How to choose and which profile to use for plasterboard partitions?

Plasterboard partitions are a common option for contemporary interior design. These dividers are adaptable to different room designs, simple to install, and multipurpose. To guarantee stability and durability, it is imperative to choose the appropriate profile.

There are various profile types that are appropriate for different purposes. Knowing how they differ from one another will enable you to choose wisely and complete your project with the greatest outcomes.

We’ll look at the many kinds of plasterboard profiles, their benefits, and how to pick the best one for your application in this guide. Whether you’re an expert or a do-it-yourselfer, this information will assist you in building a sturdy framework.

For plasterboard partitions, selecting the appropriate profile is essential to guaranteeing stability, longevity, and correct alignment. The ideal profile will vary depending on your project’s particular requirements, including wall height, load bearing capacity, and plasterboard type. Because of their strength and simplicity of installation, steel profiles are generally advised. Different options, such as C- and U-profiles, can be used to meet different structural requirements. Gaining an understanding of these profiles will enable you to design partitions that are durable and useful.

Highlights

The following factors and subtleties need to be carefully considered when selecting a galvanized or aluminum profile for plasterboard partitions installed in private or public buildings:

1. Steel quality, chemical composition.
2. Type of galvanization, number of layers of material.
3. Geometric characteristics of the cross section of the profile.
4. Element length – as a rule, in a standard design, most manufacturers produce parts from 3000 to 4000 mm.
5. The presence of stiffening ribs, which ensures better stability of the structure.
6. The presence of folding shelves for pairing racks with imposts.
7. Fire-resistant properties of the product, the maximum time period when the profile does not lose stability and does not collapse when exposed to open fire.
8. The presence of polymer anti-corrosion compounds that prevent the formation of rust on elements.
9. Availability of a certificate of conformity for products.
10. The seller has a quality certificate for the profile with a description of the main technical characteristics.
11. Assortment of the selected brand – to install the partition you will need starting, rack, distribution and other types of profiles, which are recommended to be purchased from one supplier.
12. The number of profiles in a batch, which determines the convenience and cost of logistics. This parameter is also affected by the profile length. Thus, if it is necessary to install a profile in an apartment with a ceiling height of 2900 mm, there is no need to buy profiles with a length of 4000 mm, as this will increase the cost of delivery and a large amount of trimming during installation.
13. One of the important indicators is also the retail price of the profile. If the price is too high, this may indicate both excellent quality and the aggressive marketing policy of the brand. At the same time, each profile element has its own cost, and too low a price per product unit indicates savings on steel, galvanization or low quality manufacturing of the structural element.
14. It is recommended to purchase profiles only from manufacturers who have their own album of standard solutions, which will simplify installation and guarantee the stability, reliability, and durability of the enclosing structure.

Notably, the popularity of the brand, the year of the company’s founding, and the quantity of favourable reviews left by pleased customers regarding the brand’s goods on independent Internet forums rank among the most crucial selection criteria.

How a novice should select a drywall profile:

Selection rules for gypsum board walls

Plasterboard partition profiles come in a variety of profiles, and depending on where this structural component will be installed, the consumer must consider a number of important factors when selecting the best product.

The guidelines for selecting gypsum plasterboard partition profiles based on the different types of enclosing structures are explained in detail below.

Which ones are needed inside residential premises??

The following guidelines are considered when installing partitions inside residential buildings when choosing and purchasing profiles to mount the supporting frame:

1. Economy – the amount of metal used in the production of the element,
2. Profile weight, presence of galvanized coating, density of steel or alloy.
3. Material – aluminum or black steel with galvanized coating.
4. Coincidence of geometric characteristics with the data of the quality certificate, minimum number of errors.
5. The number of melting of the racks with imposts.
6. The presence of perforation for the extension of the cables when organizing hidden wiring.
7. Mechanical strength of the product.
8. The flexibility indicator based on the height of the partition without additional enhancing elements.
9. The possibility of combining a profile with angular or reinforced elements to organize a partition rotation, or for the opening of the opening in the enclosing structure.

It should be noted that the functional purpose of this operated space affects the quality, physical and mechanical properties, and other parameters of the GKL sheet partitions in residential premises.

For instance, the installation of high-strength rack elements with a step of no more than 400 mm must be planned ahead of time in a children’s room where shock loads may occur. However, the bedroom does not require the device of supporting profiles of increased strength.

