Painting in Jumeirah 2

Painting in Jumeirah 2 is a different beast compared to a standard villa in the Springs or a single apartment block. You've got this mixed development situation where you're bouncing between old villas near Al Wasl Road and newer apartments facing the Canal. The real headache is the variety in building ages and access rules. I've had jobs where the villa's exterior walls are original 1990s concrete that soaks up paint like a sponge, needing two extra coats just to look right. Meanwhile, a fifth-floor apartment in a building near Safa Park has strict tower access hours from 8 AM to 2 PM only, which kills your drying time in the summer heat. You can't treat them the same. The anti-mould paint is a must for bathrooms in these older villas—I'd say 85% of them have hidden damp issues behind the tiles. And for move-out jobs near JBR, property managers are picky about trim and skirting board edges; they'll measure with a level, so we have to charge AED 11.50 per square foot for that extra prep. It's not a one-size-fits-all gig.

For interior painting in a Jumeirah 2 villa, you're looking at AED 9 to AED 13.50 per square foot, depending on ceiling height and how many feature walls you want. That's for two coats of decent emulsion on walls and ceilings, plus trim and skirting. A 3,000 sqft villa runs you about AED 30,000 to AED 40,000. Exterior work is pricier — AED 14 to AED 18 per sqft — because of the ladder work and Dubai's heat.

Timing's straightforward but don't rush it. A standard 3-bedroom villa takes 5 to 7 working days. We start by moving furniture to the center and covering everything with plastic. We patch holes and sand rough spots first. Then two coats, with 4-6 hours drying time between them. For bathrooms or the laundry room, we use anti-mould paint — it's an extra AED 2 per sqft but worth it in this humidity.

One honest thing: we're not the cheapest guys in town. If you're on a tight budget, you'll find painters in Al Quoz for AED 5 per sqft. But they'll skip the prep work, and you'll see brush marks or peeling in six months. We take the time to do it right because we've seen too many jobs where the landlord keeps the deposit over cheap paintwork.