How we work
The first four happen before anybody picks up a tool. That front-loading is the entire reason our sites are quiet and our final accounts land where we said they would.
01The principle
A change at design stage costs an email. The same change once the blockwork is up costs demolition, rework, a delay to three following trades, and an argument about who should pay for it. The cost of a decision rises roughly tenfold at every stage it is deferred.
So we front-load. We survey before we price, we complete the design before we sign, and we resolve every socket, every joinery run and every drainage fall on a drawing rather than on a Tuesday morning with eleven people standing around waiting.
It makes the beginning feel slow. It is the reason the end arrives on time.
- Stage 01Week 0 · No charge
Conversation
An hour, at the house or at our studio, to establish whether this is a project we should take on.
We ask what you want the house to do, not what you want it to look like. We will tell you honestly whether your budget and your brief are in the same room — and if they are not, we will say so before you have spent anything. Roughly a third of these conversations end with us recommending someone else.
You receive
- Written summary of the brief as we understood it
- An indicative cost range, with its assumptions stated
- A go / no-go recommendation
- Stage 02Weeks 1 — 3 · Paid
Survey
We measure the building and open it up. This is the stage most firms skip, and the reason most Dubai budgets move.
A laser-measured model of the existing structure, drainage traced and CCTV-surveyed, the distribution board and cooling plant assessed, and selected opening-up works to see what is behind the finishes. On new-build plots this becomes a site, levels and services survey instead.
You receive
- Measured survey and point-cloud model
- Structural and MEP condition report
- Photographic record of opening-up works
- Risk register with costed contingencies
- Stage 03Weeks 4 — 12
Design
The house is drawn in full — every plan, every elevation, every junction — before a price is fixed.
Concept, then developed design, then a complete technical package. You see the house in three dimensions and walk through it before it exists. We resolve joinery, lighting circuits, drainage falls and socket positions now, on paper, where changes are free.
You receive
- Full architectural and interior drawing package
- 3D visualisations and a walkthrough
- Material and finishes schedule with physical samples
- Structural, MEP and façade engineering
- Stage 04Weeks 12 — 14
Fixed Price
One number, built up from a complete design and a real bill of quantities. Not an estimate.
Because the design is finished and the building has been surveyed, we can commit. You receive a fully itemised price against a defined specification, a programme with dated milestones, and a single contract covering both design and construction. From here, the price only moves if you move it.
You receive
- Itemised fixed-price tender
- Dated construction programme
- Single design-and-build contract
- Payment schedule tied to milestones
- Stage 05Weeks 14 — 22
Permits
Authority submissions, NOCs and community approvals — handled entirely by us.
Dubai Municipality or the relevant free-zone authority, DEWA, the community developer, and — for tower work — the building management company. We hold the relationships and we absorb the waiting. You are told what has been submitted and what has come back, and nothing else lands on you.
You receive
- All authority submissions and approvals
- Developer and community NOCs
- Contractor insurances and site set-up
- Confirmed start-on-site date
- Stage 06The programme
Build
Our own site team, our own joinery workshop, and a report on your desk every Friday.
A named project manager on site daily. Structure, services, finishes and joinery sequenced against the programme. Every Friday you receive progress photographs, the position against programme, the live cost position, and any decision we need from you in the coming fortnight — with a deadline against each one.
You receive
- Weekly written and photographic progress report
- Live cost and programme position
- Monthly site walkthrough with your project manager
- Quality inspections at every stage gate
- Stage 07Final 4 weeks, then 10 years
Handover
Commissioned, snagged, documented — and warranted long after we have left.
Every system is commissioned and tested with you present. We snag the house ourselves before you see it, and then again with you. You receive a complete handover pack, an hour of instruction on how the house works, and a warranty that does not expire the moment the last invoice is paid.
You receive
- Full commissioning and testing records
- Two-stage snagging, ours then yours
- O&M manuals, as-built drawings and warranties
- 10-year structural and 5-year workmanship warranty
- 12-month aftercare visit, scheduled at handover
02While we build
Unglamorous, ninety minutes of a project manager's week, and probably the highest-return thing we do.
Progress, photographed
What was completed this week, against what the programme said would be completed. Both numbers, always.
The live cost position
Contract sum, approved variations, anticipated final account. Three lines, updated weekly, never hidden.
Decisions we need
Every outstanding decision with the date it must be made by, and what happens to the programme if it slips.
What is at risk
Named honestly, with the mitigation we propose. A report with no risks on a live site is not a report.
03Questions
Project suitability depends on the scope and nature of the work rather than simply the size of the property. Contact us with your requirements and we will assess whether we are the right fit for your project.
Stage one
The first conversation is free and genuinely non-committal. Roughly a third of them end with us recommending a different firm — which is information worth having either way.
- Call
- +971 52 898 5055
- info@wbtechuae.com
- Response
- Within one working day