Many flat owners in Khafji want a new floor without a week of breaking out, dust and debris, so the work of a tile installer in Khafji usually starts with one question for us: are the old tiles sound enough to tile over? At Aemar Al-Maryam General Contracting we lay new tiles over old ones when that works, remove the old ones when it does not, install marble door thresholds and window sills, and fix tiles that have lifted into a ridge in corridors and halls by cutting movement joints in the right places. Porcelain no bigger than 60×60 costs from SAR 32 a square metre to lay, floor ceramic from SAR 23 and marble or granite from SAR 92, and putting right a few lifted or drummy tiles costs from SAR 92 a job. All of that is indicative until we have seen the flat and settled the list, and the drive up to Khafji is priced during the same inspection. Phone or message us on 0547879578.
Khafji sits on the Gulf coast right at the northern tip of the Eastern Province, and the homes we are called to there are mainly flats, apartment blocks and family villas, and many of them have reached the age where the tiles look dated even though they are still sound. In homes where morning or afternoon sun comes through tall windows we also meet a recurring fault: a row of tiles suddenly lifting in the middle of a corridor as if something had pushed it up from below. This guide explains both situations in detail, together with marble thresholds and sills, the rest of our tiling work in Khafji, what it costs and how to book it.
In short: tiling in Khafji with Aemar Al-Maryam
- Tile over tile: we lay over the old floor when every old tile is firmly bonded, using an improved adhesive on an abraded, primed surface, and we adjust doors and thresholds for the new height.
- Marble thresholds and sills: door thresholds and window sills in marble, with rounded edges and, on windows, a slight outward fall.
- Lifted (tented) tiles: we lift the ridge, open a perimeter gap and movement joints, then re-lay.
- Rates: porcelain to 60×60 from SAR 32 a square metre whether over old tiles or not, 60×120 from 37, ceramic from 23, marble and granite from 92, skirting from 14 a running metre, and a small repair from 92. Provisional until the visit.
- The trip north: costed when we inspect, and spread across everything you add to the same visit.
- First step: send floor, threshold and window pictures plus room sizes to 0547879578 on WhatsApp.
Laying tiles over old tiles in Khafji: when does it work?
Laying new tiles over existing ones in Khafji works when the old floor is bonded to its base across the whole room with no hollow or cracked tiles, when doors, thresholds and drains can accept the higher floor, and when the room is not a bathroom whose waterproofing has failed. In that case you are spared breaking out the floor, carrying away the debris and the dust that fills the flat, and the job is shorter by days.
But the method only succeeds with steps that cannot be skipped. The first is inspection: we tap the old tiles one by one with a light handle, and any tile that sounds hollow is lifted and its place filled with mortar before we start, because the new tile above it will follow its movement. Then we strip wax and grease and clean the surface thoroughly, take the gloss off the old tiles by sanding or grinding, and roll on a bonding primer that helps adhesive grip a non-porous face. Only then do we lay the new porcelain in an improved cementitious adhesive with full coverage of the tile back.
■ Old tiles all firmly bonded
No hollow or cracked tiles, or only a few that are repaired before we start.
■ Surface clean and abraded
Gloss, wax and grease removed, and a bonding primer applied.
■ Improved adhesive
A class C2 cementitious adhesive suitable for tile-on-tile work, with full coverage.
■ Height calculated
The level change is measured at every door, threshold and drain before work begins.
When we will not tile over tile in Khafji
We will not lay over an old floor when a large part of it is hollow or lifted, because that means the problem is in its base, and covering it simply passes the problem to the new tiles. We will not lay over bathroom tiles that are leaking to the neighbours or into the walls, because failed waterproofing under the old tiles has to be exposed and redone. And we do not recommend it where the ceiling height is already low, or where the new level would leave the main entrance threshold noticeably higher than the stair landing or shared corridor outside, so that people trip as they come in.
