Roof Waterproofing in Damac Hills
On a villa here the roof measured 270 square metres once the upstands and rooftop structures were counted. That is the number that matters.
Roof leaking in Damac Hills? Let’s talk.
How a Damac Hills roof is actually built
These are flat roofs built as what the trade in the UAE calls a combo roof, meaning the waterproofing and the thermal insulation go in as one integrated system. The layers usually run in this order, from the ceiling upwards:
- The structural concrete slab.
- A screed laid to a fall so water runs towards the outlets rather than sitting.
- The waterproofing membrane itself.
- A separation or protection layer.
- Thermal insulation boards.
- A protective screed, commonly around 80mm.
- The visible finish: tiles, gravel or a reflective coating.
The consequence is the part owners are rarely told. On a combo roof the waterproofing sits buried under the screed and the finish, so it cannot be seen or inspected from the roof surface. Reaching it means lifting what is above it.
What makes Damac Hills roofs distinctive is how much sits on top of them. Stair bulkheads, water tank enclosures and AC plinths all rise off the deck, and every one of them needs the membrane turned up its face and terminated properly. On the villa we measured, the upstands ran 30 centimetres high around the whole perimeter and around each structure.
The three places Damac Hills roofs leak
The angle where the upstand meets the deck
This is the single most common failure point on a roof of this type. The membrane has to turn through ninety degrees and stay bonded on both faces. A coating rolled on without a reinforcing strip at that angle will bridge the corner, not bond into it, and it splits there first.
The slab joints
Movement joints between slab sections are sealed when the roof is built. That sealant hardens, shrinks and loses its grip long before the rest of the roof is finished. Water finds the gap, runs into the build-up and travels.
Around the rooftop structures
Pipe penetrations, cable entries and the bases of tank enclosures are all places where the membrane has to stop and be terminated. Each termination is a decision someone made years ago, and each one is a candidate.
What a previous coating leaves behind
The 270 square metre roof had already been coated once. The coating was intact across the open field of the roof and failing in exactly the places described above: lifting in the angles, and sitting over slab joints where the old sealant had gone hard underneath it.
Coating over that would have bonded new material to failed material. Our scope started with removing the old coating from the angles and taking the old sealant out of the slab joints, before anything new went on. That is unglamorous work and it is most of the reason the rate per square metre was what it was.
How we work in Damac Hills
We measure the treated surface, not the floor plan, and we show you both numbers so you can see where the difference comes from. Then the roof is cleaned down to a surface the membrane can bond to, cracks and joints are opened and sealed, and every angle, upstand and penetration is detailed individually with a reinforcing strip.
Over that goes Sikalastic-525 RoofPro GCC: a base coat at 1.2 kg per square metre, reinforcing fleece laid into it across the full area, then a top coat at 0.8 kg, for a total of 2.0 kg per square metre. That consumption rate is the manufacturer’s recommendation for achieving the dry film thickness the system needs in this climate.
The finished work is inspected before handover and you get photographs of it.
What roof waterproofing costs in Damac Hills
Roof waterproofing in Dubai runs from AED 130 to AED 390 per square metre, depending on the condition of the roof and how much of it is detail work. The Damac Hills villa described above was quoted at AED 320 per square metre.
That is above a standard flat roof rate, and the reason is in the scope: 30 centimetre upstands around the perimeter and every rooftop structure, removal of the old coating from the angles, and removal of the old sealant from the slab joints. A roof that is mostly open field costs less per square metre than a roof that is mostly edge.
Our full rate card is on the pricing page, and this guide explains why two quotes for the same roof can differ so much.
Common questions
Why is the treated area bigger than my roof plan says?
Because the plan shows the flat deck and the membrane has to cover more than that. Upstands, wall returns, the faces of rooftop structures and the detailing around penetrations all take material and labour. We give you both figures in the quotation so nothing is hidden in a rate.
Can you coat over the existing coating?
Sometimes, and only where the existing coating is sound and compatible. Where it has lifted, and it usually has lifted in the angles, it comes off first. A new membrane is only as good as what it is stuck to.
Do you work on the townhouses as well as the villas?
Yes. Townhouse roofs are smaller but proportionally more detail, so expect the rate per square metre to be higher even though the total is lower.
Is the ten year warranty the same here?
Yes. Ten years on workmanship, cover that does not reduce over the term, and one short check-in a year to keep it active, at no cost to you.
Book a free roof inspection in Damac Hills
Send a message on WhatsApp, or book through the Request an Inspection page. We will tell you what your roof needs, including when the honest answer is that it needs very little.
Worth reading first: the system we actually install, and what it costs.
We work nearby in Villanova, Meydan, Arabian Ranches, and across the rest of Dubai. Every community is listed on our areas page.