Questions, answered honestly
Everything customers actually ask us — pricing, warranties, response times, what's an emergency, why six months on workmanship, when an AMC is worth it. Categorised below; expand any question. If you don't see your answer, WhatsApp +971 52 423 0419.
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Thirteen categories. Tap any to scroll down to the relevant questions.
About Samra and how we work
Who is Samra Facilities?
A Dubai-based maintenance, renovation, and fit-out company operating since 2019. In-house technicians across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, painting, tiling, waterproofing, bathroom and villa renovation, and commercial fit-outs. Over 9,000 jobs completed, 4.8/5 average across 150+ Google reviews.
Are your technicians in-house or subcontracted?
Almost everything is in-house — AC, plumbing, electrical, painting, tiling, waterproofing, and renovation tradesmen are all on our team. For specialist work like marble polishing, fire-system commissioning, or DEWA-licensed permit work we use approved partners; we tell you up front when that's the case so you know who is accountable.
Where in Dubai do you work?
Most populated communities — Business Bay, Downtown, DIFC, Marina, JBR, JLT, Jumeirah, JVC, JVT, Al Barsha, Dubai Hills, Arabian Ranches, Palm Jumeirah, Mirdif, Silicon Oasis, Discovery Gardens, Sports City, Motor City, Al Furjan, Damac Hills, Deira, Bur Dubai, Al Quoz, Meydan, Jebel Ali. Tell us your building or community on WhatsApp and we'll confirm same-day reach.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. We hold a valid Dubai DED contractor licence and carry public-liability insurance covering on-site work. License copies are available on request — particularly useful for owners associations and building managers who require them before allowing contractor access.
How do I book a job?
WhatsApp +971 52 423 0419 with a photo or short video of the issue plus your area in Dubai. We triage on the message, confirm a slot, and share a written quote where the scope is clear. For emergencies we dispatch first and confirm pricing on arrival.
Pricing and payment
Do you give written quotes?
Yes — every job beyond a routine call-out is quoted in writing on WhatsApp before work begins. The quote is line-itemised so you see labour, parts, and any incidental costs (wall opening, finishing, after-hours dispatch) separately. Once you accept, the price is the price.
What changes the price?
Job complexity, parts and materials, time on site, finish standard you choose (good / better / best brands), wall or ceiling opening for concealed work, after-hours dispatch when applicable, and DEWA / DM permit fees on regulated work. Nothing else is hidden in the bill.
Is there a minimum call-out fee?
There is a diagnostic call-out fee for visits to assess an issue. If you proceed with the repair on the same visit, the call-out fee is typically credited against the job. Confirmed in writing on WhatsApp before we dispatch — we don't do hidden minimums.
How do I pay — and when?
Payment after the work is completed and you've checked the result. Bank transfer, card on link, or cash. For larger jobs (renovations, fit-outs) we work to a milestone payment schedule that's agreed in the contract — typically a deposit, mid-project draw, and final on handover. VAT-registered invoice supplied for everything.
Do you charge VAT?
Yes — Samra is VAT-registered and 5% UAE VAT is added to all invoices. The TRN appears on every invoice for your accounting records.
Warranty and guarantees
What warranty do you provide?
We offer two layers of warranty. First, a 6-month workmanship warranty on the labour we perform — if the same issue returns within 6 months due to our work, we re-do it at no cost. Second, material warranties pass through directly from manufacturers — some systems we install carry warranties of up to 10 years. We'll share exact warranty terms for your specific project before we start.
Does the workmanship warranty cover parts and equipment?
No. Parts, fixtures, and equipment are covered by their manufacturer warranties, which we pass through to you directly. The workmanship warranty covers only the quality of the installation or repair work itself.
How do I claim under workmanship warranty?
WhatsApp the job reference plus a photo or video of the recurring issue. We confirm whether it falls inside the 6-month workmanship window, and if it does we book a free return visit usually within 24–48 hours. Material claims (faulty product, manufacturing defect) we route through the brand's service network and assist with the paperwork.
Why six months on workmanship?
Most workmanship issues surface fast — a leak that will re-leak does so within days, an AC repair that didn't take fails within the first cooling cycle. Six months gives you a full season of real use on the work — through summer cooling load, monsoon humidity, daily bathroom use. Beyond that, the cause is almost always wear, mishandling, or a separate fault. We'd rather honour a real six-month window than market a 12-month one nobody actually claims on.
What about long-term protection?
