Plasterboard partitions, ceilings and loft conversions

A stud partition can divide a large bedroom in two, create a walk-in wardrobe or an en suite, or separate a home office. Metal studs are standard in commercial fit-outs, timber is still common in houses. The specification decides how the wall performs: the board type and thickness, the number of layers, and whether the cavity is filled with mineral wool for sound.

Moving walls affects more than the layout. A new bedroom created by a partition still needs a window or ventilation, and in a house with a loft room or three storeys the escape route matters. Taking a wall out is a different job altogether. Before any existing wall is removed, someone competent needs to confirm whether it is load-bearing; if it is, you need structural calculations, usually a steel or timber beam, and Building Regulations approval.

Suspended ceilings hide services in offices, shops and clinics and give access to them through removable tiles. In commercial buildings the ceiling and partitions are often part of the fire strategy, so the fit-out has to keep fire compartments and cavity barriers intact and keep fire-stopping around every cable and duct that passes through. Tell the contractor if the premises are leased; landlords usually require approval of the design and the contractor's insurance and method statements before work starts.

For a business buyer, a good specification names the board system and its tested performance, not just the wall thickness. Ask for the manufacturer's system reference so that what gets built matches what was tested.

Noise between rooms or between a house and its neighbour is one of the most common reasons people ask for extra layers of board, resilient bars, independent linings or acoustic insulation. Results depend heavily on detailing: a gap at the ceiling or a back-to-back socket box can undo much of the benefit.

Where a building is converted into flats, sound insulation between the new dwellings has to meet Part E of the Building Regulations in England, and fire separation has to meet Part B. That is design and Building Control work, not something to improvise with an extra sheet of plasterboard.

In England, many loft conversions on houses are permitted development and need no planning application. The Planning Portal sets the conditions: the added roof space must not exceed 40 cubic metres for terraced houses or 50 cubic metres for other houses, including any earlier roof extensions; it must not go higher than the existing roof; dormers must not extend beyond the roof slope on the principal elevation facing a highway; materials must look similar to the house; and side-facing windows must be obscure-glazed. Flats and maisonettes have no such rights, and neither do houses in conservation areas, National Parks and other designated land. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.

Building Regulations approval is required to turn a loft into a liveable room, whatever the planning position. Building Control looks at the strength of the new floor, the stability of the roof once rafters and ties are altered, safe stairs to the new floor, sound insulation to the rooms below and, above all, escape from fire. On a typical two-storey house, a loft conversion usually means fire-resisting doors onto the stairway and sometimes new partitions to protect it, because escaping through windows above the first floor is too dangerous. Mains-powered, interlinked smoke alarms are needed in the stairway at each level.

Loft work may also involve the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, for example when steel beams are set into a wall shared with the neighbour, and bats in the roof, which are a protected species and may need a survey. In Scotland, a building warrant is needed before work starts.

Source: planningportal.co.uk

• the type of work: partition, ceiling, acoustic upgrade, loft conversion
• house, flat or commercial premises, and whether you own or lease it
• approximate room sizes and ceiling heights
• for a loft: the house type, roof shape, and whether you want dormers or roof windows
• whether you already have drawings, structural calculations or Building Control approval
• whether the finish should be skimmed, taped and jointed, or ready for decoration
• for businesses: working hours, landlord approvals and site rules

Once your phone number and email address are confirmed, partitioning and loft businesses in your area can see the job without your name or contact details. Exactly one can buy it; the request then leaves the list and nobody else is offered it. The business pays Offrano, and you are not charged.

We email you the business's name, address and phone number before it sees your details. There is no guarantee that a business will take the request, and unsold requests are withdrawn after 21 days. Offrano checks only that buyers are registered businesses. For a loft conversion, ask who prepares drawings and calculations and which Building Control body will sign off the work.