We specialise in the supply and installation of jumbo stud wall partitions made from Fermacell board with prices starting from £36 per m2, see our jumbo stud wall partition prices. Using recycled materials the boards can be made up to 26m high and are robust (severe rating), fire resistant up to 3 hours and have high acoustic properties with high lateral strength. Installation is very quick because there is no need to use plywood backing, only one type of board is needed and no wet trades are required.

20 Year Warranty Supported by Fermacell

All our jumbo stud wall partitions come with a 20 year warranty supported by Fermacell boasting excellent acoustic and thermal properties. We can typically supply, install and commission your wall partitions within 2 weeks of an order being placed.

Our Products

General Properties and Applications for Jumbo Stud Wall Partitions

There are a vast array of construction systems and techniques to consider when specifying internal finishes.

For partitions, this is most apparent when the properties required of the finished wall call for more than one type of building board to be used in the construction. Hotel bathrooms, for example, often require Moisture Resistance with Acoustic Insulation and Fire Protection. Hospitals will add Impact Resistance and flexibility in accepting wall mounted fittings to this. These criteria almost always demand compromise solutions involving specialist board selection and composite layers, often with costly and time consuming consequences. This in turn creates the potential for confusion, both at detailed drawing stage and on site. Additionally, multiple layering inevitably means thicker walls.

Fermacell jumbo stud wall partitions offer a unique, single point solution to these problems, combining high levels of Fire Resistance, Acoustic Insulation and Impact Strength with exceptional Screw Holding ability and inherent Moisture Resistance.

From Commercial Projects through to DIY, Fermacell can reap rewards. Fermacell requires minimal additional work prior to painting and decorating. Wallpapers and tiles can be applied directly to the board, and plaster smooth finishes, which are ready to paint in about 45 minutes can be achieved by non-skilled trades using our FST (Fine Surface Treatment) system.

The end result is a finished partition that combines the properties associated with solid masonry with the flexibility of drywall, in a construction that is often thinner, quicker and cheaper to install than both. Using a multi-purpose board that eliminates unnecessary wet trades makes practical, technical and commercial sense.

Modern construction needs modern materials

Design innovation combined with increasing pressure from Building Regulations means that materials must save time and money on site and offer technically superior solutions. Fermacell is one such material. A high performance multi-purpose building board that when installed combines the properties of solid blockwork with the speed and flexibility of conventional drywall techniques, letting designers use radical solutions in internal space planning.

Composition

Fermacell jumbo stud wall partitions are produced using ordinary materials in an extraordinary way. Recycled gypsum, recycled cellulose fibres from post consumer waste paper and recycled water are combined to form a homogenous mass, which is then formed into a dense sheet material. After drying, the large format boards are cut to size. The manufacturing technique is not only unique because of the material it produces, but also due to the fact that the process itself is fully recycling – all by-products are fed back into the system, ensuring no waste is produced. Both the product and the process have been awarded the coveted Rosenheim Institute of Construction Biology and Ecology certificate. Fermacell boards are third party accredited by BBA, ETA and the ECO Instute.

Fire Resistance

All materials used in construction in England and Wales must meet “reaction to fire” and “fire resistance” performance criteria. The “reaction to fire” regulations deal with the potential contribution to a fire that basic materials may make and carry the award of a Class 0 Materials of Limited Combustibility classification covering ignitability, fire propagation as well as Class 1 surface spread of flame.

Fermacell Gypsum Fibreboards carry this Class 0 classification together with Euroclass A2, the second highest performance level under new EU rules of appropriately tested gypsum wallboards. Fermacell also carries a class 1 surface spread of flame certification, the highest achievable.

The “fire resistance” performance criteria deal with the duration that a complete construction can delay the collapse of a building that is burning, or even how long it can prevent a fire from spreading from one room or one property to another. The effectiveness of the construction is measured in the number of minutes achieved in a variety of British Standard tests.

These tests have become more stringent with the introduction of new EU fire resistance tests – the BS EN 1363 series – which will use plate thermocouples to give a slower reaction to rises in temperature leading to a requirement for additional heat to follow what is nominally the same time/temperature curve as specified in BS 476.

Fermacell have solutions for loadbearing and non-loadbearing constructions, as well as K ratings and assessments for non-standard details. Please contact the Fermacell Technical Helpline for further information.

Acoustics

What is acoustics? - The term “acoustics” embraces all aspects of sound: its generation, spread, reduction and reception in the spoken word, music and all other forms of audio. Airborne sources of sound, generated in the air by a vibrating object, include:

  • the human voice
  • radio and television
  • loudspeakers
  • musical instruments
  • machinery

Unwanted or intrusive sound is normally referred to as “noise”.

What are decibels? - Sound is measured by comparing the pressure wave it creates as it travels from its source with the nominal threshold of hearing pressure and then compressing the range using a logarithmic scale. The result is the decibel scale, which starts at 0 dB – the point at which humans begin to hear sound – and progresses to 140 dB, the point at which a single short noise is likely to irreparably damage hearing. The scale enables sound levels picked up by the ear to be easily and meaningfully analysed – even a 3 dB change in sound pressure level is considered significant.

What is sound frequency? - The vibrations that produce individual sounds are measured in cycles per second and written in hertz (Hz) units which are termed the “frequency”. The human ear, which picks up sound from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, has varying sensitivities to different frequencies although the optimum range is between 1,000 Hz to 4,000 Hz.

What is pitch? - Pitch is another term for frequency.

Acoustics - An Introduction to Part E

The Approved Document E is guidance to acoustic performance standards for houses, flats, schools, hotels and hostel types of accommodation. Whether new build or material change of use, all projects have different criteria, to improve the sound insulation and privacy between domestic and residential rooms.

There are several ways of approaching compliance, primarily with the design of separating walls and floors that will meet and exceed the requirements in the guidance document. The onus is then on the installer to ensure good on site workmanship and consideration to the prevention of flanking transmission around the installed systems. As Part E sets out a requirement for 10% precompletion site testing of separating (party) walls and floors, builders will need to prove, by site testing, that the sound insulation meets the requirements of the new regulations.

Acoustic failure will prove costly.

New build dwellings are exempt if built with approved Robust Details (RDs), however sample testing is still carried out.

Part E at a glance

E1 - The regulations to protect against sound from other parts of a building or adjoining buildings apply to dwelling houses, flats and “rooms for residential purposes” in hotels, hostels, boarding houses, halls of residence and care homes and call for pre-completion testing.

E2 - Internal walls and floors between bedrooms, WCs and other rooms are required to meet a specific laboratory test standard of airborne sound insulation of 40 dB Rw or by minimum mass calculations depending on construction. There is no requirement for pre-completion site testing.

E3 - Common internal areas of buildings containing flats or rooms for residential purposes must be designed to prevent more reverberation than is reasonable.

E4 - Acoustic insulation guidelines for schools – which require control of sound insulation, reverberation and indoor ambient noise levels are contained in Building Bulletin 93.

Scotland and Ireland - Fermacell can also provide solutions in relation to Scottish, Northern Irish and Irish building regulation requirements.

Part E and RD solutions

Fermacell Gypsum Fibreboard totally satisfies the requirements of Part E. It must be remembered that pre-completion tests must be carried out on site by an accredited third party test body on 10% of all different types of new dwellings. An alternative to pre-completion testing is the approval of separating (party) walls and floors for new builds only, as Robust Details (RDs). They will be deemed to satisfy Part E if they are built correctly. RD solutions used in projects other than new build will, however, be subject to pre-completion testing.

 

E&OE: Much of the information provided on this page has been provided courtesy of the Fermacell Orange Book.