For ongoing peace of mind, our Annual Maintenance Contracts roll preventive servicing plus call-out coverage into one fee — including labour on most repairs that come up during the year. See the AMC page for what's included.
AC, ducts, and cooling
How often should AC be serviced in Dubai?
Twice a year for residential — once just before the long summer (March–April), once mid-summer (July–August) or just after (October). Filters every 4–6 weeks during peak season; coil cleaning every 12 months in dusty areas like Mirdif, Al Furjan, and parts of JVC.
How fast can you respond if my AC stops cooling?
In summer, same-day wherever we have coverage — most cases get a slot within 4–6 hours during the day. For overnight failures with vulnerable occupants we dispatch on the same after-hours window as plumbing emergencies.
Do you handle ducted central AC and chiller systems?
Yes — split, ducted split, package units, and FCU-on-chiller systems. For chilled-water buildings (most Downtown / Marina / Business Bay) we service the in-unit FCU side; chiller plant maintenance is a building-side service we coordinate with rather than replace.
Should I clean my ducts?
Every 2–3 years is enough for most Dubai homes; sooner if you have allergies, recent renovation dust, or visible mould. Be wary of cold-call companies offering Dh 99 duct cleaning — that's a 30-minute vacuum, not a real clean. A proper duct service runs 3–5 hours per system.
Plumbing and water
What's the most common plumbing issue you fix in Dubai?
Three things, almost all the time — slow drains from soap and hair build-up, leaky angle valves under sinks (the brass fails after 5–7 years on cheap original-spec fittings), and water heater issues from scale build-up because Dubai water is hard. All routine fixes; none are emergencies.
Can you diagnose a leak inside a wall?
Yes — thermal imaging plus an acoustic leak detector lets us locate concealed leaks without breaking walls speculatively. Once we pin the spot, we open the smallest possible patch (10–15 cm typical), make the repair, and patch + finish the wall as part of the job.
Do you handle water heater replacement?
Yes — same-day swap available with stocked Ariston and GE units (most popular sizes for Dubai apartments and villas). Old unit removed, new unit hung, brackets re-anchored if needed, water and electrical reconnected, full pressure test before we leave.
Sewage smell coming back into the property — is that an emergency?
Yes, treat it as urgent. The smell usually means a dry P-trap (rare-use bathroom or floor drain) or a building-side stack vent issue. We diagnose on first visit and either prime the trap, clear the line, or coordinate with your building MEP for stack-side issues.
Electrical
My breaker keeps tripping — should I just replace it?
No — please don't. The breaker is doing its job. The right step is to find why it's tripping (overload, short circuit, earth fault, faulty appliance) and fix the cause. Replacing the breaker without diagnosis usually means replacing it with a higher-rated one, which removes the protection and can start a fire. We diagnose first.
Can you install an EV charger at my home?
Yes — Type 2 home chargers (7.4 kW single-phase) and 11/22 kW three-phase. Cable run from DB, dedicated MCB, RCBO protection, app pairing. For shared parking we coordinate with your building. Most installs complete in a day.
Do you do smart home wiring (Lutron, Hue, Aqara, KNX)?
Yes. The infrastructure work matters more than the brand — neutral wires at switch points, deep back-boxes, dimmer compatibility for the bulbs you actually plan to use. Done properly the first time, smart home is great. Done lazily it's a recurring frustration.
Are your electricians DEWA-licensed?
For work that interfaces with DEWA infrastructure (load increases, supply upgrades, connections at the metering point), yes. For internal wiring and routine fault work in already-energised installations, our team is properly trained and operating under standard DED contractor licensing. We confirm scope on quote.
Renovations and fit-outs
How long does a bathroom renovation take?
A typical Dubai apartment bathroom — strip-out, waterproofing, tiling, fixtures, paint, glass — runs 3 to 4 weeks once materials are on site. Villa bathrooms with bigger footprints and stone finishes can run 5 to 6 weeks. The schedule slips most often on materials (imported stone, custom shower screens), not on labour.
How long does a full villa renovation take?
Heavily dependent on scope. Cosmetic refresh (paint, flooring, kitchen surfaces, bathroom updates) — 6 to 10 weeks. Structural / extension renovations with DM approvals, MEP rerouting, and new bathrooms — 4 to 7 months. We share a milestone schedule with your BOQ so the timeline isn't a guess.
Can you handle DM, DEWA, and DCD approvals for renovations?
Yes — for villa renovations and commercial fit-outs we run the full approval cycle: DM building modifications, DEWA load applications and disconnect / reconnect, DCD fire-and-life-safety where required, civil-defence-approved emergency lighting and exit signage in fit-outs. Approval lead times are factored into the project schedule.
