Stone, brick and estates
Bulwell's own sandstone was quarried here, and many houses, schools, churches and garden walls built from it still stand for miles around. Alongside those are the estates of the last hundred years: Crabtree Farm, Highbury Vale, Hempshill Vale, the Bulwell Hall estate and Top Valley, built in the 1970s on three former farms. A severe housing shortage in the 1960s and 1970s also led to building on protected woodland at Snape Wood and Sellers Wood, and more recently eco-homes went up at Ranskill Gardens from 2018.
Fixing a frame to old stone
A partition that meets a solid stone or brick wall needs more thought than one that butts plasterboard. Old stone is rarely flat, so the end stud is scribed to follow the face of the wall and fixed into sound masonry with fixings that suit it, not into loose old plaster.
Solid walls can also hold damp. Timber that touches them should be treated, or kept off the masonry with a strip of damp-proof membrane, and on a solid ground floor the sole plate can sit on a damp-proof strip too. Metal studs, which don't rot, are another option where a wall stays cool. If the old wall is actively damp, that needs tracking down and sorting first; a new partition won't cure it, and plaster on a damp wall won't last.
Partitions in Bulwell's later estates
In the estate houses the jobs tend to be everyday ones: a cupboard formed under the stairs, a large bedroom split for two children, a through-lounge divided again, or pipes boxed in after a new bathroom. Existing walls in these homes may be blockwork or plasterboard, and the fixings are chosen once we know which.
Before the frame goes up, settle where the door opens, which side the light switch goes and where each room's radiator will sit. A qualified electrician wires any new sockets and switches while the wall is still open. If one side will be a bedroom, check that it can be reached without walking through another room and that it keeps an opening window, as building regulations care about both.
Arrange a look at the room
We are about four miles away in Mapperley. If you can, email a couple of photos of the room and the walls the new partition will meet to Patchmeifyoucan@outlook.com, as it helps us see straight away whether we are fixing to stone, brick or board. Or call 07877 353120 or use the enquiry form and tell us roughly what you want. We work seven days a week, 7am to 5pm.
