Civil works in Dubai, the part under everything else
Blockwork and plastering, screeds and substrates, structural openings, extensions, external works and making good — the building work that has to be right before any finish is worth applying.
What civil works covers and what it costs
Civil works in Dubai covers the building trades beneath the finishes: blockwork walls, plastering and rendering, floor screeds, forming and closing structural openings, concrete works, extensions, external paving and drainage, and making good after other trades. Expect AED 110 to 220 per square metre for a plastered block wall, AED 55 to 120 per square metre for a floor screed, and AED 3,500 to 12,000 to form a structural opening with a lintel. Abdulla Carpentry EST is a licensed Dubai contractor and takes structural work through approval rather than around it.
Civil works is the least glamorous part of a renovation and the part that determines whether everything after it succeeds. Tiles laid on a screed that is fifteen millimetres out over three metres will look wrong no matter how good the tiles are. Joinery scribed to a wall that is out of plumb will have a tapering gap down one side. Panelling fixed to a bowed plaster wall will bow with it.
So we treat substrate tolerances as a specification rather than as whatever happens. Walls plumb, corners square, screeds flat to a stated tolerance and falling correctly in wet areas. It costs a little more at this stage and saves considerably more at every stage afterwards.
The other half of civil works is the structural side — opening up a wall between a kitchen and a living room, closing a doorway, building an extension. In Dubai that is not a decision a contractor should make on site. Anything touching a structural element needs a consultant design and an authority approval, and we go through that process rather than hoping nobody asks.
LicensedApprovals, not shortcuts
The civil trades on a Dubai project
On a full renovation most of the first month is civil works. These are the elements that make it up.
Blockwork and masonry. Internal and external block walls, thermal and hollow block, reinforced where required, with proper bed and perpend joints and ties into existing structure. Used where a partition needs mass, moisture tolerance or security that a stud wall cannot give.
Plastering and rendering. Internal gypsum and cement plaster, external render, and skim coats. Applied to screeds and beads so corners are straight and walls are plumb, rather than floated to follow whatever the blockwork did.
Floor screeds and substrates. Sand-cement and self-levelling screeds, falls formed in wet areas, and levelling compounds under large-format tile and timber. Flatness tolerance is agreed in advance, because large-format tiles and engineered timber both demand it.
Structural openings and alterations. Removing a wall between rooms, forming a new door or window opening, closing a redundant one. Needle propping, lintel or beam installation, and making good — with a consultant design and approval where the element is structural.
Extensions and new build elements. Ground floor extensions, garden rooms, majlis additions, roof-level rooms and covered terraces, from foundations through to a weathertight shell handed to the fit-out trades.
External works. Boundary walls, paving and driveways, drainage, falls to gullies, steps and ramps, and the ground preparation that landscaping needs. See landscaping.
What needs permission in Dubai, and what does not
Dubai regulates alteration work more closely than many people expect, and the rules differ between a freehold villa, a leasehold apartment and a commercial unit. Broadly: cosmetic work — finishes, joinery, painting, flooring — needs no authority permit, though an owners association will usually still want notification and a contractor with valid insurance.
Anything that changes the structure, the external appearance, the drainage or the electrical load needs approval. That includes removing or opening a wall that carries load, adding an extension, changing a facade, relocating a bathroom or kitchen, altering the drainage stack, and upgrading the main distribution board. In an apartment building, works affecting common elements or the building envelope go through the developer or the owners association as well.
Our approach is straightforward: we establish at survey stage which category your work falls into, and we say so before quoting. Where a consultant design and a permit are needed, we arrange them. Work that should have been approved and was not becomes the new owner’s problem at resale, and it is not worth the saving.
LicensedInsured and approved
How civil works runs on a project
Survey and structural assessment
We survey the existing building, establish which walls carry load, locate the services and check levels and tolerances. Where something structural is proposed, a consultant engineer is engaged at this point rather than later.
Design and approvals
Drawings prepared and submitted where the works require it, with the consultant design for any structural element. Landlord or owners association approval obtained in parallel so site work is not held up waiting for it.
Enabling and protection
Access routes protected, areas screened and sheeted, existing finishes covered, and waste routes established. Dust and debris control is planned before demolition starts, particularly in occupied buildings.
Structural and wet trades
Propping, openings formed, lintels or beams installed, blockwork built, then plastering and screeding in sequence with proper curing time. Nothing gets rushed to the next trade before it has cured.
