Gypsum false ceiling cost per m² in the UAE

Published ceiling and board rates, checked 30 October 2026

The install rows and the shop rows are different products. Eco Formax, checked 30 October 2026, prints a flush plasterboard ceiling from AED 85 per m² and a mineral-tile ceiling on an exposed grid from AED 75 per m². Both are supplied and installed, excluding VAT, for a sound soffit, normal access and daytime working. The ceiling rate does not include changes to services in the void. The same page’s worked office uses gypsum false ceiling, including a reception bulkhead, at that same AED 85. It does not print a higher cove rate. Moisture-resistant board is “quoted on drawings”, so no dirham is copied for it. Domeco’s article, which prints 22.08.2026, says a plain flat 12.5 mm ceiling in Dubai runs AED 75 to 120 per m² supplied and fixed in 2026, before paint, and the cost section calls the same band supplied and fixed to a paint-ready skim. Bestimate’s service page says that, as of June 2026, simple flat gypsum false-ceiling work in Dubai commonly starts around AED 70–150 per m². Its source line says the band was checked in June 2026 against public UAE and Dubai provider benchmarks. It does not say whether VAT is inside the dirham. The three install figures are shown together and are not averaged.

A board price is supply of a sheet, not a finished ceiling. The Hardware Stop lists regular plaster board 12.5 mm 1,200 × 2,400 mm GKB at AED 25.20. The product schema sets valueAddedTaxIncluded to true. No price-list date is printed. The same shop lists moisture-resistant 12.5 mm 1,200 × 2,400 mm GKB1 at AED 38.40, also with valueAddedTaxIncluded true, and a drywall ceiling furring channel at AED 14.40 including VAT. That channel page does not print a length, so AED 14.40 stays a piece price. Canvas General Trading, Al Quoz, Dubai, lists moisture-rated plaster board 12.5 mm 1,200 × 2,400 mm GKB1 at AED 39 tax included. The page’s pretax meta is 37.142858. SIBRIS Rates prints standard 12.5 mm 2,400 × 1,200 mm at AED 26 per sheet, moisture-resistant 12.5 mm at AED 34 per sheet, and fire-rated 12.5 mm at AED 37.5 per sheet. Its methodology says the figure is a median of quotation and invoice observations, not a simple average, using about the last 6 months, or 12 months when recent data is thin. The family pages do not say whether 5% VAT is inside the dirham, and they do not print a calendar day. GCCPricing’s UAE row for standard gypsum board 12.5 mm, 1.2 × 2.4 m, is AED 20.50 per sheet, reference parity, supply only, last updated 26 October 2026. The governance note says the UAE row is a calibrated parity, not a verified merchant survey. AED 20.50 is not averaged with AED 25.20 or AED 26.

One-line formula, then a supply-only build-up

Board cost per m² = one sheet price ÷ 2.88. Field furring cost per m² = (price per 3 m piece ÷ 3) × (1 ÷ spacing in metres). An installed total = ceiling area × one printed rate. A 1,200 × 2,400 mm sheet is 1.2 × 2.4 = 2.88 m², so one square metre of ceiling needs 1 ÷ 2.88 = 0.347222… of a sheet before offcuts. That geometry is not a waste allowance. No opened page printed a screw price in dirhams, so screws are not in the material total.

Using only The Hardware Stop regular board, 25.20 ÷ 2.88 = AED 8.75 per m² of board. Using only the SIBRIS 12.5 mm standard row, 26 ÷ 2.88 = AED 9.027777… per m². Using only the GCCPricing parity, 20.50 ÷ 2.88 = AED 7.118055… per m², supply only. Moisture-resistant sheet, still supply only: SIBRIS 34 ÷ 2.88 = AED 11.805555… per m², Hardware Stop 38.40 ÷ 2.88 = AED 13.333333… per m² including VAT, and Canvas 39 ÷ 2.88 = AED 13.541666… per m² tax included. Fire-rated SIBRIS 37.5 ÷ 2.88 = AED 13.020833… per m² of board. These are alternative board lines. They are not added to each other and not added to AED 85.

