Partition walls - How the metal partitions work?

[bwfc1965]

I am just about to embark on building several patition walls and have been told that the metal ones are both easy and efficent.

Can anyone advise on how the system works?

I have seen a part built one and it looks very easy!!

Do the metal stantions simply screw together? then the board is fixed to the stantions with screws?

Is it possible to place insulation between the boards?

What is a crimping tool and what is it used for?

Is there a special tool for cutting the stantions?

Lots of questions!!

If there is a web site that explains all this that would be very helpful.

[Nick Trollope]

Can anyone advise on how the system works?

The metal (Placostil by tradename, bits are called "rail" (horizontal) and montant (vertical)) replaces timber structure. Faster, lighter and stronger. Some love it, some hate it.

I have seen a part built one and it looks very easy!!

It is!

Do the metal stantions simply screw together? then the board is fixed to the stantions with screws?

They can, but I would crip them (see below). Boards are fitted to the Placo with appropriate (25mm drywall) screws.

Is it possible to place insulation between the boards?

Yes, 50mm rockwool is designed to go in.

What is a crimping tool and what is it used for?

Joining the bits. You will still need screws for some joints.

Is there a special tool for cutting the stantions?

Pair of tinsnips. Worth investing 100€ in the tools to do the job. Bags of info on the Placo website: http://prod-bpbplaco.integra.fr/bpb_fr

[bwfc1965]

Thanks Nick,

Web-site is good, but my French is still somewhat lagging behind!!

As for the crimping tool, how does that work? Does it just crimp the rail and monatnt together at the joints? What does the tool look like?

Also do you know of the best suppliers in the ploermel area?

 

[Catalpa]

There are different sizes too - giving you two sizes of finished partition walls. Sizes are 48mm (I think) or 90mm - before placo is applied. We've used 90mm as it's a permanent home rather than a holiday home and therefore used 100mm insulation to help with limiting sound transmission between rooms.

TOH was a builder in the UK so was well used to wooden studwork - he loves this metal system. As NickTrollope says, the tools are definitely worth the investment... well, depending how many partitions you're erecting, I suppose. Cordless screwdriver for the special screws is also helpful but it needs to be quite powerful.

[Gastines]

I have crimper and cutters if anyone near to me ,10mins St.Malo port, needs to borrow them for a week or two. Also worth thinking about is that if you double board, obviously placing full board over last board join, you get extra fire protection. This system is easy to tape and joint and if done with 3 coats on a joint,each one with a slightly wider trowel, then wash over with a flat sponge, you can get a perfect finish and avoids the need for plastering. I used to seal the entire boarded area with a weak wash of PVA to get a good surface for emulsion or paper.

Regards. B&B St.Malo....ourinns.org

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="bwfc1965"]

Thanks Nick,

Web-site is good, but my French is still somewhat lagging behind!!

As for the crimping tool, how does that work? Does it just crimp the rail and monatnt together at the joints? What does the tool look like?

Also do you know of the best suppliers in the ploermel area?

 

[/quote]

It works like a stapler without staples. It cuts 2 tags in both pieces and then folds them around. Available everywhere and they look like.... errr... crimp tools - it should be obvious when you see them on the shelves.

Don't know Ploermel (that well) - but any builders merchants (Point P, CQM etc etc) and all the Brico's will have all the bits. Be aware that the Brico's can be very expensive for Placostil.

[bwfc1965]

Thanks everyone. I will be giving the metal partitions a go next month.

Just one last question:

I notice that some people put montant at 500mm i.e. half way across the 1000mm board to provide extra strength. Is this necessary?

Oh yes and anyone got any tips on cutting the board to the contour of the beams for the ceiling?

[Catalpa]

The board we are using (southern Normandy though I can’t see location should make a dimensional difference) is 1200 wide. Min recommended distance for montants is 600mm and if you want it really strong, put them in every 400mm. In my OH's opinion, montant at the edge of each board would be very weak and you couldn’t easily double up the board as there’d be nothing to screw the board to. But as TOH just said, chat to the guys at the builders’ merchants and see what they recommend. If all else fails, the Lafarge brand is available in the UK and there’s a website if your French is not too good yet. 

Cutting the  board to the contour of the beams...

Do you mean fitting the plasterboard between beams? Or you've got a horizontal beam and you want to fit the board in the horizontal plane to the beam. Whatever, difficult to explain but not difficult to do. And if I explain someone else may be able to either clarify my explanation... or provide a better procedure. [:)]

It's basically how you would cut flooring - tiles or even vinyl - around doors / architraves. If you find a book that explains this with pictures, you can apply the same principle.

Hold an offcut or something similar to the beam in whichever plane but make sure it has a straight edge - at least the first time.

The straight edge allows you to reference it against the straight edge of the plasterboard you are going to cut - it's a template.

Push the board to the lowest point of the beam so that it is touching the beam in at least one place - depending how curvy the beam is.

Locate the biggest gap and find something that fits exactly into this gap - if it's a piece of dowelling for eg, the diameter must be sufficient to touch the beam and the plasterboard at the same time. A pair of dividers would work.

Prop / screw / nail the offcut to something to hold it firmly - it mustn't move.

Run your piece of dowelling (or whatever) along the beam using something - pen, pencil - to mark underneath the dowel the profile of the beam. At the point nearest to the beam, the profile would dwindle to nothing.

Take down your offcut, cut along the profile line. Try it against the beam. Fine tune. Take a deep breath. Cut the plasterboard.

 

Did you get that [:-))] or can someone provide a better explanation? Or a different method?

[merasl]

Hello- sorry I can not supply any answer to the original posting but I have a question about these metal partitions. I have these in my new-build house and I want to install wall units in the kitchen. Is it best to tap into the metal struts to secure the units or use those butterfly type screws that expand within the cavity? I'm thinking the latter may not be strong enough to support the 15kg weight of the (empty) wall cupboards, yet the metal struts may not be of sufficient thicknes to tap in a screw thread. Has anyone got any experience of how to go about this please?

[steve]

use dry wall fixings, redidrivers, also available for heavy duty stuff. i have used them hundreds of times without any problems. also a couple of blobs of gripfill on the back . wont do any harm as long as you dont want to take the units back down again, and in my experience you only take them back of the wall when it is time for renewal. i dont know what the french name is though !

[merasl]

Many thanks Steve for your prompt reply. Found Redidrivas in the Screwfix catalogue so will order them up before I return to France. Cheers