Doors and thresholds after raising the floor
New tiles raise the floor by their own thickness plus the adhesive bed beneath them, and the exact figure depends on the tile you choose. So before work starts we measure the gap under every door, agree on trimming the bottom of any timber door that will not clear the new floor, and refit thresholds so the step between rooms stays smooth. In bathrooms and kitchens we raise the drain grating to the new level so it does not sit proud of the tiles or low enough to trap water.
Do not pay for new tiles over a hollow floor
If someone tells you “we’ll lay straight over it” without tapping the old floor, ask for the check first. A hollow tile under a new floor becomes a cracked new tile within months.
Tile installer in Khafji: what we do in flats and villas
Our tile installers in Khafji work in flats, apartment buildings, villas, annexes and shops, in the residential districts and along the seafront. Our work is not limited to renewing floors; it covers everything a home needs in tiling:
- ✓Room and hall floors: ceramic, porcelain or marble, over the old floor or after removing it.
- ✓Wall ceramics: in bathrooms and kitchens, with straight lines and clean cuts around outlets.
- ✓Marble thresholds and window sills: cut to exact sizes with rounded, polished edges.
- ✓Bathroom retiling: with waterproofing, a water test and falls to the drain.
- ✓Stairs and entrances: marble or granite, with the added thickness calculated so steps stay equal.
- ✓Skirting: around the rooms, covering the perimeter gap at the wall.
- ✓Repairs and polishing: replacing broken or hollow tiles, fixing lifted tiles, and polishing marble.
Tiler in Khafji or a contractor?
A tiler in Khafji lays tiles. A contractor decides beforehand whether tile-over-tile will work, calculates quantities and wastage, arranges with the carpenter to trim the doors and with the plumber to raise the drains, and then hands over the job with a clear check. In a city as far from Dammam as Khafji, organisation matters even more: we want to finish everything that can be finished on the visit, so your job is not held up by a missing material or a decision that was never taken.
Marble door thresholds and window sills in Khafji
A marble threshold in Khafji is the piece under a door that separates the floor of one room from the next, and a window sill is the horizontal piece below a window, inside or outside. Both are small, but they sit where the eye sees them, feet step on them and hands rest on them, so any error in size or level shows.
For thresholds we cut the marble to the exact width of the door opening and set its top at the level of both floors, or with a gentle slope if the two rooms sit at different levels, so the threshold never becomes an edge that children and older people trip on. In bathrooms and kitchens a threshold earns its place, because it keeps floor water from running into the corridor if the drain blocks.
For window sills we round and polish the front edge so it does not hurt anyone leaning on it, set the external sill with a slight outward fall so rain and air-conditioning water do not collect against the window frame, and form a drip groove or projection under the outer edge so water drops off before it runs down the wall. Between the marble and the window frame we use a flexible sealant, not rigid grout, because aluminium and marble move differently with heat.
Choose threshold marble with your tiles, not after
When you choose the new tiles, take a sample to the marble supplier and match a colour to it. If you are tiling over the old floor, set the new threshold height to the new floor level, not the old one.
Thresholds and sills are priced at inspection, since the cost depends on the number of pieces, their lengths and the marble type, so send the count and rough sizes together with your photos.
Marble and granite installation in Khafji for floors and stairs
Laying a marble floor in Khafji costs from SAR 92 a square metre. Pale stone is bedded on white adhesive, since grey adhesive leaves a shadow you can see through it, and the white and green varieties that warp when they absorb water get a quick-setting or resin bed instead. Marble also reacts with acids: lemon, vinegar and some cleaners leave dull etch marks that sealers cannot prevent, so we do not recommend it for kitchen floors, and we prefer granite for outdoor entrances and exposed steps.
When an existing staircase is clad, every tread gains the stone’s thickness, so we build that into the setting-out; otherwise the bottom and top risers end up out of step with the others, and the tolerance within a flight is tiny. Our stair rate is SAR 46 and up per square metre of stair face. Polishing starts at SAR 14 per square metre and comes down to SAR 9 on jobs of 200 m² or more.
