Service · Drywall, Partitions & Ceilings

Drywall, partitions and ceilings.

The interior shell of a fit-out — partitions set out true, ceilings to line and level, fire and acoustic systems built to the rating they carry. This is the core of what we do, and have done since 1986.

Work with us

Overview

What this scope covers.

Drywall is where a fit-out programme is won or lost. It is the first trade to take the floor after the shell and the last thing every following trade depends on, so when the partitions are out of line or the ceilings are not set to level, the cost lands on everyone behind us. We treat that as the job, not a detail of it.

EDM Holdings installs the full drywall scope: metal stud partitions in single, twin and shaft-wall build-ups; dry lining and encasements; MF and suspended grid ceilings; bulkheads and feature ceilings; and the fire- and acoustic-rated systems that have to pass the rating they are built to. We work from the certified detail, set out to the drawings, and keep the build-up documented so it stands up at inspection.

The scope runs across commercial offices, healthcare, education, hospitality, retail and government — sectors where the partition is rarely just a wall. A ward needs the right acoustic separation; a riser needs a shaft wall that holds its fire rating; a hotel corridor needs both, finished to a standard the guest will see. We build for the performance the specification calls for, not the easiest version of it.

Across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain, main contractors bring us in because our part of the programme holds. We give a date, we build to it, and we hand over flat planes and tight joints — taped and finished to the level the job is specified to, off the snag list rather than on it.

Main contractors come back because the package is predictable: priced from the drawings, built to the certified detail, and handed over to a standard the next trade can work straight onto. On a tight programme that predictability is worth more than the cheapest rate, which is why our part of the job rarely shows up on the delay report.

Our capability

How we run the work.

On site, the people who priced the package are the people who run it. That keeps the intent of the job intact from tender to handover, and it means decisions get made by someone who understands both the drawing and the programme.

We set out from the structural grid and the reflected ceiling plan, check the build-up against the fire and acoustic schedule before we frame, and record the systems as they go in. Boards, studs and rated components are ordered against the specification, not substituted on site. Line, plumb, level and fixing centres are checked continuously, and the area is sequenced and handed over in sections so the trade behind us can start.

Solutions we deliver

The scope, in detail.

Metal stud partitions

Single, twin and staggered-stud systems set out true and built to the certified detail.

Shaft walls

Lift, riser and stair enclosures that hold their fire rating where access is from one side only.

Acoustic partitions

Build-ups designed and installed to meet the sound reduction specified between spaces.

Fire-rated systems

Partitions and linings to the certified rating, with the build-up documented for inspection.

Bulkheads

Set out and framed to the reflected ceiling plan, square and to line.

Feature ceilings

Rafts, islands and shadow-gap details installed to the architect's intent.

Suspended ceilings

Exposed and concealed grid systems, set level and coordinated with services.

MF ceilings

Plasterboard MF ceilings, flat and laser-checked, with access designed in.

Acoustic ceilings

Ceiling systems specified and installed for the acoustic performance of the space.

Mineral fibre ceilings

Tile-and-grid systems set out square to the room, with clean perimeters.

Access panel systems

Rated and standard panels set into walls and ceilings to suit the services behind them.

Specialist ceiling solutions

Curved, raked and bespoke ceilings built from the detail where a standard system will not do.

Industries we serve

Built for the sector.

Commercial offices

Cat-A and cat-B programmes — cellular and open-plan space delivered around the wider fit-out.

Healthcare

Clinical and ward environments delivered in live buildings, with the hygiene and rating the brief demands.

Education

Classrooms, halls and labs sequenced around term dates and occupied campuses.

Hospitality

Guest-facing finishes and back-of-house, built to a standard the guest will judge.

Retail

Store and mall works delivered to trading deadlines, often handed over overnight.

Government

Secure public buildings delivered to programme and to the standard they are held to.

Industrial

Office, amenity and fire-separation works within warehouse and logistics shells.

Mixed-use developments

Coordinated packages across residential, retail and commercial within one build.

Project delivery approach

From drawings to defects, one process.

01

Consultation

We start with your drawings, specification and programme — and give you a clear read on scope, sequence and the questions that need answering before anyone prices a rate.

02

Design coordination

We resolve the interfaces — services, structure, the trades either side of us — and check the build-up against the fire, acoustic and finish schedules before work begins.

03

Procurement

Materials and rated components are ordered against the specification, with lead times planned into the programme so the floor is never waiting on a delivery.

04

Site mobilisation

We set up to the main contractor's site rules, agree access and storage, and put the RAMS and permits in place so work starts cleanly.

