A comparative costs study is said to have shown that panel systems such as FireWall, from Performance Panel Solutions, are often the cheapest and fastest means of internal partition wall construction for all levels of fire resistance.
An independent cost consultant was asked to compare the use of metal stud and board, blockwork and a panel system for 30, 60, 90 and 120 minute fire rated constructions. The cost analysis was to final finish and included material, labour costs based on the average construction rate and any temporary plant required by a contractor.
The key conclusions of the independent research were:
• Blockwork walls are the most expensive form of construction studied for both fire resisting partition walls and fire compartmentation walls for all resistances up to 120 minutes.
• Panel systems were found to be the cheapest method of construction for all levels of fire resistance.
Panel systems were shown to be 40% – 60% per m² cheaper than blockwork walls and up to 40% per m² cheaper than stud walls, the margin increasing with the level of fire resistance and height.