Lifted tiles in Khafji corridors and movement joints
Lifted or tented tiles are a row of tiles that suddenly rise into a peaked ridge in the middle of a corridor or hall, sometimes with a cracking sound before they go. The usual cause is the absence of a perimeter gap at the walls and of movement joints within the floor. When the tiles expand with heat and have nowhere to move, they push against each other until they break away from their base and lift.
It happens most in corridors and halls that catch sun through long windows, because tiles in direct sun get far hotter than those in shade. Industry guidance for tiling spaces indoor joints roughly 7.6 m apart both ways, tightens the spacing to roughly 3.6 m wherever direct sun or moisture reaches the floor, and wants a soft joint wherever the tiles meet a wall, a column or a threshold.
- 1Map the problem
We tap the tiles around the ridge to find how many have actually debonded, not just the ones you can see. - 2Lift lifted and hollow tiles
Carefully, so their neighbours do not crack, keeping any sound tiles for reuse where possible. - 3Open the perimeter gap
We cut a strip along the wall, under the skirting, to give the floor room to move. - 4Add field movement joints
In long corridors and sunlit floors, on joint lines so they are not noticed. - 5Re-lay
On a cleaned base, in an improved adhesive with full coverage, using spare tiles from the original batch or the closest match. - 6Fill with a flexible sealant
Not rigid grout, then refit the skirting over the perimeter gap.
A few lifted or drummy tiles cost from SAR 92 to put right. If the problem runs through the whole flat, retiling the corridor or hall may be the better value, and we give you that comparison after inspection.
Repairing broken and hollow tiles in Khafji
A hollow tile that sounds empty without lifting is usually the result of adhesive that never covered its back, adhesive applied in dabs, or a dusty base. We lift it, clean the base and re-bed it with full coverage. Broken tiles are replaced with a piece from the spare boxes, which is why we advise everyone who tiles a home to keep two or three boxes of the same tile.
Ceramic or porcelain for Khafji flats?
Porcelain takes up 0.5% of water or less because it is fired denser, which makes it the stronger choice for bathroom and kitchen floors, corridors and busy flats. Standard ceramic is lighter to handle, quicker to cut and quite good enough for bathroom and kitchen walls and bedrooms. When tiling over old tiles we prefer a porcelain of moderate thickness in sizes no larger than 60×60 in most flats, so the floor does not rise too much and does not demand more flatness than the old floor can give.
| Choice | Suits | Note for Khafji | Our labour from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic floor tiles | Bedrooms and majlis rooms | Light and quick to lay | SAR 23/m² |
| Ceramic wall tiles | Bathrooms and kitchens | Needs flat, dry plaster | SAR 27/m² |
| Porcelain up to 60×60 | Halls, corridors, bathrooms | Best fit for tile-over-tile | SAR 32/m² |
| Porcelain 60×120 | Large halls | Only on a very flat floor | SAR 37/m² |
| Marble or granite | Entrances, stairs, thresholds | Light marble on white adhesive | SAR 92/m² |
Labour only, estimates until inspection and agreement.
Tile adhesive and joints
We use an improved class C2 cementitious adhesive for porcelain and for tile-over-tile work; some carry the S1 rating, meaning they are deformable and tolerate slight movement, which helps over an old base. It must cover at least 80% of the tile back in rooms and 95% in bathrooms. The joint between tiles is never dropped: as a rule of thumb, allow roughly 3 mm with rectified edges and roughly 5 mm with pressed ones, because tiles pushed tight together are the quickest way to a lifted floor.
Bathroom retiling in Khafji
Retiling a leaking bathroom in Khafji is never done over the old tiles. Everything comes up to bare concrete, the pipes are repaired, and a fresh screed is formed falling 2 cm in every metre towards the shower outlet, with a flatter fall over the remaining floor. Waterproofing follows, carried from the floor onto the lower walls, and the bathroom is left under water for 24 to 48 hours as proof before tiling starts. Fixing bathroom floor and wall tiles costs from SAR 36 a square metre, and gutting and redoing a small bathroom with membrane and economy tiles from SAR 2,300.
