Architectural Finishing

How the finishing package is sequenced against other trades

On a live site, finishing rarely runs as one clean pass. Floors, zones and wings are released at different times, so several trades share the same building and each can damage or delay the next. A workable rule is wet before dry, dirty before clean, high before low, hidden before visible. Plaster, screed and waterproofing come first. Ceilings and partitions close only after the services behind them are tested. Floors and paint follow, and fixed items such as cubicles, railings and joinery go in once the surrounding surfaces are finished.

Two decisions are worth fixing in the programme early. The first is whether flooring or the final paint coats go first in each area: either order works if the protection is specified, and neither works if it is improvised. The second is who holds each area at any moment, so nobody works over a surface that has just been finished. The biggest single driver is coordination with the MEP scope: partitions and ceilings should not close until first-fix has been tested and signed off. The finishing scope at Drug Control Department Tower had to work around live mechanical, electrical and plumbing works, the situation this rule is written for. Delay and rework usually start in the same few places: services closed before testing, finishes ordered before samples are approved, paint or tile over a damp surface, and fixtures moved after tiling.

How the eleven finishing trades depend on each other

Eleven trades sit under this service. The table shows what each one does for the building and what it depends on; the dependencies are where the interfaces need checking.

Scope and BOQ: the gaps between finishing trades

Most finishing disputes are about the gaps between trades. A bill of quantities records what is measured, not who deals with the awkward edges. Name these in the scope or BOQ before pricing:

• Who makes good plaster and paint after MEP chasing and first-fix.
• Who forms upstands and kerbs in wet areas, and where the waterproofing ends and the tiling begins.
• Who provides blocking or backing inside partitions for cubicles, cabinets, railings and wall fixtures.
• Thresholds where two floor finishes meet, and who sets the level so they finish flush.
• Access panels in ceilings and partitions: number, size and position, agreed with the services trades.
• Sealing and fire-stopping where services pass through partitions and ceilings, as the specification and Civil Defense requirements demand.
• Protection of finished work, final cleaning and removal of debris before each area is handed over.
• The finish schedule and approved samples the price is based on, so substitutions are visible.

Coast or inland: how climate changes the finishing specification

The trades are the same everywhere; the risks are not. Specify for the site's actual climate, not a template from another city.

• Jeddah, Red Sea coast: humid, salt-laden air. Substrates stay damp longer, poorly ventilated wet areas grow mould, and metal railings and fixings corrode. Specify corrosion-resistant metalwork and humidity-suited paint systems, and confirm surfaces are dry before flooring or paint.
• Riyadh and Al Kharj, inland: dry heat, dust and a wide swing between day and night. Plaster, screed and adhesive can dry too fast in heat and wind, so curing needs planning, and thermal movement makes joint layout important. Dust control also protects fresh paint.
• Dammam, Gulf coast: humidity and salt air closer to Jeddah's than to Riyadh's, so wet-area detailing and metalwork get the same care. The interior finishing and flooring at Marina Mall is the project on record there.
• Al Ahsa, inland: a drier, more extreme desert profile than the Gulf coast, closer to Riyadh in character. Omron General Hospital covered architectural finishing, flooring and ceilings for a general hospital.

Hold points in the finishing programme

A hold point is a stage where work stops until it has been inspected and released. For finishing, the useful ones sit just before a fault becomes expensive to reach. The project specification and the Saudi Building Code set the exact criteria, so the consultant's checklist should be agreed before work starts.

1. Before services are covered: first-fix tested and recorded, positions checked, access points agreed.
2. Before waterproofing is covered: falls checked, flood test held and witnessed.
3. Before flooring: screed cured, level and dry, movement joints marked.
4. Before the first paint coat: plaster cured and repaired, approved samples on site, dust under control.
5. Before fixed items: cubicles, railings and joinery go into areas that are finished, dry and tested.
6. Before handover: snag list closed area by area, protection removed, records complete.

One contractor or several?

Bundling the finishing trades under one contractor puts the interfaces, protection and snagging under one programme. That suits trades that depend closely on each other, such as plaster, screed, waterproofing and flooring. Splitting can suit a specialist item with its own fabrication lead time, such as a decorative stone floor or a railing system, as long as the boundary between the two scopes is written down. Whichever route is taken, name one party who coordinates the handovers. See Main Contractor vs Subcontractor: What's the Difference? and How to Choose a General Contracting & Finishing Company in Saudi Arabia.