Fixing the resilient bar

After the wall setting comes the metalwork fix. This is when the experts start to talk about floor tracks, sacrificial walls and resilient bars. Meanwhile Zac has a hairy moment with some studs

Floor track
First the trainees installed floor track. This is a critical phase as it establishes where each room will be and the position of every door opening.

The studs and the top track were fixed in place next as follows:

• The end stud is put in position in the track, made level and fixed to the wall
• Then the top track is placed on the stud
• The next stud is moved into position and fixed
• The top track now in place, the remaining studs were secured

The door linings are formed with timber encased within this metalwork.

There was one hairy moment. Zac was holding one end of the stud while Hannah was fixing it to the track. Someone called Zac's name, he got distracted, and let go of the stud. But nobody was hurt.

At this stage Robert and the trainees only boarded one side of the partition wall. This was so that the services (electrics, pipes and wires which are hidden in between the walls) could be installed.

Sacrificial walls
As well as the partition walls, 'sacrificial' walls were also built. These are constructed in front of the separation walls (which separate one flat from another) to reduce the noise coming through from the neighbours, and also to hide any pipes and cables.

Sacrificial walls consist of a metal-framed lining. A top and bottom track are fixed to the floor and ceiling at a set measurement from the separation wall. Metal brackets are then fixed to the separation wall where each vertical stud would go.

Soaps and Hannah did well with the sacrificial walls, although they did struggle with fixing the studs. But they didn't give up, and got the job done in the end.

The ceilings
The downstairs ceilings were formed using a 'resilient bar'. This is a thin section of metal with a fixing strip on one side to cut down the transfer of noise. These are fixed to the metal floor joists which support the ceiling.

Greg Santos and Greg Males installed the resilient bar, and got it wrong several times. They kept getting the measurements wrong and had to keep making corrections. They ended up losing a day's work.

Related Stories

Read our profile of Bricking It plasterer Robert Shand >
Find out what it takes to be a plasterer >