How many hoarding blocks per metre? A UAE site perimeter estimating guide
Work out hoarding blocks per metre before you order: continuous vs spaced layout, and the quantity and cost per 100 m of a UAE site hoarding line.
The call comes in from a contractor pricing a new plot: “How many blocks do I need for the site hoarding?” Nine times out of ten the number was guessed off a quick walk of the boundary. Either the order runs short two-thirds of the way round and the run stops while a top-up delivery is arranged, or someone plays safe and lands twenty tonnes of concrete nobody has room to stack.
Neither is necessary. Hoarding is one of the easiest perimeter items to count, once you fix the one number that drives everything. So here is the practical version: how many hoarding blocks a metre of site perimeter actually takes, how the layout changes that, and what 100 m works out to in blocks and dirhams.
How many hoarding blocks per metre?
It comes down to one measurement: a standard hoarding block is 1000 x 500 x 500 mm, so it is exactly 1 m long. Lay the blocks end to end as a continuous ballast line and you get one block per metre of hoarding — clean arithmetic you can put straight on an order.
That continuous line is not the only way to set them, though. If the blocks sit only under the posts instead of running end to end, the count drops to whatever your post spacing works out to. Two layouts, two very different quantities:
Continuous line or spaced at posts?
Pick the layout by the panel and the exposure, then the block count follows. A continuous line stands solid timber and sheet hoarding on a public frontage upright against full wind load; a spaced layout saves concrete on lighter, sheltered runs where the panels do not catch as much wind.
| Continuous line | Spaced at posts | |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks laid | End to end, touching | One block per post |
| Blocks per metre | 1 | ~0.5 (at 2 m centres) |
| Blocks per 100 m | ~100 | ~50 |
| Best for | Solid timber/sheet hoarding, public frontage | Mesh or lighter panels, internal/sheltered runs |
| Wind resistance | Highest — mass along the whole foot | Adequate where wind passes through the panel |
The spaced layout is cheaper, and on an internal storage-yard boundary it is the right call. The mistake is spacing the blocks out under a solid public-facing panel to save a few units — that is where the overturning load is highest and where a Dubai Municipality inspector looks first.
How far apart should hoarding blocks sit?
There is no single legal spacing figure — the requirement is that the hoarding stays up. Dubai Municipality’s DM Local Order 44/1990, and the hoarding provisions under Dubai Law No. 7 of 2025, require site hoarding to screen the works and hold against normal weather, which in the Emirates means shamal gusts that push over 80 km/h. The block layout is how you meet that.
On solid timber hoarding, the posts usually land about 2 to 2.4 m apart, following the panel width, so a spaced layout puts a block at each post. But a flat panel 2.4 m tall presents a large face to the wind, and the overturning force at the base climbs fast with exposure. That is why the public-facing frontage gets the continuous line: mass along the entire foot, not just at the posts. Our blocks are rated to keep fencing vertical in gusts over 80 km/h in open terrain, and that rating assumes the mass is actually there where the wind hits. We break the physics down further in our guide to hoarding blocks vs fence bases, which covers when the light 25–35 kg base is enough and when it is a liability.
Do corners and gates change the count?
Yes — and a plain per-metre figure will leave you short at exactly the points that matter. A straight run is the easy part. The load concentrates at the corners, the returns, and either side of every gate, where the hoarding has a free edge and the wind can get behind it. Those uprights often need a block doubled up.
So take the per-metre count, then add units for:
- Every corner and return in the perimeter, not just the overall length.
- Both gate posts on each access opening — vehicle gates especially.
- A small allowance for blocks chipped or cracked in transit and handling.
On a normal site that is a handful of extra blocks, not a percentage worth agonising over. It is cheap insurance against the run stopping one block short of the gate.
Worked example: 100 m of site hoarding
Take a plot with a 100 m public-facing perimeter in solid timber hoarding, with two corners and one 6 m vehicle gate.
| Step | Figure |
|---|---|
| Perimeter run | 100 m |
| Continuous line (x 1 block/m) | 100 blocks |
| Add 2 corners (double up) | +2 |
| Add gate posts (2, doubled) | +2 |
| Damage allowance | +2 |
| Order quantity | ~106 blocks |
That is one figure I would put on the order, delivered complete on a sequenced run so the perimeter closes in a day rather than stopping for a second load. If the same plot had an internal mesh boundary as well, that run switches to a spaced layout on lighter bases and gets counted separately — the same logic we use in our block estimating guide for walls.
What does 100 m of hoarding blocks cost?
On the blocks alone, the maths is quick. At roughly AED 165 to AED 280 per unit, a continuous 100 m line of about 100 blocks lands at around AED 16,500 to AED 28,000. A spaced layout of about 50 blocks is roughly half that. New blocks with a clean fair-faced finish sit at the top of the range; refurbished units for a long-running perimeter save real money at the bottom.
That is supply only. Because each block weighs 600 kg to 1000 kg, you cannot hand-lift them — delivery and Hiab or crane offloading to the fence line are priced on top, and they matter to the total more than the small price gap between one block and the next. For a long perimeter, ask about the buy-back scheme too; it changes the real cost of a temporary run more than shaving a few dirhams a block ever will.
Frequently asked questions
How many hoarding blocks do I need per metre? It depends on the layout. A continuous ballast line is one block per metre, because each block is 1 m long. A spaced layout at ~2 m post centres is about one block per 2 m. For a solid public-facing frontage, budget the continuous line.
How far apart should hoarding blocks be spaced? On solid timber hoarding, posts land about 2 to 2.4 m apart, so a spaced layout puts a block at each post. Exposed public frontages get a continuous line of touching blocks for the most overturning resistance. Spacing follows panel width and wind exposure, not a fixed rule.
How much does 100 m of hoarding blocks cost in the UAE? At AED 165 to AED 280 per block, a continuous 100 m line of about 100 blocks is roughly AED 16,500 to AED 28,000 for the blocks alone. A spaced layout is about half. Delivery and Hiab offloading are extra.
Do I need extra hoarding blocks for corners and gates? Yes. Add units for corners, returns, and gate posts, plus a small allowance for damage. Those points carry more load than a straight run and often need a block doubled up.
What size and weight is a standard hoarding block? 1000 x 500 x 500 mm, 600 kg or 1000 kg, with a 48 mm or 60 mm post hole. The 1000 kg block is standard for solid timber hoarding; the 600 kg block suits lighter or mesh runs.
Most hoarding orders get guessed off a walk of the site, then topped up twice. Work it per metre from the block length — 1 m each — pick continuous or spaced by the wind exposure, and put the corners and gate posts on the same delivery.
Get a hoarding quantity and quote in one go
Send us the perimeter length, the panel type (solid hoarding or mesh), the number of corners and gates, the delivery emirate, and your date. We will come back with the block count — corners, gates, and a damage allowance built in — plus a supply, delivery, and Hiab price, so the perimeter closes on one delivery, not two.