Non -residential

The increased intensity of use found in non-residential spaces (offices, commercial buildings, restaurant halls) means that several considerations should be made when purchasing profiles for plasterboard partitions. These considerations include:

1. Cross section writing profile area.
2. Number and depth of stiffeners.
3. Availability of laser perforations to increase the mechanical strength of the element.
4. Profile length, number of transverse mullions, as well as places for their fastening along the length of the rack.
5. Flexibility indicators of a linear structural element.
6. Thickness of the steel from which the profile is made.
7. Type of connection of the profile element with the wall and ceiling, number of rigid supports.

It is important to consider the distribution of communications within the body of the enclosing structures before installing partitions in non-residential premises.

In order to avoid drilling and trimming these profiles, which could weaken the section, it is advised to choose in advance profiles that are initially designed with perforations for pulling corrugations with wires.

Wet

A higher concentration of water vapor, which condenses on practically all surfaces, is a characteristic of damp rooms.

The air temperature is higher than the temperature on the wall’s plane. Accordingly, it is advised to consider a variety of factors and subtleties when buying profiles for partitions in bathrooms, kitchens, baths, and other similar spaces:

1. The thickness of the profile metal, which determines the rate of corrosion development.
2. High quality galvanization, which provides reliable protection of the profile metal from rust formation.
3. Chemical composition of steel, presence of alloying domains from non-ferrous metals.
4. Cross-sectional area of ​​the element, the presence of additional anti-corrosion polymer coatings.
5. Resistance of steel and finished element to temperature changes.

Vital. Most manufacturers typically include a quality passport with every batch of goods they produce. This passport lists all technical specifications along with the range of applications for the aluminum or galvanized profile.

A certificate of conformance attests to the fact that the product satisfies all physical and local requirements, and that no rapidly corroding materials were used in its manufacture. This information is reflected in this document.

Unheated

The temperature and humidity levels in unheated rooms used by buildings for different purposes are mostly dictated by the climate of the area in which the products are sold. In this instance, when buying profiles to build plasterboard partitions, the following guidelines have to be followed:

1. Resistance of the metal to sudden temperature changes, that is, the highest possible frost resistance.
2. Limit temperature expansion of the element.
3. The presence of play in the mating nodes, which is necessary for slight movement of metal at nodal points.
4. Anti-corrosion resistance, since when temperature changes occur, a dew point occurs, which leads to the formation of moisture on the structural element.
5. The special chemical composition of steel, as well as the presence of additives for galvanized coating, which increases the ductility of elements in severe frosts, without delamination of the coating.

It is important to remember that aluminum profiles or limited edition black steel products—which have an elastic polymer powder coating and enhanced strength—would be the best options for unheated rooms.

Fire hazardous

The strictest regulatory standards are applied to fire-hazardous premises in order to guarantee that load-bearing or enclosing structures meet the fire resistance threshold.

These partitions typically have a fire resistance limit of EI15 to EI60, depending on where they are installed and what their intended use is. When purchasing profiles to build these enclosing structures, the following details must be considered:

1. The most important parameter is the thickness of the steel, since the fire resistance limit of the structure depends on it.
2. Profile cross-section dimensions.
3. The number of layers of galvanization, which reliably protects the steel core of the profile from loss of shape stability.
4. Availability of special fire retardant composition of the element.
5. The number of stiffening ribs on the rack profile, on which the stability of its position depends, since, even if the metal is weakened, this element can be installed in the design position due to reinforcing notches.

Vital. It should be remembered that the resistance of different interconnected structural elements to temperature changes determines the general fire resistance limit of a partition in fire-hazardous rooms.

These particulars include profiles, well-insulated walls, cladding components made of gypsum plasterboard sheets, and finishing materials. As a result, the effects of high temperatures can only be partially absorbed by one profile.

For curly structures

Lancet windows, arched openings, and radius-outlined niches in walls and partitions are examples of figured structures. It is advised to consider several factors when building frames for these kinds of structural elements:

1. The number and depth of notches on the corner or distribution profile to allow you to set the desired radius of the structure.
2. The thickness of the steel, on which the maximum bending curvature of the metal element depends.
3. Profile length, since shaped flexible elements are not recommended to be joined at a radius. This can cause a weakening of the strength properties of the partition.
4. The number of places for interface units with racks – on a radius wall, most often, vertical profiles are installed more often and with uneven spacing.

Note: Depending on the bending radius of the structural element, the profile’s number of notches may change.

If a radial partition must be built, consideration should also be given to the metal’s thickness and the existence of stiffeners, the deformation of which could compromise the stability and strength of the entire structure.

