Across Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, buildings from the 2000s and early 2010s are quietly getting new skins. The panels coming off are old polyethylene core sheets, fitted in the years before the UAE tightened its fire code. The panels going on are certified non-combustible and limited-combustibility grades. If you own or manage an older clad building, this is the story you are part of, and here is how the process actually works.
Standard polyethylene core burns, and a facade of it lets fire travel up the outside of a building fast. A series of tower fires in the Gulf and elsewhere made the risk impossible to ignore, and the UAE responded with one of the stricter cladding codes in the region. New buildings above certain heights and occupancies must use panels classified A2-s1,d0 or better, with the paperwork to prove it, and insurers now ask the same questions the code does.
That leaves a stock of older buildings wearing yesterday's panels. Nothing forces most of them to change overnight. But every year the pressure grows from three directions at once: insurance premiums, asset value, and the plain duty owners feel toward the people inside. Re-cladding is how a 2005 building meets a 2026 standard.
The good news: buildings stay occupied, and the work runs elevation by elevation from external access.
| Stage | What happens | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Survey and testing | Sample panels tested to identify the existing core | Weeks |
| 2. Design and approval | New system specified, Civil Defence submission | Weeks to months |
| 3. Strip and replace | Old panels off, subframe checked, new certified panels on | Months, by elevation |
| 4. Handover | Certificates filed, insurer notified, warranty issued | Days |
The existing subframe can often stay if it surveys well, which saves real money. And because the new panels arrive in any finish, most owners take the chance to refresh the building's look at the same time. A 20 year old tower comes out of the project both compliant and current. Our re-cladding page covers the commercial side in more detail.
A mineral filled core classified B-s1,d0. It resists ignition and slows spread, and it remains acceptable for some lower rise and lower risk buildings. On a re-clad it is the minimum worth fitting, and only where the fire consultant confirms it meets the building's category. Our FR range carries the full reports.
Mineral cores classified A2-s1,d0 and A1 to EN 13501-1. These do not sustain fire, and they are what UAE high rise re-cladding now specifies as a matter of course. If the building is tall, sleeps people or gathers the public, this is the honest choice, and the price gap to FR has narrowed every year.
Age is the first clue. Cladding fitted before the code tightened is suspect by default. Certainty comes from testing: a small sample panel is removed and the core identified in a lab. It is quick, inexpensive and the only honest starting point.
Requirements vary by emirate, building type and what the authorities find. Some buildings have been directed to upgrade, others act through insurance pressure or at renovation. What is certain is that the direction of travel only goes one way. Early movers choose their timing, late movers have it chosen for them.
Yes, almost always. Work proceeds from outside on access equipment, elevation by elevation, with protection at ground level. Tenants notice scaffolding and occasional noise, not disruption to the building's operation.
It scales with facade area, access difficulty and the grade specified. Against it, owners count lower premiums, restored asset value and a building that leases better. We price the panel supply side quickly from elevation drawings, and the price guide explains the drivers.
Start with a conversation. We supply certified A2 and A1 panels for re-cladding projects across the UAE, with the documentation insurers and Civil Defence expect.