Domeco says a gypsum ceiling uses furring channels at 400 to 600 mm centres, then 12.5 mm board, tape, compound and a skim. That sentence is the spacing used below. It is not a code rule, and it does not name 51 mm or 70 mm. At 400 mm centres the field length is 1 ÷ 0.400 = 2.5 m per m². At 600 mm centres it is 1 ÷ 0.600 = 1.666666… m per m². Perimeter angle, hangers, main runners and offcuts are not in that length. Using only the SIBRIS 51 mm × 3 m, 0.5 mm piece at AED 10.5, the field cost is 10.5 × 2.5 ÷ 3 = AED 8.75 per m² at 400 mm, and 10.5 × 1.666666… ÷ 3 = AED 5.833333… per m² at 600 mm. Using only the 70 mm × 3 m, 0.5 mm piece at AED 13.5, the field cost is 13.5 × 2.5 ÷ 3 = AED 11.25 per m² at 400 mm, and AED 7.50 per m² at 600 mm. The 10.5 line and the 13.5 line are alternatives. The Hardware Stop channel at AED 14.40 has no length, so it is not converted. SIBRIS ready-mixed compound is AED 58 per 20 kg drum, and paper tape is AED 8.88 per 75 m roll. Neither page prints a coverage per m², so neither is turned into a per-m² dirham. Domeco’s own split, which is not these shop prices, is board AED 14–22, galvanised frame including hangers, perimeter angle and fixings AED 18–30, tape, joint compound and skim material AED 6–12, and labour AED 35–55. Adding the lows gives 73 and the highs gives 119. The page’s headline is 75–120. This guide does not change either number to force a match, and it does not add the shop sheet to the 14–22 band.

Worked example: a 20 m² bedroom and a 150 m² villa floor

The bedroom is 5 × 4 = 20 m². The villa floor is 15 × 10 = 150 m². Sheets = area ÷ 2.88. The bedroom needs 20 ÷ 2.88 = 6.944444… sheets, which rounds up to 7 whole sheets, covering 7 × 2.88 = 20.16 m². The villa floor needs 150 ÷ 2.88 = 52.083333… sheets, which rounds up to 53, covering 53 × 2.88 = 152.64 m². No waste percentage is added, because none of the opened price pages printed one. Openings for lights and access panels are not deducted.

Board cost uses one sheet price at a time. Hardware Stop regular, including VAT: 7 × 25.20 = AED 176.40, and 53 × 25.20 = AED 1,335.60. The net before rounding is 20 × 25.20 ÷ 2.88 = AED 175, and 150 × 25.20 ÷ 2.88 = AED 1,312.50. SIBRIS standard 12.5 mm only: 7 × 26 = AED 182, and 53 × 26 = AED 1,378. GCCPricing only: 7 × 20.50 = AED 143.50, and 53 × 20.50 = AED 1,086.50. Those three purchases are alternatives. Field furring, using only the AED 13.5 piece at 400 mm centres, is 20 × 11.25 = AED 225 and 150 × 11.25 = AED 1,687.50, before perimeter, hangers and cuts. At 600 mm centres the same piece is 20 × 7.50 = AED 150 and 150 × 7.50 = AED 1,125. The 400 mm line is not added to the 600 mm line.

Installed cost uses one rate at a time and is not added to the sheet. Eco Formax’s from-rate: 20 × 85 = AED 1,700 and 150 × 85 = AED 12,750, excluding VAT, supplied and installed. Domeco’s flat band: 20 × 75 = AED 1,500 and 20 × 120 = AED 2,400, and 150 × 75 = AED 11,250 and 150 × 120 = AED 18,000, before paint. Bestimate’s band: 20 × 70 = AED 1,400 and 20 × 150 = AED 3,000, and 150 × 70 = AED 10,500 and 150 × 150 = AED 22,500. Domeco’s labour line of AED 35–55 is inside the 75–120 description, so 20 × 35 = AED 700 and 20 × 55 = AED 1,100 are not added on top of AED 1,500–2,400. Paint on Domeco is a separate AED 12–25 per m². Mineral tile on Eco Formax is 20 × 75 = AED 1,500 and 150 × 75 = AED 11,250, which is the grid from-rate, not the gypsum from-rate. SIBRIS 600 × 600 mm tile supply is a different product: each tile is 0.36 m², so 16 ÷ 0.36 = AED 44.444444… per m² of tile only. The bedroom needs 20 ÷ 0.36 = 55.555555… tiles, rounded up to 56, at 56 × 16 = AED 896. That AED 896 is not added to AED 1,500.

Flat, moisture-resistant, cove and 600 × 600 grid

A plain flat ceiling is the Eco Formax AED 85 from-rate, the Domeco AED 75–120 band, or the Bestimate AED 70–150 band. A moisture-resistant bathroom ceiling is not given its own installed dirham on Eco Formax or Bestimate. Eco Formax says moisture-resistant board is quoted on drawings. Bestimate says a moisture or fire-rated upgrade is often added per square metre and does not print the add-on. Domeco prints the add-on: MR adds AED 8–18 per m² to whichever installed rate applies, and a single layer of fire-rated board adds AED 12–30 per m². Those add-ons are not the sheet prices. The sheet alternatives for a 12.5 mm moisture-resistant board are AED 34, AED 38.40 and AED 39, as in the first table. For the 20 m² room those purchases are 7 × 34 = AED 238, 7 × 38.40 = AED 268.80 and 7 × 39 = AED 273, still supply only.

