Walls & Partition

Learning Objectives
• Briefly explain the functions & functional
requirements of walls
• Differentiate and compare between load
bearing and non-load bearing walls
• Briefly describe the characteristics,
advantages and disadvantages of different
types of walls
 Definition of Wall
• A continuous, vertical
structure
• Thin relatively to its
length and height
 Functions
• External walls – to enclose and protect a building
against weather for reasonable indoor comfort
• Internal walls – to divide buildings into rooms
 Functional Requirements
a) Strength & Stability
• To resist stresses due to self-weight,
superimposed and lateral pressure such as wind
• To be stable to avoid overturning due to
eccentric loading or lateral pressure
• To be able to avoid buckling due to excessive
slenderness
 Functional Requirements
b) Resistance to Weather and Ground Moisture
• To resist passage of moisture into building
• Moisture (water vapour or liquid water) from
groundwater or rain
• Methods:
i. Thicker wall
ii. Cavity wall
iii. Damp proof membrane (impervious skin)
Water Exclusion
 Functional Requirements
c) Durability and Freedom from Maintenance
• Indicated by frequency and extent of work
necessary to maintain the wall
• Minimum cost of maintenance
 Functional Requirements
d) Resistance to the Passage of Heat
• Barrier to heat gain/loss which increases cost of
cooling and heating
• Affect energy consumption
• Heat gain – higher need for air conditioning
• Glass & metal – poor thermal insulation
 Functional Requirements
d) Resistance to the Passage of Heat (Cont’d)
• Methods of thermal insulation
i. Thicker wall
ii. Cavity/double wall
iii. Thermal insulation layer
iv. Internal lining for claddings and glass
Thermal Insulation for Walls
 Functional Requirements
e) Resistance to the Passage of Noise
• Exclude noise from traffic, aircraft, train, building
services plant & impact sound caused by
neighbours
• Noise – lead to irritation & poor productivity
• Methods:
i. Thicker walls
ii. Cavity/double wall
iii. Lining with absorbent material
Noise Insulation
Noise Insulation
 Functional Requirements
f) Aesthetics
• Walls are important
visually
• Affected by choice of
materials
 Types of Walls
• Brick Wall
• Block Wall
• RC Wall
• Stone Masonry Wall
• Cladding and Curtain Wall
• Drywall
 Brick Wall
• Brick – small block of burned clay, concrete or
sand-lime
• Can be used for load bearing and non-load
bearing walls
 Brick Wall
• Made of bricks laid in mortar
• Laid to overlap in some form of bonding
• Pointing to ensure joints are solidly filled
(watertight) and for decorative reasons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dojkhIrNm
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 Brick Wall
• Finished with
i. Plastering
ii. Tiles
iii. Self finished
 Brick Wall
• Finished with
i. Plastering
ii. Tiles
iii. Self finished
 Brick Wall
• Finished with
i. Plastering
ii. Tiles
iii. Self finished
 Brick Wall
Advantages
• Cheap
• Good fire resistance
• Quite good thermal insulator
• Doesn’t deteriorate structurally and requires little
maintenance
• 225 mm thick brick wall give acceptable sound
insulation
 Brick Wall
Disadvantages
• Expansion is quite large – expansion joints needed
• Slow construction
Application
• Walls to residential buildings
• Fire compartment
Brick Wall

Expansion joint
 Brick Wall
• Common types of bond for brickwork
 Block Wall
• Blocks – wall unit larger in size then bricks
• Used for load bearing and non-load bearing
walls
 Block Wall
• Types:
i. Hollow clay blocks
ii. Hollow concrete blocks
iii. Solid concrete blocks
iv. Lightweight concrete blocks
 Block Wall
• Types:
i. Hollow clay blocks
ii. Hollow concrete blocks
iii. Solid concrete blocks
iv. Lightweight concrete blocks
 Block Wall
• Types:
i. Hollow clay blocks
ii. Hollow concrete blocks
iii. Solid concrete blocks
iv. Lightweight concrete blocks
 Block Wall
Advantages
• Economical
• Faster erection
• Less joints
• High resistance to damage by fire, less than brick wall
• Good thermal insulator
 Block Wall
Disadvantages
• Suffer moisture movement causing cracking of plaster
• Settlement movement show more pronounced
cracking
• Poor appearance – require finish
• Poor sound insulation
Application
• Mostly internal walls
 RC Wall
• Used for load bearing walls
• Basement walls, service core, lift shafts and
retaining walls

