Partition Comprising Boards Mounted Onto Upright Elongate Members and Method For Constructing The Same

Abstract

A partition (10), mounted on a mounting surface, comprises a plurality of elongate upright members (16, 18), a first board (20) and a second board (22). The first board is mounted on one side of a pair of the elongate upright members that are adjacent to each other, and the second board is mounted on the other side of the same pair of adjacent elongate upright members, so as to provide a cavity (24) between the pair of elongate upright members and the first and second boards. The partition further comprises a spacer (26) that is located within the cavity, the maximum dimension of the spacer in the through-thickness direction of the partition being at least 90% of the separation of the two boards. The spacer may help to reduce the extent of inward bowing of the boards between adjacent elongate upright members, so that, for example, the upright members may be spaced further apart

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A partition mounted on a mounting surface, the partition comprising a plurality of elongate upright members; the partition further comprising a first board and a second board, the first board being mounted on one side of a pair of the elongate upright members that are adjacent to each other, and the second board being mounted on the other side of the same pair of adjacent elongate upright members, so as to define a cavity between the pair of elongate upright members and the first and second boards; the partition further comprising a spacer, the spacer being located within the cavity defined by the pair of adjacent elongate upright members and the first and second boards, the maximum dimension of the spacer in the through-thickness direction of the partition being at least 90% of the separation of the two boards; the partition being configured such that the spacer does not provide a load-transferring cross-member between the pair of adjacent elongate upright members; the partition being further configured such that the spacer does not provide a load-transferring member between the mounting surface and either of the first and second boards, wherein the spacer contacts both the first and second boards, and the partition being configured such that the spacer experiences compressive loading in the through-thickness direction of the partition.

17. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the spacer does not contact either of the elongate upright members.

18. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the spacer has a maximum dimension of 200 mm.

19. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the distance between the pair of adjacent elongate upright members is at least 700 mm.

20. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the first board comprises hydraulic cement or gypsum as its principal component by weight.

21. A partition according to claim 20, wherein the first board comprises a gypsum matrix having fibres distributed therein, the fibres being present in an amount of at least 1 wt % relative to the weight of the gypsum.

22. A partition according to claim 20 wherein the first board comprises a gypsum matrix having a polymeric component distributed therein in an amount of at least 5 wt % relative to the weight of the gypsum.

23. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the principal component of the spacer, measured by weight, is a porous polymer.

24. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the principal component of the spacer, measured by weight, is expanded polystyrene.

25. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the spacer has a density less than 60 kg/m.sup.3.

26. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the spacer is affixed to one of the first or second boards by means of an adhesive.

27. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the flexural stiffness of the first board in at least one in-plane direction of the board is at least 3.5 GPa.

28. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the flexural stiffness of the first board in at least one in-plane direction of the board is at least 5 GPa.

29. A partition according to claim 16, wherein the spacer does not contact either of the elongate upright members and has a maximum dimension of 200 mm; wherein the distance between the pair of adjacent elongate upright members is at least 700 mm; wherein the first board comprises hydraulic cement or gypsum as its principal component by weight; wherein the principal component of the spacer, measured by weight, is a porous polymer; and wherein the flexural stiffness of the first board in at least one in-plane direction of the board is at least 3.5 GPa.

30. A method of constructing a partition according to claim 16, the method comprising: providing a plurality of elongate upright members; mounting a first board onto one side of a pair of the elongate upright members that are adjacent to each other, such that the first board spans the gap between the pair of adjacent elongate upright members and contacts the elongate upright members on its inner face; affixing a spacer onto the face of the first board that contacts the elongate upright members; and mounting a second board onto the other side of the pair of adjacent elongate upright members, such that the second board spans the gap between the pair of adjacent elongate upright members, wherein after the steps of affixing the spacer to the first board and mounting the first board onto the pair of adjacent elongate upright members, and before the step of mounting the second board onto the pair of adjacent elongate upright members, the spacer projects from the inner face of the first board by an amount that is greater than the thickness of the elongate upright members in the same direction.

31. A method according to claim 30, wherein the step of affixing the spacer onto the face of the first board comprises removing a tab from a surface of the spacer to expose an adhesive layer.

32. A method according to claim 30 wherein the spacer projects from the inner face of the first board by an amount that is at least 0.5% greater than the thickness of the elongate upright members in the same direction.

33. A method according to claim 30 wherein the spacer projects from the inner face of the first board by an amount that is at least 2% greater than the thickness of the elongate upright members in the same direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following Figures in which:

[0071] FIG. 1 shows a schematic elevation view of a partition according an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention. The boards are shown only in outline, so as not to obscure the interior detail of the partition;

[0072] FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of a partition according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention. The upper horizontal stud is not shown.

[0073] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a partition 10 is shown. The partition comprises a stud framework comprising upper and lower horizontal studs 12, 14 and a pair of adjacent upright studs 16, 18.

[0074] Each of the upper and lower horizontal studs 12, 14 and the upright studs 16, 18 is provided by an elongate element that has been formed from e.g. steel or wood. The studs may each have e.g. a square cross-section, a rectangular cross-section, a C-shape cross-section, or a U-shape cross-section, as is known in the art.

[0075] The upper horizontal stud 12 is typically adjacent the ceiling of a room, while the lower horizontal stud 14 is typically adjacent the floor of that room.

[0076] The upright studs 16,18 are mounted onto the upper horizontal stud 12 and the lower horizontal stud 14, as is known in the art, and are spaced 900 mm apart. A first board 20 is mounted onto a first side of the stud framework using screws and/or nails, as is known in the art. The first board has a width of 900 mm and a height of 2400 mm, and is positioned to extend from upright stud 16 to adjacent upright stud 18 and from lower horizontal stud 14 to upper horizontal stud 12.

