Kitchen & Bathroom Renovation Costs in Dubai

A basic kitchen refit in Dubai costs AED 15,000 to 30,000: laminate or melamine cabinetry, a quartz or granite counter, standard tiles and reconnection of existing appliances. A mid-range kitchen at AED 30,000 to 70,000 buys spray-painted MDF or acrylic cabinetry, better hardware, a full-height splashback and new mid-tier appliances.

Luxury kitchens start around AED 100,000, driven by imported cabinetry systems, natural stone or sintered surfaces, integrated appliances and often layout changes that relocate plumbing and gas. Cabinetry is consistently the largest line at 35 to 45 percent of the total, followed by counters, appliances and labour.

A basic bathroom refit costs AED 8,000 to 20,000 per room: local ceramic tiles, standard sanitaryware, a framed shower screen and new waterproofing. Mid-range bathrooms at AED 20,000 to 50,000 add porcelain or large-format tiles, branded fittings, a concealed cistern and better vanity joinery.

Luxury bathrooms start at AED 50,000 and rise with natural stone, frameless glass, rain showers, underfloor considerations and custom vanities. Roughly a third of any bathroom budget is invisible when finished, demolition, plumbing, waterproofing and screed, which is exactly the third you should never economise on.

Two cost drivers deserve attention when comparing quotes. Relocating the toilet or shower drain means breaking into the floor slab and rerouting drainage, which can add AED 3,000 to 8,000 per bathroom, so keeping fixtures in their existing positions is the single biggest saving available. Glass is the other: a frameless shower enclosure costs two to three times a framed one, and it is frequently listed as an exclusion in the quote.

In kitchens, spend on the carcass hardware and the counter, hinges, runners and stone are used daily for years and are painful to replace, and save on door finishes and handles, which are cosmetic and easy to swap later. Mid-tier appliances from established brands perform close to premium ones at a fraction of the price.

In bathrooms, spend on waterproofing, plumbing quality and the shower mixer, the items buried in the wall, and save on accessories, mirrors and cabinet finishes. A basic tile laid perfectly reads better than an expensive tile laid badly, so the tiler's skill matters more than the tile budget in most rooms.

Waterproofing is the single most important item in a bathroom renovation. The standard practice in Dubai is a liquid-applied membrane over the floor and up the walls in wet zones, followed by a 24-hour flood test: the floor is flooded, the drain plugged, and the level checked the next day with the ceiling below inspected for leaks. Insist that this test happens and ask for photographs before tiling proceeds.

Beyond waterproofing, check that floor falls direct water to the drain without pooling, that pressure testing is done on new plumbing lines, and that tile lippage and grout lines are consistent. Kitchens need their own checks: isolation valves on supply lines, proper trap connections and, where gas is present, work by a licensed gas contractor.

Get waterproofing and pressure-test records in writing. If a leak appears a year later, those records are the difference between a warranty claim and an argument, and building management will ask for them if the unit below is affected.

A kitchen renovation takes two to four weeks on site once materials are in hand: demolition and MEP first, then cabinetry installation, counter templating and fitting, and finally appliances and snagging. The counter is the usual bottleneck, quartz and stone are templated after cabinets are in and take five to ten days to fabricate.

A bathroom takes one to three weeks per room: demolition, plumbing and waterproofing in week one, tiling in week two, and fittings, glass and snagging in week three. Add lead time before site work starts, imported cabinetry and sanitaryware can take four to eight weeks to arrive, so confirm material availability before demolition begins, not after.

If you are renovating multiple bathrooms while living in the unit, sequence them one at a time so a working bathroom is always available. Doing kitchen and bathrooms together in an unoccupied unit is more efficient: the same plumbing and tiling teams move between rooms and the overall programme compresses to four to six weeks.

The most expensive mistakes in kitchen and bathroom projects are sequencing errors: demolishing before materials are confirmed, tiling before the flood test, or ordering counters before cabinets are installed. Each one either stretches the programme or forces rework.

The second category is scope gaps. Quotes that exclude appliances, glass shower screens, accessories or waste removal look cheaper until the extras arrive as variations. The third is skipping approvals: bathroom and kitchen work that relocates plumbing usually needs building NOC and sometimes DM approval, and unapproved work can void insurance and complicate resale.

Finally, avoid selecting a contractor on price alone for wet work. Comparing at least three licensed contractors on itemised scope, waterproofing method and warranty terms, rather than the bottom-line figure, is the cheapest insurance available for the rooms most likely to leak.