HI All

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:38:48 -0000, "Ron Lowe"
ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS wrote:

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
Working in a local new build today, houses are springing up all over the
place round here.

Fixed a clock to a wall, single screw, clock had one of those upside down
keyhole slots. Downstairs cloakroom was on the other side of the wall.
Fixed a towel rail to the wall. Tapped the plugs into the holes with the
handle of a screwdriver and the wall shook so badly the bloody clock fell
off! Landed on a settee luckily and was undamaged.

Still in the downstairs cloak, fitting a toilet roll holder. Dropped a
screw, rested my forearm on the lid of the WC to reach down & get it & the
piggin lid cracked in half! As thick as a fag paper. Replaced it like
for like from B&Q for £8.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257





I was visiting my sister-in-law last year in Wem, Shropshire.
They've just moved into a new-build.

I had some minor DIY to do, messing about with sockets etc.
( In the heathen part-p lands south of the border, no less :-) )

All the non-structural internal partitions were constructed like this:

The internal 'framing' was metal ( I use the term 'metal' loosely, tinfoil
might be a better description. ) strips, along the roof and floor, and
uprights spaced alarmingly far apart ( well over 600mm, closer to 1000mm ).
No dwangs or noggins or whatever local term you like between the uprights.
Plasterboard on each side, attached like sails to this sparse tinfoil
chassis. Total thickness around 3".

This seems to be identical to the internal partitioning we have in some
portakabins at our work.

I'd be able to walk through it, if a took a determined stride towards it.
You daren't lean against it. There's no way on earth to mount anything
heavy on these walls ( cupboards, plasma TV etc ). You'd need to pull them
down and re-build with a decent timber frame.

The structural partitions were brickwork with plasterboard glued on to it
( 'dot-and-daub, it may be called? ).

Seems to be the modern ( cheap ) way.

When I worked for British Gypsum (the plaster & plasterboard people)
back in the late '70s - they were busily promoting all sorts of weird
& wonderful partitioning systems - including the Paramount (eggbox /
plasterboard sandwich), the metal-framing shceme that you describe
above (though I seem to recall that the verticals should be at 600mm
centres - as in 1/2 a plasterboard's width), and the laminated scheme
which was plasterboard glued to plasterboard.

However, I think that they were promoting these as _temporary_
solutions - particularly in places like offices & factories - where
flexible layouts were the key. One of the selling points of the
Paramount systems was that you could actually 'demount' (!) the whole
wall and re-erect it in a different location - when you redesign the
office layout.

I don't remember that these schemes were ever intended for long-term,
residential use - as someone rightly said - there's no real strength
in them - and, without putting in a lot of effort, their sound
insulation isn't brilliant.

Sounds like cheap & shoddy housebuilding, to me !

Adrian