Office Partitions

Working in a large office space can bring a number of unique difficulties. Distraction and noise can make larger office interiors difficult without a system in place to separate workers. Office partitions have been used for many decades to effectively segment office spaces, give privacy, and reduce noise. In a modern office, you will have many types of partition available, from classic dividers, to standalone office cubicles, installing internal walls, and using demountable glass partitions to segment your office. In this guide from Building Materials Nationwide, we’ll take a look through the various types of partitioning system, examining the strengths and weaknesses of each choice.

The Benefits of Office Partitions

Office partition walls can help transform a work environment into a vastly more pleasurable place to work. Utilising office partitions intelligently can improve privacy, comfort, and utility. In a large open plan office environment, it can be difficult to find privacy, either for work or personal matters. The use of office partitions can create smaller private spaces allowing important work to be conducted. There can also be an overwhelming level of noise and distraction within an open office environment, and the use of office partitions can limit and contain noise, or give separate spaces with acoustic reduction. Acoustic partitions can be especially useful in industrial offices, with high levels of background noise. Finally, creative use of office partitions can enliven a drab work environment, bringing style to your workspaces.

Screen Dividers

Screen dividers are the classic office partition, evoking the classic look of cubicle offices in the 1980s. While fabric screens were considered the standard then, today there is a far wider range of products available. Partition panels, such as fabric screens, can be used to divide a larger office area into individual cubicles, offering a private space and acoustic support for each user. If you want to maintain sightlines but still give acoustic resistance, glass, perspex, and acrylic room dividers are also available. Smaller desk screens or desk dividers can also be used to maintain social distancing within an office environment, avoiding the spread of germs. 

Acoustic partition panels can also be used to create breakout meeting spaces, giving some privacy easily within an office space. These screens can come in models pre-designed to make cubicles, or as portable partitions on wheels, allowing you to easily reconfigure your spaces. If looking to divide a large office space into a series of segmented cubicles, then screen dividers are a great office partition choice.

The fundamental issues with using partition panels for office partitions are both aesthetic and practical. Modern office designs have turned away from the fabric faced cubicles of the past, instead focusing on open plan designs and glass-walled rooms. Practically, screen dividers will only offer a certain degree of privacy and sound reduction. They can work as functional and affordable office partitions, but have clear limits.

Standalone Office Cubicles

For a fixed office partition, a standalone office cubicle could be a good choice, providing breakout spaces that are private and soundproofed. Standalone office cubicles come in various arrangements, either contained benches with an open roof, or closed roof pods or cubicles with office furniture inside. They can be designed for one employee to use as a zoom booth, or be large enough to host a company meeting. As they are standalone they can be moved throughout an office easily.

Standalone office cubicles can come in a variety of styles, including sleek glass panes. If you are looking for a dedicated meeting space within a noisy office, or even quiet breakaway pods for employees, they can offer a workable solution. They can also be combined with other office partitions within busy work areas.

Internal Walls

A more permanent office partition option would be to install non load-bearing walls, made from timber or metal studs. This brings with it clear advantages and disadvantages. Building internal stud walls can be a time-consuming process, and can render your office unusable for some length of time. 

Stud walls are built from fitted metal or timber studs. They can be filled with acoustic insulation and covered on each side with plasterboards, allowing them to be decorated however you see fit. These partition walls will be permanent additions to your office, that can offer strong levels of sound insulation and be decorated to blend with any environment.

The difficulties with this process involve the complex installation process, but also the permanent nature of it. Should you wish to reconfigure your office space, you would need to remove and replace your internal stud walls, a costly and wasteful process.

Using fixed partition walls as a method of office partition will give you customised rooms, either for private offices or meetings. It will offer a high level of acoustic insulation, and also can be decorated to blend aesthetically with your office, whether classical or modern. Building internal walls will be expensive, but will offer a permanently changed office space. The drawbacks then are the difficulties and mess involved with their installation and movement. If looking to permanently change your office space, then building internal walls can be a great choice for office partitions.

Demountable Partition Walls

Demountable glass partitions can offer a great solution to breaking up your office space. They can be ordered and fitted within your office easily, creating meeting rooms, personal offices, and simply dividing large office areas into smaller ones. Floor to ceiling demountable glass partition walls are quick to install, giving you stylish, noise-reducing rooms throughout your office area.

Another benefit is that, just as they are easy to install, they are easy to reconfigure. If you are a growing company, and may be looking to change the layout of your office partitions as the years' pass, then demountable partitions can bring clear benefits, with quick and cost-effective removal and installation. Demountable partitions can be made from a variety of glass types, with options for frosted glass. They can be configured with wooden or glass doors, perfect for building private rooms within an office. Demountable glass partitions are stylish, blending well with modern office environments.

Our Range of Quality Office Partitions

Building Materials Nationwide sells a wide variety of office partition supplies. We have everything you could need to build an internal wall, with metal studs and timber studs available. We have a great range of acoustic insulation that could be installed within a stud wall. We also have a variety of plasterboarding to be installed over your stud walls.

We also stock a range of demountable office partitions, available in both framed glass and frameless glass models. Framed glass demountable office partitions offer more sound insulation, with rigid structural definitions. We can cut glass panels to your own specifications, from standard or laminated glass, in a variety of thicknesses. For high levels of noise reduction, we have options for double glazed partitions, perfect for a meeting room or private office.

Frameless glass demountable office partitions allow for more intricate designs, whilst still offering solid acoustic performance. They can be built to the definitions of your office, in various types of glass including toughened, laminated, fire-rated, and acoustic. Frameless partitions can also be designed to contain a range of doors, such as our range of office doors.

We aim to remove the hassle that can come with sourcing building components. Whether you are looking to buy new partitioning for your own office, or for a building project you are undertaking, we stock a great range of products, at competitive prices, with UK wide delivery options. We also offer trade accounts for our customers in the industry. Our trade account holders will be paired with a dedicated account manager, who can help them with large orders, or even to order products not listed on our website.

Sign up for a trade account today through our website, and don’t hesitate to give us a call if you need any more information on our range of office partitions.