[0077] A second board 22 (shown in FIG. 2) is mounted onto a second side of the stud framework, using nails and/or screws, as is known in the art. The second board has the same dimensions as the first board 20 and is positioned in face-to-face correspondence with the first board 20. That is, the second board is positioned to extend from upright stud 16 to adjacent upright stud 18 and from lower horizontal stud 14 to upper horizontal stud 12. This is in contrast with certain arrangements known from the prior art, in which boards are mounted onto a stud framework in a staggered configuration, that is, the boards are offset from each other in a horizontal direction of the stud framework.

[0078] The flexural stiffness of the first board 20 in at least one in-plane direction of the board is at least 3.5 GPa, preferably at least 4.5 GPa, more preferably at least 5 GPa. The first board may be e.g. one of the following: [0079] A plasterboard having a gypsum matrix and preferably having fibres and/or a polymeric additive distributed within the matrix. The fibres may be e.g. glass fibres. The fibres may be present in an amount of at least 1 wt % relative to the gypsum matrix. The polymeric additive may be e.g. starch or a synthetic polymer. The polymeric additive may be present in an amount of at least 1 wt % relative to the gypsum matrix. The plasterboard may have a liner on one or both faces. The liner may be e.g. a paper liner or a fibreglass mat; [0080] A gypsum fibreboard, that is, a board having a gypsum matrix and about 15-25 wt % cellulose fibres distributed within the gypsum matrix. The faces of gypsum fibreboards are typically not provided with lining sheets; [0081] A cement board, that is, a board comprising hydraulic cement as its principal component by weight; [0082] Impact-resistant gypsum panels comprising a high-density core and facers provided by heavyweight paper liners or fibreglass mats, such as the panels manufactured according to ASTM C1629.

[0083] Typically, the second board has the same composition and properties as the first board. However, in certain embodiments, the composition and/or properties of the second board may be different from those of the first board.

[0084] The two boards 20, 22, the upright studs 16, 18 and the horizontal studs 12, 14 define a cavity 24 therebetween. The dimension of the cavity in the through-thickness direction of the partition 10 is e.g. 50 mm in certain embodiments or 70 mm in other embodiments.

[0085] A spacer 26 is located inside the cavity 24. The spacer 26 is approximately equidistant between the adjacent upright studs 16, 18 and approximately equidistant between the upper horizontal stud 12 and the lower horizontal stud 14.

[0086] The spacer 26 is provided by a block of expanded polystyrene having a cuboid shape. Two opposed faces of the spacer 26 are in respective face-to-face contact with the inner face of the first board 20 and the inner face of the second board 22 (the inner faces of the boards 20, 22 being the faces that are oriented towards the cavity 24). The spacer 26 is not in direct contact with any part of the stud framework.

[0087] The spacer 26 is typically attached to the inner face of the first or second board by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive. However, in certain embodiments, a different adhesive may be present, such as a hot melt adhesive. In certain embodiments, the spacer may be glued to the inner faces of both the first and second boards. The thickness of the adhesive may be e.g. 0.15 mm.

[0088] The faces of the spacer that are respectively in contact with the inner faces of the first and second boards 20, 22 typically have dimensions of 110 mm by 110 mm.

[0089] The spacer 26 comprises a resilient material. This allows it to be placed under compressive loading when held within the cavity 24, so that the thickness of the spacer corresponds to the distance between the inner faces of the first and second boards 20, 22. Before incorporation into the partition, the spacer has a thickness greater than this distance. For example, in the case that the dimension of the cavity in direction A is 50 mm, the thickness of the spacer before incorporation into the partition may be 51 mm. In the case that the dimension of the cavity in direction A is 70 mm, the thickness of the spacer before incorporation into the partition may be 71 mm. Thus, when incorporated into the partition, the spacer experiences a compressive strain of about 1-2%.

[0090] The density of the spacer 26 is about 15 kg/m.sup.3. The coefficient of linear expansion of the spacer is about 6010.sup.6/ C. The compressive strength of the spacer at 10% compression is about 70 kPa.

[0091] The partition 10 is made by constructing a stud framework from the studs 12, 14, 16, 18, as is known in the art. The first board is mounted on the framework such that its perimeter is superposed on the portion of the framework comprising the pair of adjacent upright studs 16, 18 and the sections of the horizontal studs 12, 14 lying therebetween. The board is mounted on the framework using e.g. nails or screws, as is known in the art.

[0092] The spacer 26 is glued to the inner face of the first board 20 by means of a pressure sensitive adhesive (the inner face of the first board 20 is the face that contacts the stud framework). For example, the spacer 26 may have a first tab on a first one of its surfaces, the tab covering a first adhesive layer. In that case, the first tab is removed to expose the adhesive layer (typically a pressure sensitive adhesive) and the spacer is glued to the inner face of the board.

[0093] The spacer may optionally also have a second tab on a second surface that is opposed to the first surface, the tab covering a second adhesive layer. In that case, the second tab is also removed to expose the second adhesive layer.

[0094] Whether or not the spacer has a second layer of adhesive, the second board 22 is mounted on the opposite side of the framework from the first board 20, using e.g. nails or screws, as is known in the art. Since the distance between the inner faces of the first and second boards is less than the original thickness of the spacer 26, this causes the spacer to be placed under compressive load.

[0095] Typically, further boards are mounted on each side of the stud framework in like manner to provide a continuous partition. The external surfaces of the boards may then be provided with a finishing plaster.

[0096] In use, the presence of the spacer 26 helps to reduce inward bowing of the first and/or second boards 20, 22, thus increasing perceived partition strength and helping to reduce the occurrence of cracks e.g. at the joints between adjacent boards.