FAQ's
Cat A fit-out usually comprises a basic landlord fit out that gives the tenant a blank canvas. Part of the Cat A fit-out will include permanent solid partition walls spanning floor and ceiling slab to enclose lift, stairs, toilet and mechanical services areas but the rest of the area will usually be a huge open space. The tenant usually puts their own stamp on the building by fitting out the space with a Cat B fit-out to create meeting rooms, smaller offices and break-out spaces with a variety of relocatable partitioning that can be removed or relocated on moving out the offices.
A relocatable partition sits between the ceiling and floor and is largely unabused by removal, apart from some fixings and sealant. Relocatable partition walls are suitable for the length of a tenancy and their removal doesn’t create much damage. All our partition walls are demountable apart from Solid, Jumbo Stud and Timber partitioning. Is relocatable partitioning for you?
Relocatable partition walls can be re-used and repurposed many times as neither the partitioning nor the adjacent ceiling, walls and flooring receive much damage on removal/relocation so require very little making good. Therefore, relocatable partitioning is a cost-effective solution that is particularly useful if you plan to change the layout of your offices from time to time or think you will relocate offices. Relocatable partitioning also offsets your tax payments as it qualifies for Capital allowances.
Our quickest, neatest and simplest partition to relocate is our framed glass system. It can be moved easily and quietly while staff work alongside in the office and virtually all components can be re-used, depending on the new layout required.
Where space is tight, such as in a meeting room or individual offices, the location of the door is often a critical difference between a spacious and easy to navigate room and a cramped obstacle-course. Locating a door in the corner of an office or meeting room creates a clear pathway around protruding furniture and makes use of dead corner space that is not often easy to use otherwise. Where there are several single offices side by side, positioning two doors adjacent to create symmetrical offices is more efficient in many respects such as electrical supply, materials usage and staff circulation. Locating doors of meeting rooms close to main thoroughfares is also important if you want to encourage use of the room as staff are much more likely to drop in than if located far away at the end of a remote corridor.
To view the typical doors we install:
- Timber Doors
- Frameless Glass Doors
- Sliding Glass Doors
- Framed Glass Doors
A partition wall fire rating has two numbers, the first is integrity and the second is insulation.
Integrity: How long the partition wall holds fire itself back to allow safe exit of the building (minutes).
Insulation: How long the partition wall holds back the effects of the fire (minutes). In other words, how long the partition wall stops the passage of more than 140⁰C heat through a partition to allow safe exit of the building.
For example, a 30/30 rating means that the partition wall will hold back a fire and allow safe exit on the other side for 30 minutes after a fire starts. Compare the fire-ratings of all our partition walls here and for more detail, click on the partitioning page of your choice to view the performance table. If you are unsure what fire rating you require, our experienced surveyors will be able to advise.
Partition walls have a different level of sound reduction to each other, and you may be wondering what sound reduction you need. Our brief guide outlines what sort of rating you require:
dB Effect
25 Normal speech easily overheard
30 Loud speech clearly overheard
35 Loud speech can be distinguished
40 Loud speech heard but not intelligible
45 Loud speech heard faintly
50 Loud speech and shouting can be heard with difficulty
British Standard 5234: 1992: Partition walls suggests that the sound insulation performance levels of a general office or non-confidential meeting room should be Rw 38dB and a private office or board room should be Rw 44dB. For very confidential meeting spaces or loud collaborative areas, look at a rating of up to 55dB. To view the performance table on your preferred partition wall, click here. Please note that the rating will vary depending on sound performance of the ceiling, wall and floor that the partition buts up to and the perceived performance will vary depending on the size of rooms and typical noise levels in each.
The standard height of doors is either 1981mm or 2040mm high. However, installation of a full height door stretches from floor to ceiling. This creates a more dramatic entrance and contemporary feel and draws the eye towards it. Therefore, a full height door is ideal for use in main thoroughfares or customer facing areas as it draws people towards it. It also lets more light in to a space when open. Remember your preference when you select your door type in the partition calculator.
The FD code shows how many minutes of fire a door can withstand, for example, an FD30 door has been tested to withstand 30 minutes of fire. The most common two codes are generally considered to be FD30 and FD60. A fire door is usually made from solid timber and its edges will have an intumescent seal which expands and seals the gap when temperatures reach beyond 200C. They will usually be found on escape routes and where there is higher fire risk activity. Our experienced surveyors will be able to advise on your requirements. If you think you require a fire-rated door, remember to select a timber door or framed glass door in the partition calculator.
Firstly, do you have wall trunking, electrical sockets chased in the wall or floor boxes? It makes sense to mirror your new partition with other walls in the office and continue the same type of electrical supply.
Next, calculate how many people and how many items of equipment will require power from that wall.
Then double your figure and there is your answer. At Accolade, we advise two sockets per person as standard and that you double the equipment count to allow spare sockets for any extra power requirements you may have in the future.
It is easiest to carry electrics through a solid partition but it is possible to run a supply through the skirting of framed partitioning.
Accolade’s highly trained partition wall fitters keep your staff safe when installing partitioning by taking some of the following measures, depending upon site conditions:
- Taping off working area to staff
- Two man lift for bulky lengths of materials to prevent collision with other staff
- Using battery powered tools to prevent running of cables to create a trip hazard.
- Following RAMS that can be forwarded to the client prior to installation.
- Using low noise equipment or putting noise control
- procedures in place.
Maintaining a safe and tidy work environment. - Cover furniture and floor and hoover up afterwards to maintain a tidy work environment.
Accolade use Citation Health and Safety Accreditation to maintain its Health and Safety standards.
- Choose your office layout (depending on the size of the office, there may be several options). Use gaffer tope to mark out on the floor where you want the partition walls to be placed.
- Establish the length of the partition walls in metres by simply measuring the length of the gaffer tape you placed on the floor. Make sure you measure from the outside edge of any obstacles.
- Measure the height of the room, floor to ceiling, of the room in metres. Take the measurement in 3 different places, ideally to the right, left and centre of partition wall as ceilings can sometimes be uneven.
- Check whether the floor is even by placing a spirit level on the floor and ensure that the bubble is centrally located between the two black lines.
Once you’ve noted down all your measurements, head to our quote calculator to estimate the cost of your partition wall. The calculator is intended as a general guide to how much your project will cost. If you do decide to proceed, we will provide you with a quotation based upon site specific details.
It depends. However, that statement doesn’t really help you when you are looking to budget for a new partition wall. So, we have created a quote calculator that allows you to generate an estimate of what a new partition wall will cost you.
Accolade provides a full personalised survey and installation service and if you looked to proceed, our experienced surveyors would visit site to measure up the space, double check the best layout to meet your needs and check for building features such as electrical points, pillars, lights etc. and that the partition will provide a sufficient sound rating. We would then generate a quotation from which you can easily place an order in the confidence that your partitioning will be installed exactly as you expect.
If you already have architect’s drawings and/or specification of the partitioning that you require, please email your enquiry to mail@accoladeci.com and our estimating team will be glad to generate a quotation based upon your specific requirements.