Cove and bulkhead design is a separate scope where the page separates it. Domeco prices a perimeter cove with a concealed LED channel at AED 130–220 per m², or AED 90–180 per linear metre where the cove is priced separately from the flat field. The two Domeco cove methods are alternatives, not a sum. A 5 × 4 m room has a perimeter of 2 × (5 + 4) = 18 m, so the linear method alone is 18 × 90 = AED 1,620 and 18 × 180 = AED 3,240. A 15 × 10 m floor has a perimeter of 50 m, so the same linear method is 50 × 90 = AED 4,500 and 50 × 180 = AED 9,000. Bestimate’s cove or tray band is AED 90–240 per m², which is 20 × 90 = AED 1,800 and 20 × 240 = AED 4,800 for the bedroom. Eco Formax’s worked bulkhead stays at AED 85, so it is not given this cove uplift. A 600 × 600 mm grid is priced two ways that must stay apart. Eco Formax’s installed mineral-tile ceiling is from AED 75 per m², and that page does not print 600 × 600. SIBRIS prices the 600 × 600 mm mineral-fibre tile at AED 16 each, supply only, which is AED 44.444444… per m² of tile and does not include the grid.

What a ceiling price must still include

Ask the quote to separate the board, the frame, jointing, labour, paint, delivery and VAT. Eco Formax excludes VAT and excludes work to the services above the ceiling. Domeco’s 75–120 band is before paint, and paint is AED 12–25 per m² on that page. Bestimate says lighting, access panels, AC changes and painting are usually itemised separately. A Hardware Stop sheet includes VAT. A SIBRIS median and the GCCPricing parity do not say. Do not add 5% to a row that already says including VAT, and do not assume 5% is inside a row that is silent.

A Dubai from-rate is not a price for Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah or Fujairah. No opened page split the same ceiling by emirate. Domeco says that below about 25 m² you pay for mobilisation rather than area, and it does not print a second dirham for that minimum. Access panels, downlight holes and an AC opening are outside the headline on Domeco, at AED 120–350, AED 20–45 and AED 60–150 each on that page. Those piece rates are not added into the 20 m² or 150 m² products above.

• Scope: supply of sheets is not supply and install, and a from-rate is not a finished quote.
• VAT: use the line the page prints. Hardware Stop and Canvas include tax. Eco Formax excludes it.
• Paint and lights: keep them on their own lines when the ceiling page does.
• Layout: the 2.5 m of furring per m² is field coverage at 400 mm centres, before the perimeter and the cuts.

Related quantity and price pages

The area calculator repeats the 5 × 4 m ceiling. The drywall calculator can include the ceiling, but its sheet choices are 32 ft² and 48 ft², a 4 × 8 ft or 4 × 12 ft panel. A 4 × 8 ft sheet is not 2.88 m², so the sheet count in that calculator is not the 7 and 53 above. The count of sheets from net area is also described, for those US sheet sizes, in how to count drywall sheets. Ceiling paint is a different product in the ceiling paint calculator.

Villa construction in dirhams is in villa construction cost in the UAE. The same ceiling question in riyals, from pages opened for Saudi Arabia, is in gypsum false ceiling cost per m² in Saudi Arabia. Dated block prices in dirhams are in concrete block price in the UAE. The other GCC construction guides stay on quantities unless they name a price.

Questions people ask

Sources and calculation basis

Source links support the points named beside them. Worked quantities are Construclytic calculations using the assumptions shown above. A price in a table is the figure that source printed on the date it was read. It is not a quotation for your site, and it does not replace the project specification.

