Renovation in Al Furjan

I do villa renovations in Al Furjan, and the big difference here is the AC split-unit setup. You'll find 3 to 6 units per villa, and in the earlier phases built before 2017, we're often replacing gas and doing first-cycle maintenance on the water heaters — it's a 7-year-old house that's starting to show its age. That's not something you see in a newer apartment in JLT. The villa spec from Nakheel is consistent, so parts availability is good — I can usually get what I need same-visit. But don't expect the same for plumbing; some of the 2012 builds have standard copper lines that can corrode after a decade in this heat. The gardens are private, which sounds nice until you're hauling tiles and a toilet through a narrow gate in 45-degree summer heat. A full bathroom strip-out here runs around AED 22,500, but partial refresh like replacing a vanity and tiling is closer to AED 8,000. The main challenge is access — each villa is detached, so you're dealing with compound rules, tower security for deliveries, and no shared elevator. It's more work, but the homes are solid once you get past the first-cycle kinks.

For a full Al Furjan villa renovation — say a 4-bedroom in the earlier phases near the Pavilion — you're looking at AED 68,000 to AED 85,000 depending on how much you strip out. A partial refresh, like redoing one bathroom and swapping kitchen countertops, runs AED 14,500 to AED 22,000. Timing's the tricky part. A full villa takes 10 to 14 weeks, but that's if we're not waiting on DEWA meter upgrades or Nakheel approval for structural changes — those can add 2 weeks easy. The process starts with me coming by to measure and check the AC units (those 2015-era split systems often need re-gassing in summer), then we quote, you sign, and we schedule. Here's the honest bit: even though parts are easy to get for Nakheel's spec, the 2012-2014 villas have plumbing that's starting to corrode — we've had jobs where a simple toilet swap turned into a full pipe replacement once we opened the wall. So budget an extra AED 3,000 to AED 5,000 for surprises. We'll get it done right, but I can't promise we'll never hit a snag.