TL;DR — A 250 mm Tiger Stone insulated block plastered both sides can support Estidama Pearl 1 thermal-envelope compliance for many wall types, and stays useful for retrofits. For the tighter Pearl 2 target, adding an external insulation board over the same masonry improves the assembly further.
How the calculation works (ISO 6946 simple method): the assembly U-value is built from internal + external surface resistances plus each layer (block + plaster). The insulated block, with its EPS core, contributes the bulk of the thermal resistance. We do not quote a single headline U-value here because it depends on your full wall build-up and the tier you are targeting — share the layers and the target Pearl tier and we will work the numbers with you for the energy report.
Where the choice flips — atrium walls and high-glazing facades: thermal bridges around openings dominate the calculation. In those rooms, specify the 250 mm insulated block AND an external insulation board to push the assembly toward the Pearl 2 target.
Practical short-list for Abu Dhabi residential: 250 mm insulated block (TS-I-10) for external walls; 200 mm insulated (TS-I-8) where wall thickness is constrained; 200 mm hollow (TS-H-8) for internal partitions where U-value is irrelevant.
","date_published":"2026-04-22T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["sustainability"],"language":"en-AE"},{"id":"https://tigerstoneblock.ae/en/blog/acoustic-stc-block-partitions","url":"https://tigerstoneblock.ae/en/blog/acoustic-stc-block-partitions","title":"Acoustic performance of concrete block partitions — how STC works for UAE office fit-outs","summary":"How sound transmission works for Tiger Stone hollow and insulated partitions, practical wall recipes for boardroom-grade acoustics, and how to get a verified rating for your assembly.","content_html":"TL;DR — A plastered 200 mm hollow partition gives solid everyday acoustic separation; building the same wall with the insulated block improves it further thanks to the EPS core. For boardroom-grade isolation, use a double-leaf wall with an air gap and one leaf in solid block. A guaranteed STC rating belongs to a tested assembly, not to the block on its own — so commission a lab or field test on your specified build-up.
Why the EPS insert helps: the polystyrene core decouples the two concrete shells across the mid-frequency range, so speech transmission drops compared with a single-mass hollow assembly of the same thickness. This is consistent with the mass-spring-mass acoustic model, where two masses separated by a compliant layer outperform one solid mass of equal weight.
How STC is determined: Sound Transmission Class is a single-number rating derived from lab measurements of an assembly across standard frequency bands (per ASTM E90 / E413), or estimated in the field with ASTM E336. It describes the whole wall build-up — leaves, cavity, plaster, sealing and edges — not a single product. Two walls using the same block can land at very different STC numbers depending on detailing, so we do not quote a fixed STC for the block in isolation.
Practical recipes:
Standard office: 200 mm hollow + cement plaster both sides.
Quiet office / clinic: 200 mm insulated + plaster both sides.
Boardroom or recording: two leaves of 100 mm solid with an air gap, mineral wool in the cavity, double plaster on each face.
Caveats: lab ratings ≠ field results. Flanking paths through soffits, raised floors, return-air ducts and unsealed conduit penetrations dominate in the field. Specify acoustic sealant at all perimeters and seal every conduit head with intumescent putty. For a project requiring a guaranteed number, share your wall build-up with us and commission a lab or field test on the specified assembly — see /quote and /contact to arrange it.
","date_published":"2026-04-18T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["thermal"],"language":"en-AE"},{"id":"https://tigerstoneblock.ae/en/blog/insulated-vs-aac-blocks-uae","url":"https://tigerstoneblock.ae/en/blog/insulated-vs-aac-blocks-uae","title":"Insulated concrete blocks vs AAC: which to choose for Dubai high-rises","summary":"A specifier-grade comparison of insulated concrete blocks and AAC blocks in the UAE climate, with cost, thermal and structural trade-offs.","content_html":"TL;DR — For Dubai high-rise external walls under Estidama Pearl 1 or Al Sa'fat thermal envelopes, a 250 mm insulated concrete block is a strong all-round choice: good thermal performance from its EPS core at a lower all-in cost than equivalent AAC. AAC has the edge on raw thermal conductivity, but the insulated block tends to win on cost-per-performance and on lateral load capacity for tall partitions.
