Demountable partitions are dry-built walls that can be dismantled and reinstalled in a new position without masonry work. They answer a problem every organisation knows: teams change size, meeting rooms are no longer enough, a floor needs reorganising. With a demountable partition the new layout is achieved by repositioning modules, not by demolishing and rebuilding.
What is a demountable partition?
A demountable partition is a system of profiles, panels and glass manufactured at a plant, assembled dry with mechanical fixings and repositioned when the layout of the space changes. Once installed, it is as fixed as a conventional wall.
Operable walls are a different product: they run on tracks to divide or join two rooms during the day, as in conference venues. Office partition walls designed to be reconfigured are demountable partitions, not operable walls.
How is a demountable partition taken down and reinstalled?
Reconfiguring a demountable partition generally follows five steps.
- Survey and new layout. The new layout is defined and the team checks which existing modules can be reused and which elements need to be added.
- Disconnection of services. Sockets, switches and cables running in the wall are disconnected by a qualified electrician.
- Dismantling. Doors, glass, panels and profiles are removed, in the reverse order of installation.
- Reinstallation. The modules are fixed in the new position and the doors are adjusted.
- Reconnection and checks. Services are restored and alignment, closing and finishes are checked.
What can be reused and what cannot?
Profiles, panels, glass and doors can largely be recovered, provided the new layout is compatible with the module sizes. Some elements may need to be supplemented: wall runs of a different length, new corner junctions, additional modules.
What is left behind in the old position matters too. Where the profiles were fixed, the floor and ceiling may need minor making good, especially if the finishes were laid after the partitions.
What are the advantages over plasterboard in an office?
| Aspect | Plasterboard | Demountable partition |
|---|---|---|
| Moving the wall | Demolition and rebuilding | Dismantling and reinstallation |
| Debris | Boards and filler to dispose of | Components recovered |
| Dust and noise | High during demolition and finishing | Reduced, dry assembly |
| Finishes | Redone on site | Already applied at the plant |
| Room downtime | Longer | Shorter |
| Initial cost | Lower | Higher |
Plasterboard costs less at the start, but every layout change brings the full cost back. A demountable partition costs more at first installation and returns value at every reconfiguration.
What should you check before choosing a reconfigurable system?
A demountable partition is only easy to reconfigure if the original design allows for it. Five aspects are worth checking before choosing.
- The module. A module width coordinated with the window and ceiling grid makes partitions easier to move.
- Floor and ceiling. Fixing to raised floors and suspended ceilings must be designed together with the acoustics, because sound also travels through these elements.
- Services. Systems with cables routed through the profile avoid surface trunking and make sockets easier to relocate.
- Doors. Doors matched to the system, glazed or solid, move together with the wall.
- Continuity of supply. Extending or reconfiguring over the years requires compatible components from the same manufacturer.
Are demountable partitions a sustainable choice?
Reusing components instead of demolishing them reduces construction waste and the consumption of new materials at every layout change. The benefit grows with the number of reconfigurations: in an office that reorganises often, a demountable partition avoids disposing of an entire wall at every intervention.
How does ADAM approach demountable partitions?
ADAM S.r.l. has manufactured office partitions since 1990, the year it was founded in Bernate Ticino, near Milan. The systems of the ADAM Office division are modular and dry: walls are dismantled and repositioned as the layout changes, without masonry work and with their components recovered.
The range includes CRONO, double-glazed with integrated blinds or venetians and services routed through the profile, single-glazed HERA and solid DECUS, along with matching glass and solid doors. CRONO, HERA and DECUS walls are designed and manufactured at the ADAM plant and have been installed in workplaces in Italy, Switzerland, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as shown on the Projects page.
To choose between single glazing, double glazing and solid panels, read the guide to office partition walls. For a reorganisation project, contact the ADAM team.