Retaining wall
 RC Wall
Advantages
• Economical when used to support, enclose for divide
• Dense – fairly watertight
• Good fire resistance

A B

C D

E E F F

C D

B A
 RC Wall
Disadvantages
• Low thermal insulation
• Require finishing to achieve better surface
appearance
• May crack due to shrinkage
 Stone Masonry Wall
• Natural or manufactured stone
• Bound together by mortar
• Very durable. However, quality of mortar and
workmanship and patterns of assembly
strongly affect the durability.
• Can be used as load bearing or non-load
bearing walls
 Stone Masonry Wall
• Rubble walling – walls made of broken stones
of irregular size, shape and texture
Rubble Walling
Stone Masonry Feature Wall
 Drywall
• Interior walls
• Panels made of gypsum plaster pressed
between two thick sheets of paper or fibreglass
Internal Partition
Referring mainly to dry wall partition
• Dry wall partition which subdivide
a room and is non load bearing
• Requires finishing only at the
fasteners and joints
• Less labor and drying time
• Very popular – faster
• Mounted on timber or light-gauge
steel frame
• Panels made of gypsum plaster
pressed between two thick sheets
of paper or fibreglass. 2 Panels
usually sandwich a layer of
rockwool.
Internal Partition
Performance Requirement
• Flexibility
• Sound Insulation
• Fire
• Strength & Stability
• Appearance & Durability
• Services Accommodation
• Ease of Construction
Internal Partition
Performance Requirement
Flexibility
Internal Partition
Performance Requirement
Sound Insulation
• reduction obtained when sound passes from
one side of a partition to another
• Measured in frequency and intensity
• To achieve good sound insulation partitions
require either a heavy construction or the use
of carefully designed partition with two leaves
which are as far as possible acoustically
separate and the cavity filled with an absorbent
quilt.
Internal Partition
Performance Requirement
Sound Insulation
• If there is a door in the partition this has
the effect of diminishing (R) by about 5
dB
• Poor joints between the partition and
adjacent walls, ceilings or floors can also
reduce the sound reduction
characteristics of the partition.
• Another source of weakness can occur
when services pass through a partition.
• Not only can this be a path for direct
transmission of sound through any dry
joints or gaps, but sound can also be
transmitted via the services themselves
from one side to the other.
Internal Partition
Performance Requirement
Fire
• Partition used as part of fire
compartmentalization strategy
• Requires fire rating of half to 2 hours
depending on room use and locations
• To prevent spread of smoke , dry
partition should be extended to the soffit
of slab instead of suspended ceiling
Internal Partition
Performance Requirement
Strength & Stability Appearance & Durability
• need to resist various types of loadings. • Ease of maintenance
• These can include daily impact loading • Design and finishes
such as doors closing or people leaning
against it.
• In addition partitions may be required to
carry permanent loads such as shelves
and wash basins.
Internal Partition
Performance Requirement
Services Accommodation
• As buildings have become more highly
serviced and the need to alter or
maintain those services becomes more
frequent
• Partitions have been used as a space to
place some of these services,
particularly electrical and
communications cables.
• If the engineer is intending to use voids
within partitions for services he must
ensure not only that space is adequate,
but that after installation, the services
can be accessed for repair and
maintenance.
Internal Partition
Performance Requirement
Ease of Construction
• Leveling
• Building services above
• Services penetration
• Construction of doors
• Level of fire rating and noise reduction
Partition
Reputable Brand
www.fermacell.co.uk
Fermacell
The end…