05

Installation

The people who priced the job run it on site, working to line and level and checking the work as it goes in rather than after.

06

Quality assurance

Line, level, rating and finish are checked as the work proceeds and recorded, so the system stands up at inspection.

07

Handover

We hand over in sections, finished and ready for the following trade — clean, not nearly there.

08

Defects management

We close out snags quickly and stand behind the work after handover, because the relationship matters more than the single job.

Why clients work with us

What you actually get.

Programme certainty

Give us a date and we build to it. Our part of the job does not blow out the programme, and head contractors plan around that.

Commercial awareness

We price what is on the drawings and flag what is not. Variations are raised early and clearly, not saved for the final account.

Coordination capability

We run our work around the trades sharing the floor and the services overhead, so interfaces are resolved before they become delays.

Quality control

Checks happen as the work proceeds — line, level, rating, finish — so the standard is built in, not inspected in at the end.

Safety

We work to the main contractor's permit and RAMS regime, keep the area clean, and sequence around the people still using the building.

Responsiveness

A real person answers, prices come back quickly, and problems on site get a decision the same day.

Technical knowledge

We understand the systems we install — fire, acoustic, finish — and build them to perform, not just to look right.

Delivery experience

A delivered record across hospitals, government, hospitality and retail since 2010, on jobs that do not forgive a missed date.

Questions

Common questions, answered.

Do you install fire-rated partitions and shaft walls to a certified system?
Yes. We build to the tested system detail and use the matched components, so the partition holds the rating it is specified to. We keep the system data and photographs of the build-up for your inspection and fire-strategy records.
How do you make sure acoustic partitions actually meet the rating?
The rating comes from the whole build-up — stud, board layers, insulation and the junctions — not just the boards. We install the specified system without substitution, seal the perimeters and penetrations, and detail the head and abutments, because that is where acoustic performance is usually lost.
Can you work to our programme and hold your dates?
That is the point of bringing us in. We sequence our work around the trades sharing the floor, mobilise to your site rules, and build to the date we give you so the package does not become the bottleneck.
Do you price from drawings or do you need a site visit?
We can price from a complete drawing and specification set, and we will visit site where access, existing conditions or sequencing affect the rate. Either way you get a clear scope and the assumptions we have priced against.
Who supervises the work on site?
The people who price and coordinate the package run it on site. You are not handed from an estimator to a separate crew that never saw the tender.
Can you handle MF, suspended and acoustic ceilings on the same job?
Yes — MF plasterboard, exposed and concealed grid, mineral fibre and acoustic ceilings are all core scope, and we coordinate the access, services and perimeters between them.
How do you coordinate with the MEP and other trades in the ceiling void?
We work from the coordinated services drawing, build access and bulkheads around the services, and sequence so the ceiling closes only once the trades above it are signed off. Where coordination is incomplete, we flag it early rather than building over a problem.
Do you provide the taping and finishing, or just the boarding?
Both. We can hand over boarded for another finisher, or take it through to a taped and jointed Level 5 finish ready for paint — to the level your specification calls for.
Can you work in occupied or live buildings?
Yes. A large part of our record is hospitals and government offices that cannot shut down, so we sequence around the people still using the space, control dust and noise, and work to the permits that environment requires.
What areas do you cover?
We deliver across the UAE — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the northern emirates — and into the wider GCC where a client is taking us with them.
Do you supply access panels and coordinate them with services?
Yes. We set rated and standard access panels into walls and ceilings, located to suit the valves, dampers and services behind them, so maintenance access is designed in rather than cut in later.
Can you build curved, raked or feature ceilings?
Yes. Where the standard system will not achieve the design, we build from the detail — curved bulkheads, raked soffits, rafts and shadow-gap features set out to the architect's intent.
How do you handle variations?
We raise them early and in writing, with the scope and rate clear, so they are agreed as they happen rather than argued over at final account.
What information do you need to start on site?
A coordinated drawing set, the fire and acoustic schedule, the finish specification and the agreed programme. With those we can set out, order against the spec and mobilise.
Will the work pass inspection first time?
That is how we build it. By checking line, level and rating as the work proceeds and recording the build-up, the system is right when the inspector arrives rather than reworked afterwards.

Related services

The rest of the interior package.

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Timber Cladding

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Aluminium & Glazing

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Painting & Decorative Finishes

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Joinery & Bespoke Carpentry

Have a package coming up?

Send us the drawings and the programme — a real person replies the same working day.

Work with us