Plastered hollow-clay partition

A non-load-bearing dividing wall built with hollow clay bricks, laid in mortar and then plastered on both faces. It is the traditional wet-construction partition: massive, stiff and continuous, it offers good acoustic insulation by mass, excellent fire resistance and a solid surface for fixing loads and chasing services. Unlike dry walls, it is monolithic by nature and must be built, dried and finished in place.

The clay-brick partition is the most traditional internal dividing wall: a single leaf of hollow bricks — typically 8, 10 or 12 cm thick — bonded with mortar and plastered on both faces. It carries none of the structure's vertical load, but must support its own weight, hold brackets and wall units, resist impact and separate rooms for sound and fire. Its strength is mass: it is heavy, and precisely for that it insulates and lasts.

Against airborne noise a continuous wall works mainly by mass: the heavier it is, the harder it is for the air to set it vibrating and transmit sound to the other side (the mass law). Dense, crack-free plastered clay reaches acoustic performance that is hard to obtain with a lightweight wall of the same thickness. Continuity is decisive: a single crack or an unsealed pass-through box undoes much of the insulation.

Clay is non-combustible: a plastered partition easily reaches high EI classes, which is why it remains the typical choice for fire compartments. The solid surface holds anchors and hung loads with no local reinforcement, and services are laid by chasing the wall: routed grooves for pipes and boxes, then filled with mortar before plastering.

Being monolithic has a price: the partition is built course by course, needs setting and drying time before plastering and brings water onto the site. It must also be released at the top from the floor above, with a deformable joint, so the slab's deflection does not load and crack it. It weighs far more than a dry wall: something to check on existing floors when renovating.