see them at every moment.
A round fountain basin in a Saihat front setback
Fountain installation in Saihat often comes with the pool or instead of it: a small round basin in the front setback that greets visitors with the sound of water. A fountain is a closed loop: a small submersible pump in a sump in the floor pushes water to a central nozzle, it rises, falls and returns to the basin.
- ✓Waterproofed before the stone: otherwise the wall soaks up water and salts appear on the cream stone.
- ✓A pump sump: keeps the pump permanently under water so it never runs dry, and makes it easy to lift out for cleaning.
- ✓A low jet: in a front setback we prefer a low jet that does not blow spray onto the path and car in the wind.
- ✓Safe power: a supply protected by an RCD and low-voltage lighting inside the basin.
Home fountains of small to medium size are priced from SAR 3,200, and lighting them from below the water adds from SAR 460. For those who prefer water running down a wall, a small wall waterfall starts from SAR 3,700 and a modern corner waterfall from SAR 5,500. Our care advice: clean deposits off the nozzle from time to time, and top up for evaporation in summer so the pump sump is never exposed.
Shade, bench and lighting: details that make a small Saihat pool comfortable
In a small pool the details matter more than the size. We set the tiled bench at a depth where a seated adult keeps their shoulders above the water, wide enough to sit comfortably, on the side the house wall shades in the afternoon. The shade sail is never anchored to the pool wall or coping; it goes on posts with their own footings, or on the house wall once we have confirmed it can take the load, because wind pulls on the fabric with considerable force.
- Steps: in a small basin we prefer an internal corner staircase of comfortable width to a metal ladder, since children climb in and out dozens of times.
- Lighting: one low-voltage light in the wall facing the house windows is usually enough to see the water at night without glare.
- Pump noise: the pump goes at the point furthest from the bedrooms, on a base that damps vibration.
- Backwash water: its route to the drain is fixed from the outset, so it is never dumped in the setback to soak the house footings.
Mistakes we see in small pools at Saihat houses
When we are called to inspect a small pool built some years ago, the same few mistakes keep appearing, each of which a simple decision at the building stage would have avoided:
- ✓Deeper than the family needs: a deep basin in a narrow setback raises the cost and is used less by the children.
- ✓Built hard against the neighbour’s wall: with no gap and no external tanking, damp shows on the boundary wall and a dispute with the neighbour begins.
- ✓A walkway falling towards the water: it carries setback dust and wash-water into the pool instead of away from it.
- ✓Tiles not rated for immersion: ordinary floor ceramics absorb water and crack over time.
- ✓The skimmer on the wrong side: placed upwind, so the leaves collect in the opposite corner.
- ✓A fountain without a pump sump: the pump runs dry when the level drops in summer and fails early.
None of these needs special technology to avoid, only planning before digging, which is why we ask for photos and measurements before suggesting any size or depth.
Pool renovation in Saihat
Pool renovation in Saihat starts with an inspection that finds the cause before anything is broken out; the first look costs from SAR 140. Older small house pools tend to suffer from worn grout, hollow tiles, or water loss the owner cannot place as evaporation or a leak. The bucket test explained above works here too: a full bucket on the step, two marks, and a comparison after 24 hours.
- Re-waterproofing and re-tiling: tile removal from SAR 14 per m², lining from 74, and fixing from 92.
- Adding a light or return inlet: may need precise drilling through the existing wall, as on core drilling in Saihat.
- Removing the pool: filling it in and turning it into a seating area starts with breaking out, as on demolition contractor in Saihat.
- Renovating the whole house: start with renovation contractor in Saihat.
Groundwater in Saihat and draining a pool
Saihat is a coastal town in the Eastern Province, where groundwater is shallow and salty at many sites. We do not assume its level at every house, but we watch for it during excavation, pump it out if it appears, use sulfate-resisting concrete, and fit a hydrostatic relief valve in the basin floor. The rule for the owner: do not empty the pool completely before asking us, since outside water standing roughly 45 cm above the inside level can be enough to heave some empty basins or split their floor.
Does a home pool in Saihat need a permit?
Adding a pool changes the structure of the house, so whether it needs a licence is for a licensed engineering office to rule on before excavation. On an existing house this normally goes through the Balady application for added or altered building elements, which needs the house’s valid building permit and an engineering office. For a house still being built, the pool goes into the permit drawings from the start, which is simpler and cheaper.
Caring for a small pool in Saihat’s climate
A small pool warms up faster in summer and is more affected by dust because its water volume is small. For home pools, health authorities advise keeping pH in the 7.0-7.8 band with at least 1 ppm of free chlorine, testing the water on days the pool is used. A shade sail and a cover cut evaporation, heat and leaves, and emptying the skimmer basket after every windy spell protects the pump.
Saihat districts where we build pools
We serve old and new districts of Saihat, including Al-Deerah, Al-Naqah and Al-Khasab, Al-Noor, Qurtubah and Gharnatah, Al-Khaleej, Al-Zuhoor and Al-Danah, Al-Salam, Al-Kawthar and Al-Ghadeer, Al-Fayha and Al-Nimr. Our Saihat page collects our services there. For farm and old-courtyard pools in neighbouring Qatif read swimming pool construction in Qatif, and if a villa garden has room for a long swimming lane, see swimming pool construction in Dhahran. A small majlis next to the pool is covered by annex and majlis builder in Saihat.
Why Aemar Al-Maryam for your home pool in Saihat?
- ✓We know tight spaces: a mini excavator, protected walls and spoil cleared daily.
- ✓We separate evaporation from leaks: a fill test with a comparison bucket before any waterproofing.
- ✓Children’s safety first: a barrier, a self-closing gate, safe drains and low-voltage electrics.
- ✓Published starting figures: with the items left for inspection written down from the start.
- ✓One team: concrete, waterproofing, tiles and plumbing; plumbing details are on plumber in Saihat.
How to order a pool or fountain in Saihat
Take some photos and send them to WhatsApp 0547879578, and we will send back a first idea and an estimated cost:
- 1The setback
one photo along its length and one across, with the gate. - 2The size
the setback length and width in rough metres. - 3Below ground
where the tank and septic tank are, if you know. - 4The family
the children’s ages, and whether you want a bench, shade or fountain. - 5The district
its name, or your location on the map.
Send a photo of your side setback
We will tell you whether it fits a pool, at what size and depth, roughly what it costs, then book the inspection.
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