Will the renovation work be guaranteed?
6-month workmanship warranty on labour applies; the bigger guarantee on a renovation is materials. Stone, tile, plumbing fixtures, lighting, joinery — all of those carry their own manufacturer warranties (1 to 10 years depending on product), passed through directly to you. We document the brand and warranty terms for every component on handover.
Emergencies and after-hours
What counts as an emergency?
Anything that is actively damaging the property or putting occupants at risk — burst pipes, sewage backflow, live electrical faults (sparks, burning smell, partial power loss), AC failure with vulnerable occupants in summer, water heater leaks, drainage backups, security breaches. AC weak-but-cooling, dripping taps, single dead sockets — those are urgent, not emergency, and we book them first-slot the next morning.
How fast can you actually be at my property?
For emergencies we aim for dispatch within 1–3 hours wherever we have coverage; AMC customers usually 1–2 hours. The honest variables are time of night, area of Dubai, and how busy the dispatch board is. We give you a real ETA on WhatsApp before you commit — not a fake "we're 5 minutes away" line.
Do you charge an after-hours fee?
Yes — a fixed after-hours dispatch fee for emergencies outside standard hours (after 7pm weekdays, weekends, public holidays). Confirmed on WhatsApp before we dispatch. AMC customers do not pay it; it is bundled into the contract.
WhatsApp or call — which is faster in an emergency?
WhatsApp, every time. Photos and 10-second videos let us classify trade and severity in seconds — without that, the call becomes 5 minutes of describing what you're seeing. Send the photo, then call if you want to talk it through.
Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMC)
What does an AMC cover?
Scheduled preventive servicing (AC twice a year, plumbing checks, electrical safety check, water heater service) plus discounted or included call-out labour for the property's common-fault categories during the contract year. After-hours dispatch fees are included for AMC properties. Out-of-scope parts and major repairs are quoted separately.
How is an AMC different from a Facilities Management contract?
An AMC is a property-level service contract for an apartment, villa, or single shop — it covers planned maintenance and on-call repair for that one property. A Facilities Management (FM) contract is a building-level scope covering common areas, building MEP, soft services, and 24/7 staff for an entire tower or community. Different scope, different scale. We do AMCs; for FM we partner.
Can I add commercial properties to an AMC?
Yes — shops, offices, restaurants, clinics, salons. Commercial AMCs typically also include monthly walk-through inspections, priority response targets, and incident reporting suitable for landlord and insurance requirements.
Is an AMC worth it for my one-bedroom apartment?
Honestly — sometimes not. A small apartment with new fittings and infrequent issues is often better off on pay-as-you-go. AMCs make economic sense for villas, larger apartments with older fittings, and any commercial property. We tell you straight whether it's a good fit when you ask, instead of selling you in on principle.
Commercial HVAC
Do you service chillers and chilled-water plant?
Yes — air-cooled and water-cooled chillers, primary and secondary pump sets, expansion tanks, dosing systems, and condenser-water loops. Scope covers planned maintenance (oil change, eddy-current tube checks where applicable, refrigerant charge verification, vibration monitoring) plus reactive repair on compressor, board, and sensor faults. For very large central plants we coordinate with the building MEP team rather than displace them.
Can you maintain VRF / VRV systems?
Yes — Daikin, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, LG VRF and VRV systems. Outdoor unit servicing, indoor cassette and ducted unit cleaning, refrigerant pressure checks across the manifold, controller and central remote setup, fault-code diagnosis. Our team is familiar with the brand-specific service tools needed to interrogate VRF boards.
What do you cover on AHU and FCU servicing?
For AHUs — coil deep clean (chemical and mechanical), fan and motor inspection, belt and bearing replacement, drain pan cleaning, filter changes, damper actuator calibration, vibration check. For FCUs — coil cleaning, filter service, drain line clearing, thermostat calibration. Typical scope for offices, hotels, clinics, and chilled-water apartment towers.
Do you maintain cooling towers and handle Legionella risk?
Yes — water chemistry treatment, descaling, drift eliminator inspection, fill replacement, fan and gearbox servicing, basin cleaning. Legionella risk management aligned with Dubai Municipality water-safety guidance: quarterly bacteriological testing, disinfection during routine maintenance, and audit-ready documentation for building owners and insurers.
Duct work
Do you fabricate ducts in-house?