In apartment buildings this order matters even more, because a leaking bathroom in one flat shows up on the ceiling of the flat below. For the membrane and test in detail see roof and wet-area waterproofing in Khafji; for pipe changes before tiling, see plumber in Khafji.
Courtyard and roof tiles near the sea
For villas and houses in Khafji with a courtyard or a roof terrace in use, we use matt exterior porcelain or granite sloped 1% to 2% to the drains, broken up by soft joints at intervals of about 2.4 to 3.6 m, since an outside floor gets no shade all day. Humid, salt-laden air near the sea is harder on cement joints outdoors, so we use an improved grout and a flexible sealant in the movement joints. Yards and paths, falls included, are fixed from SAR 37 a square metre. If white salts appear on courtyard tiles, the cause is water rising or standing, and its source is treated before retiling.
Preparing your flat before the tiling team arrives in Khafji
Because a Khafji visit needs organising, we ask owners to prepare a few simple things that can save a whole day. First, clear the rooms to be tiled, or gather the furniture in one room that we tile last. Second, if you are buying the tiles and thresholds yourself, have them on site before the work day and make sure the quantity covers wastage. Third, agree with the carpenter if doors are to be trimmed, so the flat is not left without doors for days.
Sorting tiles, wastage and production batches
Before laying we open the boxes and compare tiles in daylight, because boxes from separate factory runs may vary a touch in colour or dimensions, and you only notice once the floor is laid. So we advise buying the whole quantity from one batch and checking the batch number and shade code printed on the box. Wastage depends on tile size, room shape and pattern, since it rises with diagonal layouts and rooms with many corners, and then add spare boxes for you to keep for repairs.
How many days does a Khafji flat take?
It depends on the area and the method. Tiling over the old floor is quicker because it skips removal and levelling; a small room is usually done in a day and a large hall in two or three, followed by the adhesive’s curing time before grouting. Nobody walks on or grouts the floor before the time stated for the adhesive used, since some are normal-setting and some rapid-setting. We give you an approximate schedule after inspection and sequence the rooms so the flat keeps one usable room throughout.
Tile installation prices in Khafji
Per-metre rates in Khafji match Dammam exactly; the only extra is the team’s journey, which we cost at the inspection. Combining several jobs into one visit, such as renewing a flat’s floors together with the marble thresholds and a bathroom retile, lowers the share of travel each job carries.
| What you want in your flat or villa | From | Per | Materials in the price? |
|---|---|---|---|
| New floor in porcelain up to 60×60, over the old tiles or after removal | SAR 32 | m² | No, you supply the tiles |
| Standard ceramic for bedrooms | SAR 23 | m² | No |
| Bathroom or kitchen wall ceramics | SAR 27 | m² | No |
| Hall in 60×120 porcelain | SAR 37 | m² | No |
| 100×100 and 120×120 slabs | SAR 46 | m² | No; larger after the visit |
| Whole flat bathroom, floor and walls | SAR 36 | m² | No |
| New small bathroom with removal and waterproofing | SAR 2,300 | bathroom | Yes, economy tiles |
| Economy porcelain or ceramic with its adhesive | SAR 37 | m² | Yes, tiles and adhesive |
| Courtyard or used roof laid to falls | SAR 37 | m² | No |
| Marble or granite floor | SAR 92 | m² | No |
| Marble or tile staircase | SAR 46 | m² of stair | No |
| New skirting | SAR 14 | linear metre | No |
| Taking up old tiles and bedding (when tile-over-tile will not work) | SAR 14 | m² | Long-distance debris haulage extra |
| Levelling after removal | SAR 14 | m² | Deep fills after the visit |
| Fixing a lifted ridge or a few hollow tiles | SAR 92 | limited job | Depends on the number of tiles |
| Polishing the flat’s marble or tiles | SAR 14 | m² | Yes, polishing materials |
| Marble door thresholds and window sills | After the visit | per piece and length | Depends on the marble |
| Team travel to Khafji | After the visit | — | Shared across the visit’s items |
Figures are estimates until inspection and agreement; polishing areas of 200 m² or more starts from SAR 9 per square metre. For items priced after the visit, send the number of pieces, their sizes and photos on WhatsApp 0547879578.