For lightweight non-load-bearing partitions, AAC is the lighter pick. For external load-bearing or cavity-filled assemblies, insulated concrete blocks are the more conservative engineering and procurement choice in current UAE conditions.
Structural strength: the concrete shells of an insulated block generally carry point loads around openings better than comparable AAC.
Cost: the insulated block typically sits well below the premium AAC commands over plain hollow concrete — the difference often pays for additional structural elements. Ask us for a current per-unit quote for your project.
","date_published":"2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["thermal"],"language":"en-AE"},{"id":"https://tigerstoneblock.ae/en/blog/blocks-per-square-meter-calculator","url":"https://tigerstoneblock.ae/en/blog/blocks-per-square-meter-calculator","title":"How many concrete blocks per square meter of wall","summary":"A back-of-the-envelope calculator for estimating block quantities for an external wall, including a waste allowance.","content_html":"For a standard 200 × 200 × 400 mm concrete block laid horizontally with a 10 mm mortar joint, the math is direct: a single block face is 0.21 m × 0.41 m ≈ 0.0861 m², so you need ≈ 11.6 blocks per m² of wall face. Add 5–10 % wastage and round up to 12.5 blocks per m².
For a 250 × 200 × 400 mm insulated block laid horizontally, the face dimensions are identical (0.21 m × 0.41 m) — wall thickness changes but blocks-per-m² of face does not. Same 12.5 blocks per m² target.
To convert to pallets and delivery loads for your order, send us the wall area and block type and we will confirm quantities per pallet and truck.
","date_published":"2026-04-10T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["logistics"],"language":"en-AE"},{"id":"https://tigerstoneblock.ae/en/blog/fire-rated-walls-uae-civil-defence","url":"https://tigerstoneblock.ae/en/blog/fire-rated-walls-uae-civil-defence","title":"Fire-rated wall assemblies for UAE Civil Defence compliance","summary":"How fire-resistance ratings for masonry walls actually work, how to specify a Tiger Stone wall build-up for separation and party walls, and how to get a verified lab report for UAE Civil Defence submission.","content_html":"TL;DR: fire resistance is a property of a complete, tested wall assembly — not of a block on its own — so the honest path to a Civil Defence-compliant separation, shaft or party wall is to specify a sound Tiger Stone build-up and then verify it with a project-specific lab report. A 200 mm hollow or insulated Tiger Stone wall, plastered both sides with 12 mm cement plaster and built with full mortar joints, is the assembly we typically recommend for the separation, shaft and party-wall conditions Civil Defence calls out in residential and commercial buildings.
Fire resistance under the BS 476-22 methodology is measured against three criteria — integrity, insulation and (for loadbearing walls) stability — for a specific assembly that was actually tested: a defined block, thickness, mortar, plaster and any penetrations. Because the rating belongs to the tested build-up rather than to the block, Tiger Stone does not publish a generic lot fire-test report and we will not quote an hour figure for your wall sight-unseen. What we can do is help you specify the assembly and, if your project needs it, arrange an independent UAE-accredited lab test on the lot supplied at quote stage as a paid sample test. See /certifications for the standards we manufacture against.
To keep your submission clean: choose wall thickness for the separation duty your consultant has scheduled (the 200 mm series for the more demanding separations, lighter walls where a lower duty is allowed), keep mortar joints full at 10 mm, plaster both faces at 12 mm, and sleeve or fire-stop any through-pipe penetrations rather than coring the wall raw. Send us your wall build-up and the rating your authority requires, and we will confirm the recommended Tiger Stone series and set up the verification test you can submit. Start at /quote or reach us via /contact.
","date_published":"2026-04-05T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["compliance"],"language":"en-AE"}]}