Partition Wall

A partition wall may be defined as a wall or partition made of bricks, studding, glass or other such material, it is provided to divide one room or portion of a room from another.

These walls are designed to be non-load bearing walls, it can be folded, collapsible or fixed type.

 If the partition walls are load-bearing, they are called internal walls.

Here we will learn about partition walls, types of partition walls & much more.

Introduction to partition wall:

These walls divide the interior space of the building unit into various rooms.

In a residential building, the partition wall divides the interior space or interior area into various rooms such as living room, bedroom, kitchen, WC Bathroom, study room, stove room etc.

It effectively divides the interior area or space of various buildings like public buildings, commercial buildings, sports complexes, recreation centres, etc.

Need for a good partition wall:

  • The partition wall should be light in weight.
  • The wall thickness must be minimal or thin.
  • Materials used to make the partition wall must be durable.
  • These walls should have fire-resistant properties.
  • It should be soundproof.
  • The partition should be easy to construct.
  •  It should be economical.
  • It should be able to install sanitary fittings and any other fixtures.
  • The partition should be capable enough to resist vibration.

Type of partition wall:

Metal partition:

The materials used are metallike steel aluminium and GI sheets, hence it is called metal partition walls.

These types of partitions are becoming a common way of providing partition walls in domestic situations, garages and industry sectors,

There are many advantages over other traditional wood, brick walls or block partitions, so it became popular.

Merits of Metal partition:

  • Metal partitions are much lighter in weight than wood, brick and block partitions.
  • These partitions will be fixed more precisely than different partition walls.
  • Their materials have higher resistance to fire.
  • These partitions are less expensive than wooden, brick or block partitions.
  • These partitions can be destroyed and used at any desired location.

Demerits of Metal partition:

  • This partition requires several fitting accessories for fixing.
  • It needs a sealing joist running across the steel channel.
  • This requires several steel channels.

Asbestos cement wall partition:

This type of partition is made from asbestos cement sheets and fixed in wooden or steel frames.

The thickness of such a sheet is 10 mm with a sheet of 5 mm, the plane on one side and other internal corrugated sheets of 5 mm thick.

These sheets are moved into position and attached to cement mortar.

Merits of asbestos cement partition:

  • These partitions are light in weight.
  • It has resistance to fire.
  • These partitions are waterproof.
  • These sheets are impermeable and durable.
Demerits of asbestos cement partition:
  • Natural or inherent.
  • Vandalism and human-induced problems.

Wooden partition wall:

This type of partition has various components such as heads, studs, pieces of nogging or noggins, brace sills etc. which are made of good quality wood.

There are two types of wooden partitions:

1. Common partitions:

This type of partition consists of vertical members called studs, the upper horizontal member as the head and the lower horizontal member as the sill.

Studs can be made stiffer by providing horizontal pieces called nailing pieces.

2. Trussed partitions:

It consists of various components such as studs, head sill, dogging pieces, steel steps, bolts, braces, etc.

This type of partition is based on the basic principle of trusses.

Merits of Wooden partitions:

  • Light in weight and easy to manufacture.
  • It is economical.

Demerits of Wooden partitions:

  • It is neither soundproof nor fire-proof.
  • Not appropriate for damp locations.
  • It requires a large amount of wood.

Plaster slab partition wall:

It is made of burnt gypsum or sawdust in plaster of Paris, 5 cm to 10 cm thick slabs are prepared in casts of iron or wood.

Appropriate grooves are offered in plaster slabs to form inflexible joints.

Nails and screws might be simply operated in these slabs.

Merits of Plaster slab partitions:

  • Plaster wall partitions create a stronger and more durable wall.
  • The walls become stronger due to the chemical reaction.
  • Plaster is resistant to knock and dent in most cases.

Demerits of Plaster slab partitions:

  • It requires a high initial cost.
  • Also requires skilled labour.

Glass partition:

Glass partitions or glass partition walls are high-quality, non-load-bearing walls of glass that act as room dividers.

As a construction material, this permits the glass designers and architects to divide a room without flooring area and lightweight diffusion.

The sheets of glass are fixed in wooden or metal structures.

Merits of glass partition:

  • It provides good aesthetics and light.
  • There are a damp sound and heatproof.
  • It is easy to wash and maintain.
  • Hollow blocks do not require wooden structures.

Demerits of Glass partition:

  • It disturbs privacy.
  • It can get damaged.

Concrete partition wall:

Concrete slabs in concrete partitions are plain or reinforced, the latter supported between vertical members.

These slabs can be either precast or cast-in-situ, joints are filled with cement mortar.

Another type of concrete partitioning consists of precast T-shaped or L-shaped units.

Merits of concrete partition:

  • Concrete is sturdy, low maintenance, and resistant to wind, water, and fire.
  • It has a low tensile strength.

Demerits of concrete partition:

  • Concrete is less ductile.
  • The weight is high compared to its strength.

Hollow block and clay block partition:

Hollow concrete block partitions are made up of particular individual units of concrete, clay blocks are well prepared using clay or terra-cotta and they are either solid or hollow.

The thickness of a hollow clay block of section 30 X 20 cm can vary from 5 cm to 15 cm.

The blocks are provided with grooves on the top, bottom and sides; with the surfaces stored separately glazed in winter.

Merits of Hollow block partition:

  • Hollow blocks require less maintenance.
  • It is highly durable.
  • Construction speed is higher in traditional construction systems.
  • It has high tensile strength.
  • Affordable, favourable and affordable rates.

Demerits of Hollow block partition:

  • Hollow blocks have poor bearing capacity.

Brick partition wall:

These walls are constructed with plain bricks, reinforced bricks, and bricks fabricated from bricks-nogged or hollow bricks.

A plain brick partition of half brick thickness does not exceed 2 m in height.

In reinforced brick partitions of half brick thickness, reinforcement within the form of wire mesh or hoop iron or steel bars is provided.

Brick partition wall consists of brickwork constructed within a framework of wood members.

Merits of Hollow brick partition:
  • These walls are hard and durable.
  • It is economical.
  • It is highly fired resistant.

Demerits of Brick partition:

  • The brick partition is fire-resistant and sound-proof.
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Conclusion:

A partition wall is a non-load bearing, usually an internal wall.

The most common partition wall is a large room is divided into two rooms by adding a partition wall and a new door to another room.

Hello, I'm Rahul Patil founder of Constructionor.com, I had studied B.E. Civil. This blog provides authentic information regarding civil structures, equipment, materials, tests & much more.

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