Yes — we run our own duct workshop in Dubai. Galvanised rectangular and round ducts, spiral ducts, fire-rated assemblies where DCD requires. Standard fabrication lead time is 1–3 working days versus 7–14 days when fit-out contractors outsource duct work. Field-fit modifications can usually be turned around the same day.
Can you re-route or modify existing ducts during a fit-out?
Yes — moving runs to clear new partitions, adding branches for new rooms or zones, removing branches from walls being demolished, re-routing around new mechanical equipment, upgrading gauge or insulation for a new load. We always re-balance the system afterwards with a calibrated anemometer and issue a before/after airflow report so the modification doesn't starve other rooms on the same trunk.
Which duct insulation do you install, and when does each one apply?
Fibreglass with foil-faced vapour barrier for standard supply and return runs inside the conditioned envelope — most common, most economical. Closed-cell elastomeric (Armaflex, Aeroflex) for runs through unconditioned plenums, plant rooms, and roof voids where condensation risk is real. Fire-rated mineral wool cladding where DCD requires duct runs through fire compartments to be rated. Acoustic lining for boardrooms, hotel rooms, and clinical wards where noise transmission matters. We specify per the drawings and use case.
Commercial AMC tiers
How is the Office AMC different from a Residential AMC?
Office AMC scope is monthly site visits across AC servicing, electrical and lighting maintenance, plumbing checks, and priority emergency response — with after-hours dispatch bundled in. Residential AMC is typically four scheduled visits a year plus emergency cover, sized to a villa or 2–3 bedroom apartment. Office AMC pricing reflects the heavier visit cadence, larger MEP footprint, and tighter response targets that commercial tenants need.
What's included in a Clinic AMC that isn't in an Office AMC?
Clinics get bi-monthly visits with infection-control aware servicing, tighter response SLAs (priority over office and residential), water tank cleaning every 6 months rather than annually, and equipment-uptime focus on treatment-room HVAC and clinical lighting. Specification is aligned with Dubai Health Authority expectations for aesthetic, beauty, dental, and medical clinic facilities. Sakura Beauty (Silicon Oasis), Caya, and Barvikha are on this tier.
Do you offer a Building / Multi-Unit AMC for property managers?
Yes — coordinated maintenance across whole buildings or multi-property portfolios, single point of contact, scheduled tenant servicing windows, transparent per-unit reporting. Quoted per portfolio after a site survey because scope varies heavily by unit count, age, and shared-MEP arrangement. Available across all seven UAE emirates.
Clinic refurbishment
Do you work on operating clinics, or only on new fit-outs?
Operating clinics are the bulk of this work. Most refurbishments we deliver are for clinics that need to stay open during the project — operational continuity matters more than raw speed. Typical scope is phased over 2–6 weeks with treatment rooms taken out of service one at a time so reception and unaffected rooms keep earning. New ground-up clinic fit-outs are also available; we're not greenfield-only.
Are you DHA-aware on clinic finishes and lighting?
Yes. Our refurbishment specification is built with awareness of Dubai Health Authority expectations on infection-control finishes, clinical-grade colour-accurate lighting for aesthetic treatment, and treatment-room MEP. We don't issue DHA approvals — that's between the clinic and the regulator — but our spec is designed to support DHA-aligned operations.
Can you reference current Dubai clinic clients?
Yes. Our named aesthetic clinic AMC and refurbishment clients are Sakura Beauty (Silicon Oasis), Caya, and Barvikha. References are available after the proposal stage with the clinic's written consent — we don't share contacts cold.
How do you handle dust and infection control during the work?
Dust-controlled barriers between operational zones and works zones. HEPA-filtered negative pressure where the scope warrants it. Daily clean-down of works zones. After-hours and weekend shifts where they materially reduce operational disruption. We coordinate with your clinical lead before each phase so the daily impact on patient flow is known up front, not discovered on the day.
What's a realistic turnaround for a clinic refurbishment?
2–6 weeks for most operating-clinic scopes. A single treatment-room refresh runs 1–2 weeks. A full 4–6 treatment-room clinic refurbishment phased to maintain operations runs 4–6 weeks. A new-premises clinic relocation fit-out (greenfield, no operational constraints) runs 8–12 weeks. Final timeline is locked in writing on the BOQ once the phasing plan is agreed.
Areas we cover
Same-day reach across Dubai. Tap your area for landmarks, communities and the services we deliver there — or tell us your building on WhatsApp.
Still have a question?
Send a photo or describe what you need on WhatsApp. We reply within working hours and triage emergencies 24/7.