Tiler rates per square metre in Khafji
Porcelain to 60×60 is fixed from SAR 32 a square metre, over the old floor or on a fresh base; 60×120 from SAR 37; floor ceramic from SAR 23 and wall ceramic from 27; and stone (marble or granite) from SAR 92. Those are fixing rates, with tiles and adhesive on top unless you pick the economy-materials option.
Worked example: tile over tile in a flat
An illustrative example for a flat with a 5 × 4 m hall and two 4 × 4 m bedrooms, to be tiled in 60×60 porcelain over the existing floor with new skirting:
- ✓Area: hall 20 m² + two bedrooms 32 m² = 52 m².
- ✓Tiling over the old floor: 52 m² × SAR 32 = SAR 1,664.
- ✓Skirting: hall perimeter 18 m + bedroom perimeters 32 m = 50 m, minus 4 doorways of about 1 m = 46 m × SAR 14 = SAR 644.
- ✓Estimated labour total: 1,664 + 644 = SAR 2,308, before materials, travel and door trimming.
- ✓For comparison: removing the old tiles first would add 52 × 14 = SAR 728, and usually a similar sum for levelling, plus debris removal and days of dust.
That is why tile-over-tile is a good option when the floor is sound, and not when it is hollow. Every rate we charge is listed on the prices page.
Common flat-tiling mistakes we avoid in Khafji
- ✓Tiles butted against the wall: with no perimeter gap, so they lift in the first summer.
- ✓Adhesive applied in dabs: leaving voids under the tile, which then sounds hollow and cracks under the first load.
- ✓Tiling over hollow tiles: passing the fault straight to the new floor.
- ✓Forgetting the doors: only to find after tiling that a door will not close.
- ✓A marble threshold sitting proud of the floor: a trip hazard at every doorway.
- ✓Rigid grout in movement joints: it cracks and does none of the joint’s work.
- ✓Walking on the floor too soon: before the time the adhesive specifies.
How to book a tile installer in Khafji
Send on WhatsApp 0547879578 photos of the current floor, a close-up of any lifted or broken tiles, the room sizes, the number and rough sizes of thresholds and window sills, the tile you want and its size, tile-over-tile or removal, and which floor the flat is on, with or without a lift. From that we can price it roughly, set a visit date and list what you should prepare, so the visit gets as much done as possible. Or use the inspection request form.
What you get when we tile your Khafji home
■ We check before we cover
We never tile over an old floor without tapping it tile by tile.
■ Movement joints where they belong
A perimeter gap at every wall, and field joints in sunlit corridors.
■ Threshold and sill detail
Marble cut to size, set at the right level, with rounded edges.
■ One general contractor
Tiling, waterproofing, plumbing, electrics and renovation under one agreement.
■ An organised visit
Your items grouped into one visit where possible, with prices and travel written down before we start.
Browse finished jobs in the projects gallery, or read the short marble and tiles service page.
Where in Khafji we work
Flats, villas and shops anywhere in town, from the residential districts to the seafront and the commercial streets. Share your location on WhatsApp for the first free visit date. Our other local services are on the Khafji area page, and if your job involves wider renovation read renovation contractor in Khafji.
Outside Khafji, the detailed reference is tile installer in Dammam; for the inland north and the oasis, see tile installer in Hafr Al-Batin and tile installer in Al-Ahsa.
Need a tile installer in Khafji? Send photos of your floor now
Photograph the floor, thresholds and windows, add the room sizes and tile type, and send them on WhatsApp 0547879578, and we will arrange your Khafji visit.
More services for Khafji homes
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