TOP 5 best options

Here is a ranking of the TOP-5 most popular brands, models, and modifications of these structural elements on the market, along with an indication of the average retail prices for these products in the nation, to make the process of choosing the most appropriate and high-quality profile to be used in the creation of a partition frame from gypsum board easier.

PS-75x50x4000x0.65

The most widely used kind of rack profile, which is utilized to build sturdy partitions out of practically any kind of plasterboard.

Kindly take note. Superior structural steel with a thick double galvanized layer and four deep stiffening ribs on the wall and shelves set this design apart.

It is utilized in practice more frequently than other profile types because of its ideal cross-sectional dimensions. The wide wall guarantees accurate plasterboard sheet fastening, and the structural element’s moment of inertia permits the construction of partitions up to 4000 mm in height.

Producers:

Ratio: 450–550 rubles.

PS-50x50x3000x0.6

Installation guidelines for light partitions in restrooms, homes, and workplaces. The profiles feature local perforation to facilitate the easy pulling of hidden cables, in addition to the necessary stiffening ribs.

Vital. A minimum amount of trimming is guaranteed when utilizing this profile.

Owing to the coincidence of the design, a typical residential building’s floor height ranges from 3000 to 3300 mm. When using a stand this width, it is easy to install a modular slab of standard 50 mm thick mineral wool insulation between the cladding sheets.

Producers:

Costs: 400–480 rubles.

PS-6-100x50x4000x0.6

Reinforced profile, commonly used in public, commercial, or industrial buildings, is used to build thick partitions.

Vital. Owing to its enlarged cross-section and seven stiffening ribs, the enclosing structure can be positioned, depending on the interior design project, both from the floor to the room’s ceiling and at a portion of its height.

Customers like the profile because it offers maximum strength and stability and allows for the installation of two layers of insulation, which greatly improves the building envelope’s fire and acoustic resistance.

Producers:

• Germany Profil;
• "Knauf".

Costs: 500–650 rubles.

PN-2-50x40x3000x0.6

Distribution profile coupled with type PS-50×50 rack-mount structural element. ideal for building a 400 x 400 or 600 x 600 mm rectangular partition frame cell.

Because the design is based on galvanized steel that is the same thickness as the racks, the internal forces from loads applied to the partitions are distributed uniformly.

Due to its ideal dimensions, strength characteristics, ease of installation, and affordable retail price, this guide profile is in high demand. The structural element can be easily cut, fixed without requiring straightening, and can withstand over a decade or fifteen years before needing to be replaced.

Producers:

Costs: 400–450 rubles.

PN-6-100-40×0.65

Strong distribution impost is required to build thick partitions with stronger mechanical and physical properties. Ideal for public areas with lots of traffic, such as shops, offices, and other spaces.

The profile has folding shelves that create a sturdy, dependable barrier between the horizontal and vertical frame components of the enclosing structure.

Note: Because of the profile’s superior performance properties, low flexibility, and high strength, property owners frequently purchase it.

Because of its consistent corrosion protection and the thin wall that prevents thermal inhomogeneity from forming when building a partition between rooms with varying humidity and temperature, the part can be used in damp rooms.

Producers:

Rates: 470–580 rubles. As stated above, the rating is subjective and not intended to be an advertisement. It is based on actual customer reviews from online forums. It cannot be interpreted in this way as a clear recommendation to buy the product.

Criteria	Profile Type
Lightweight partitions	UD and CD profiles
Sound insulation	UW and CW profiles with acoustic insulation
High load-bearing capacity	UA profiles
Curved partitions	Flexible profiles
Moisture resistance	Galvanized profiles

It’s important to take your project’s particular requirements into account when choosing a plasterboard partition profile. Various profiles fulfill distinct functions, ranging from offering additional strength to load-bearing walls to providing fundamental frame support. Making the best decision for a sturdy and dependable partition will be made easier if you are aware of these distinctions.

Furthermore, the profile’s content is important. For areas that require additional stability or are subjected to heavy traffic, steel profiles provide sturdy support. Despite being lighter, aluminum profiles are easier to handle during installation and offer sufficient support for standard partitions.

Remember how crucial precise measurements and appropriate installation methods are. For a more secure and polished finish, make sure the profiles are cut and fitted accurately. Spending time and energy during the planning and preparation phases is worthwhile in order to avert future problems.

You can design plasterboard partitions that are both aesthetically pleasing and functional by selecting the appropriate profile and adhering to best practices. Choosing the appropriate profile is crucial for ensuring the longevity and overall quality of your partitions, regardless of whether you’re working on a residential or commercial project.

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