Economic Comparison between Drywall and Conventional Partitions

Abstract

This paper describes two construction methods for erecting partitions in housing—concrete-block masonry (conventional partition) and drywall. The drawbacks of the conventional partitions are their erection is (1) labor-intensive; (2) time-consuming; (3) needs considerable preparatory work, and consequently is more expensive; and (4) is inflexible for changes during the life of the building. This paper briefly describes the methodology for field data gathering—time studies—used to get up-to-date data based on local conditions for the comparison between the two methods. The comparison showed that the direct costs of an apartment built with drywall partitions are at least 1% less than those built with conventional partitions. This difference can be even greater if other factors are considered. It is further shown that use of drywall can have the potential for saving 3–4% of the total workforce in the present-day Israeli construction market. As a result, encouragement of the use of drywall partitions is recommended.