1. Eco Formax: false ceiling and partition cost in DubaiOpened 30 October 2026. Flush plasterboard from AED 85 per m². Mineral tile on an exposed grid from AED 75 per m². Both supplied and installed, excluding VAT, sound soffit, normal access, daytime working. Services in the void are excluded. The worked example prices 36 m² of gypsum false ceiling, including the reception bulkhead, at AED 85. Moisture-resistant board is quoted on drawings, so no dirham is used. No price date is printed. The page does not print 600 × 600.
2. Domeco: gypsum ceiling designs in Dubai, 2026 costsOpened 30 October 2026. The page prints 22.08.2026. Plain flat 12.5 mm ceiling AED 75–120 per m² supplied and fixed, before paint, and described as a paint-ready skim. Board AED 14–22, frame AED 18–30, tape, compound and skim AED 6–12, labour AED 35–55. Those four lows sum to 73 and the highs to 119 on this page’s arithmetic, against a headline of 75–120. Cove AED 130–220 per m², or AED 90–180 per linear metre if separate. MR add-on AED 8–18 per m². Fire-rated add-on AED 12–30 per m² for one layer. Paint AED 12–25 per m². Furring centres 400–600 mm. The page calls the bands planning figures, not a rate card.
3. Bestimate: false ceiling in DubaiOpened 30 October 2026. As of June 2026, simple flat gypsum AED 70–150 per m². Cove or tray AED 90–240 per m². Multi-level or custom AED 110–375+ per m². The source line says the figures were checked in June 2026 against public UAE and Dubai provider benchmarks. VAT is not stated. Lighting, access panels, AC changes and painting are usually separate. Moisture or fire-rated board is often an added per-m² amount, and no dirham is printed for that add-on.
4. The Hardware Stop: regular plaster board 12.5 mmOpened 30 October 2026. Regular plaster board 12.5 mm 1,200 × 2,400 mm GKB at AED 25.20. Product schema price 25.20 with valueAddedTaxIncluded true. No price-list date. The shop banner says prices and availability may change.
5. The Hardware Stop: moisture-resistant plaster board 12.5 mmOpened 30 October 2026. Moisture-rated plaster board 12.5 mm 1,200 × 2,400 mm GKB1 at AED 38.40. Schema valueAddedTaxIncluded true. No price-list date.
6. The Hardware Stop: drywall ceiling furring channelOpened 30 October 2026. Drywall ceiling furring channel AED 14.40. Schema valueAddedTaxIncluded true. No length is printed, so the price is not divided into metres and is not used in the per-m² channel line.
7. Canvas General Trading: moisture-rated plaster board 12.5 mmOpened 30 October 2026. Plaster board MR 12.5 mm 1,200 × 2,400 mm GKB1 at AED 39, tax included. Pretax meta amount 37.142858 AED. Address on the page: Al Quoz Industrial Area 3, Dubai. No price date.
8. SIBRIS Rates: standard gypsum boardOpened 30 October 2026. The family page lists standard 12.5 mm 2,400 × 1,200 mm at AED 26 per sheet, 15 mm at AED 32, and 9.5 mm at AED 22. The 12.5 mm row is the one used. VAT is not stated. No calendar day is printed.
9. SIBRIS Rates: moisture-resistant gypsum boardOpened 30 October 2026. Moisture-resistant 12.5 mm 2,400 × 1,200 mm at AED 34 per sheet. Also 15 mm at AED 41.5 and 9.5 mm at AED 28.5. The 12.5 mm row is the one used. VAT is not stated.
10. SIBRIS Rates: fire-rated gypsum boardOpened 30 October 2026. Fire-rated 12.5 mm 2,400 × 1,200 mm at AED 37.5 per sheet. Also 15 mm at AED 47 and 9.5 mm at AED 32.5. Sheet supply only. Not added to Domeco’s AED 12–30 installed add-on.
11. SIBRIS Rates: furring channelOpened 30 October 2026. Per piece: 146 mm × 3 m, 0.5 mm, AED 22. 51 mm × 3 m, 0.5 mm, AED 10.5. 70 mm × 3 m, 0.5 mm, AED 13.5. 70 mm × 3 m, 0.8 mm, AED 19. 92 mm × 3 m, 0.5 mm, AED 16. 92 mm × 3 m, 0.8 mm, AED 23.5. The spacing arithmetic uses only AED 10.5 and AED 13.5. VAT is not stated.
12. SIBRIS Rates: ready-mixed joint compound, 20 kgOpened 30 October 2026. AED 58 per 20 kg drum. No yield in kilograms per square metre is printed, so the drum is not converted to a per-m² price.
13. SIBRIS Rates: setting compound, 20 kgOpened 30 October 2026. AED 46 per 20 kg bag. A different product from the ready-mixed drum. Not added to AED 58.
14. SIBRIS Rates: paper joint tape, 75 mOpened 30 October 2026. AED 8.88 per 75 m roll. No joint length per square metre is printed, so the roll is not converted.
15. SIBRIS Rates: mineral fibre ceiling tile 600 × 600 mmOpened 30 October 2026. AED 16 per piece for a 600 × 600 mm mineral-fibre tile. Tile area 0.36 m². Grid metal is not included.
16. SIBRIS Rates: methodologyOpened 30 October 2026. Prices come from uploaded quotations and invoices and from manual submissions. The published figure is a median, not a simple average. The market window is about the last 6 months, or 12 months when recent data is insufficient. The page does not say whether VAT is included.
17. GCCPricing: standard gypsum board 12.5 mmOpened 30 October 2026. UAE AED 20.50 per sheet for 1.2 × 2.4 m standard board. Reference parity. Supply only. Last updated 26 Oct 2026. The governance note says the UAE row is a calibrated parity, not a verified merchant survey. Not averaged with AED 25.20 or AED 26.