Tolerance check and handover to finishes
Walls checked for plumb and square, screeds checked with a straight edge against the agreed tolerance, wet area falls confirmed, and defects corrected before the finishing trades start work.
Civil works rates in Dubai
Supply and install in Dubai. Civil works rates depend heavily on access, floor level and whether the building is occupied, so treat these as a budgeting guide.
| Item | Unit | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Block wall, built and plastered both faces | per sq m | AED 110 – 220 |
| Internal plaster, to existing blockwork | per sq m | AED 40 – 85 |
| External render | per sq m | AED 55 – 120 |
| Sand-cement floor screed | per sq m | AED 55 – 110 |
| Self-levelling compound | per sq m | AED 45 – 95 |
| Falls formed in a wet area | per sq m | AED 70 – 140 |
| Structural opening with lintel, formed | each | AED 3,500 – 12,000 |
| Doorway closed and made good | each | AED 900 – 2,400 |
| Reinforced concrete slab or base | per sq m | AED 250 – 550 |
| Ground floor extension, shell | per sq m | AED 1,800 – 3,800 |
| External paving, supplied and laid | per sq m | AED 160 – 420 |
| Boundary wall, built and finished | per linear m | AED 550 – 1,400 |
| Drainage run, excavated and laid | per linear m | AED 180 – 450 |
| Making good after other trades | per day | AED 450 – 750 |
Structural work is priced after a consultant design, not before, because the beam or lintel specification drives the cost. Anyone quoting to remove a wall without knowing what it carries is guessing with your building.
Civil works in commercial premises
In a mall or an office tower, civil works is constrained by everything around it. Material comes in through a service lift on a booking, waste goes out the same way, noisy work is confined to agreed hours, and hot works need a permit. A schedule that ignores those constraints is fiction, and we programme around them from the start.
Load is the technical constraint. Adding a screed, a block wall or a heavy floor finish to a suspended slab adds dead load, and in an existing building that has to be checked rather than assumed. We involve a structural engineer where the added load is significant, particularly in older towers and in podium-level units.
Then there is the handover condition. Most Dubai commercial leases require the premises to be returned to shell or to the original landlord specification. Knowing that at the start changes how you build — which is why we record the original condition photographically before any civil work begins.
Civil works: common questions
Can I remove a wall between my kitchen and living room?
Often yes, but only after establishing whether it carries load. If it does, it needs a consultant engineer design, a beam or lintel, propping during the work, and an authority approval. Forming the opening typically costs AED 3,500 to 12,000 including making good.
Do I need permission to renovate in Dubai?
Cosmetic work does not need an authority permit, though most buildings require owners association notification and proof of contractor insurance. Structural changes, extensions, facade alterations, drainage changes and electrical upgrades all need approval, which we arrange.
How flat does a floor need to be for large tiles?
Flatter than most existing screeds are. Large-format tiles and engineered timber need roughly three millimetres over two metres. We check with a straight edge and apply a levelling compound where needed, because lippage between large tiles cannot be corrected afterwards.
How long does civil works take on a renovation?
Three to six weeks on a typical villa renovation, covering demolition, blockwork, plastering and screeds, with curing time built in. It is the first phase and the one that sets the date for everything after it.
Can blockwork and plastering be done in an occupied home?
Yes, room by room, with dust screens, protected access routes and agreed working hours. It is dusty and noisy work, so we phase it and seal off the working area rather than spreading across the house.
What is the difference between a screed and a levelling compound?
A screed is a sand-cement layer typically 40 to 75 millimetres thick that builds level and forms falls. A levelling compound is a thin self-smoothing layer, a few millimetres thick, applied over a sound screed to achieve flatness for the final finish.
Do you build extensions?
Yes, from foundations to a weathertight shell, and through to completed fit-out. Extensions in Dubai need authority approval and a consultant design, and plot coverage and setback rules apply, so the feasibility check comes before the quotation.
Who is responsible if the plaster cracks later?
We are, where it is our workmanship. Plaster cracks come from movement, from plastering over a joint without a bead or mesh, or from insufficient curing. Properly built and cured work does not craze, and our work is guaranteed.
Book a site survey
Structural and civil work cannot be priced from photographs. We will visit, establish what carries load and what does not, and tell you what is possible and what it needs by way of approval.
