Types Of Partitioning Walls

TYPES OF PARTITION WALLS FOR HOME AND OFFICES

Depending upon the material used partition walls may be divided into the following different types:

1. Brick partitions
2. Hollow block partition of clay, terracotta or concrete
3. Glass partitions
4. Concrete partitions – plain or reinforced
5. Metal lath and plaster partitions
6. A.C. sheet or G.I. sheet partitions
7. Timber partitions

1. Brick Partitions:

This may be constructed with plain bricks, reinforced bricks or bricks nogged.

Plain brick partition

This type of wall is constructed by laying bricks as stretchers in cement mortar. Thus the wall is generally 10cm (half brick) thick and plastered considerably on both faces. If properly constructed, it is considerably strong and fire resistant.

Reinforced brick wall

This type of wall is similar to plain brick partition wall except that at every third or fourth course, the bricks are reinforced with iron straps 25 to 28 mm wide and 1.6mm thick. Mild steel bars 6mm spaced at every third course of wall may be used as a substitute for iron straps.

2. Hollow brick partition of clay, terracotta or concrete

Hollow blocks moulded from clay, terracotta or concrete are now commonly used for the construction of partition walls. Such walls are light, rigid, economical, strong and fire resistant. They have good sound insulating properties. The sizes of the blocks differ with the texture of the material. The thickness of this type of partition wall varies between 6 cm to 15 cm. these walls are constructed in similar manner as structural load bearing walls.

3. Glass partition walls

These may be made from sheet glass or hollow glass bricks. In case of sheet glass partitions, sheets of glass are fixed in the framework of wooden members dividing the entire area into a number of panels. The panels may be square or rectangular and their size varies with the choice of the individual. Glass partitions are cheap, light, and easy in construction and provide reasonable privacy and sound insulation. The cost of maintenance of such partition is much more as glass is liable to break when struck hard by anything. With the introduction of reinforced glass sheets, this danger is greatly minimized. Three-ply glass and armour plate glass are some of the varieties of sheet glass.

4. Concrete Partition – Plain or reinforced

Partition walls construction in concrete, plain or reinforced may be cast in situ or built from panels or blocks, precast wall in advance of the commencement of work. Generally for cast in situ walls, 10 cm thick and below, the reinforcement consisting of mild steel bars or B R C fabric is placed in the centre of the wall thickness. Concrete mix usually adopted in the work is M15 (1:2:4). The wall is cast monolithically with the intermediate columns so as to be rigid and stable both along its length and height. In case of precast concrete partition walls, precast concrete slab panels and special shaped concrete post are used. The slabs are generally 32 mm thick and are inserted in the grooves of the precast post and the joints are subsequently filled with mortar.

5. Metal lath and plaster partitions:

Metal lath and plaster when properly laid forms a reinforced wall which is thin, strong, durable and is considerably fire resistant. The metal lath is available in variety of patterns and it generally requires a framework of steel or timber for the purpose of fixing it in position. In case of partition walls with steel frames, lath is generally tied by galvanized iron wire to mild steel bars or channels spaced 15 to 30 cm apart. The latter is fixed on one side and the plaster is applied on both sides of the lath. This type of partition wall may be 5 to 7.6 cm in thickness.

In order to achieve improved insulation against heat and sound, metal lath and plaster partition walls can also be made with a cavity between the wall thickness. This type of hollow partition wall is constructed by fixing the metal lath on both sides of specially shaped steel channels spaced at 30 to 45 cm apart. Depending upon the width of cavity desired, the channels are generally 3 to 10cm deep.

6. A.C. Sheet or G.I. Sheet partitions:

Partition walls constructed from asbestos cement sheeting or galvanized sheet fixed to wooden or steel members are mostly adopted in works of temporary character. These walls are economical, light and fairly rigid if constructed properly.

For superior type of asbestos cement sheet partition walls, specially manufactured slabs of the above said material are used. Each slab consists of core or corrugated asbestos cement sheet with the plain asbestos cement sheet attached to it on either side. The use of such slabs renders the partition wall more fire-resistant and makes it have good heat and sound insulation properties.

7. Timber partitions:

This type of partition walls consists of a wooden framework either supported on the floor below or by side walls. The framework consists of a rigid arrangement of timber members which may be plastered or covered with boarding etc from both the sides. Such partitions are not fire-resistant and the timber forming the partition is likely to decay or be eaten away by white ants. With the introduction of new building materials, the use of timber partitions is getting gradually reduced these days.