Jumeirah 1-3 older villas — what does a sensible renovation actually prioritise on these ageing homes?
We've taken on an older villa in Jumeirah and it needs work. It's tempting to go straight for the kitchen, bathrooms and the look of the place, but I keep being told that on older villas the smart money goes elsewhere first. What should a sensible renovation actually prioritise on one of these ageing Jumeirah homes, so we don't end up ripping up new finishes a year later to fix something underneath? Want to sequence it properly.
2 answers
On an older Jumeirah villa the money that protects your investment goes into what you can't see, first. The right order is: sort the services and the fabric before the finishes, meaning the MEP (aged wiring, plumbing and AC), the waterproofing on wet areas and the roof, and any damp or structural issues, THEN tile, joinery and paint. The classic expensive mistake on these homes is leading with a beautiful kitchen and bathrooms over tired pipework and failed waterproofing, then smashing it open within a year when a leak or an electrical fault surfaces. So before design, get the villa surveyed for what's actually failing, and budget the unglamorous work in first. A proper interior renovation in Dubai that plans services and waterproofing ahead of finishes is what stops the redo, on an older villa that sequencing IS the value. Keep some contingency too, older homes always reveal something once you open them up.
Learned this the hard way on an older place. We did finishes first and were back in the walls within the year for a plumbing leak. Second time round we did services and waterproofing first and it was night and day. Boring first, pretty second.
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