Commercial Dry Lining Contractors in Manchester
Metal stud, fire-rated and acoustic drylining packages for main contractors across the North West since 1983 Call 0161 335 0980Send Us Your DrawingsSince 1983
Family run dry lining contractors
CSCS Carded
Every installer on every site
CHAS & SafeContractor
Accredited commercial contractor
Fixed Price
Quoted from your drawings
Accredited Dry Lining Contractors for Commercial Work
SF Ceilings is a commercial dry lining contractor based in Denton, working for main contractors, facilities managers and building owners across Manchester and the North West. We have been boarding, taping and finishing commercial buildings since 1983. Send us the drawings and we return a fixed quote for the package, usually within two working days.
Main contractors including Galliford Try, Harry Fairclough Construction and Lichfield Construction have used us on their programmes, and we have completed drylining packages for NHS Tameside, Tameside College and Ashton Sixth Form College. Call 0161 335 0980 or use the enquiry form to price your next job.
What Our Commercial Dry Lining Package Covers
On most contracts we supply and fix the full internal lining package, so one subcontractor carries the walls, the ceilings and the junctions between them.
Metal stud partitions
C-stud systems from 50mm to 150mm, single or double boarded, insulated where the specification calls for it, built to the underside of the slab or stopped at ceiling level with a proper head detail.
Fire-rated boarding
30, 60 and 120 minute wall, column and beam linings built as the board manufacturer’s tested system, with fire stopping at every head, abutment and service penetration.
Acoustic wall systems
Double-layer boards, resilient bars and mineral wool quilt to reach the Rw figure on the acoustic report, for meeting rooms, consulting rooms and classrooms.
Wall linings
Metal-framed independent linings to blockwork and concrete that straighten old walls, add insulation and hide services.
MF ceilings and bulkheads
Metal-framed plasterboard ceilings, boxing to ducts and steelwork, and the wall-to-ceiling junction detailed for fire and sound.
Taping, jointing and skim
Tape and joint to the finish level the decorator needs, or a plaster skim where the specification asks for one.
How We Work for Main Contractors
A dry lining package lives or dies by programme. Our part of it is simple to describe and harder to deliver: price it properly, turn up when the frame is ready, keep to the dates, and leave the following trades a clean, square surface on the date agreed.
Pricing from drawings
We take off from your drawings and specification, confirm the scope in writing and quote a fixed price. Variations are priced before the work, never after.
Pre-start paperwork
Risk assessments, method statements, COSHH sheets and insurance certificates are issued before our team arrives, and every installer carries a CSCS card.
Accredited contractor
SF Ceilings holds CHAS and SafeContractor accreditation, with PASMA and IPAF certification for towers and powered access.
Working with other trades
We sequence with the M&E contractor so first fix is complete before we close walls, and we return for second fix boarding when the programme needs it.
One subcontractor for walls and ceilings
Because we also install suspended ceilings and partition walls, the ceiling grid, the partition head and the dry lined wall are set out by the same team.
Fire and Acoustic Performance Built In
Most commercial dry lining in Manchester is specified for a reason beyond looks. A corridor wall needs 30 or 60 minutes of fire resistance. A consulting room needs a sound rating the next room cannot hear through. Both depend on the details as much as the boards.
For fire-rated walls we build the exact system the manufacturer tested: the stud size, the board type and thickness, the fixing centres, the deflection head and the fire stopping around every pipe and cable. Swap one element and the certificate no longer applies. Our guide to fire-rated suspended ceilings and the UK building regulations explains the ratings in plain terms, and the same logic applies to walls.
For acoustic walls the weak points are the head, the perimeter and any service hole. A partition that stops at the suspended ceiling lets sound straight over the top, so we take acoustic walls to the slab or fit an acoustic barrier in the void. The ratings themselves are explained in our post on acoustic ceiling tiles.
Why Contractors Keep Using SF Ceilings
We are a family run company. The installers who price your job are the ones who have been boarding Manchester buildings for us for years, and the same office answers the phone every time. We are based at 120 Ashton Road in Denton, twenty minutes from the city centre, so a site visit is never a problem.
Forty years of dry lining and drylining contracts across the North West means we have usually met your detail before: the awkward deflection head under a steel beam, the wall that has to carry a 60 minute rating and a 50 dB sound rating at the same time, the hospital corridor that cannot close. Recent projects are in our project gallery.
Sectors We Dry Line
Commercial work is the majority of what we do, and the buildings vary a lot. These are the sectors we are in most weeks.
Education
Classroom divisions, corridor fire walls and refurbished teaching blocks for Tameside College, Ashton Sixth Form College and Stockport Grammar School, mostly programmed into the summer break. See suspended ceilings for schools and colleges for the ceiling side of the same jobs.
Healthcare
Impact-resistant and moisture-resistant boarding for NHS Tameside and NHS Stockport, with phased working around live wards and clinics.
Offices
New meeting rooms, reception linings and MF ceilings in fit-outs across the city centre, Salford Quays and Trafford, alongside our office partitions.
Industrial and retail
Mezzanine offices, fire walls between units and shop-fit linings across Tameside, Oldham and Stockport.
Commercial Dry Lining FAQs
Do you price from drawings?
Yes. Email the drawings and specification to info@sfceilings.co.uk and we will return a fixed written quote, usually within two working days. For refurbishments without drawings we survey the building first, free of charge.
What size of contract do you take on?
Anything from a single fire-rated wall to the complete lining package for a school block or an office floor. The team scales with the job, and we can run more than one site at a time.
Is it dry lining or drylining?
Both. The trade says drylining, specifications usually say dry lining, and we answer to either. Whatever the spelling, we are talking about plasterboard fixed to a metal or timber frame, then taped, jointed and finished ready for decoration.
Can you work to our programme alongside other trades?
That is normal for us. We attend pre-start and progress meetings, sequence with the M&E and ceiling contractors, and will work evenings or weekends where the programme or the building demands it.
What does commercial dry lining cost in Manchester?
It depends on the system: a single-board stud wall costs less per square metre than a double-boarded 60 minute fire wall with acoustic quilt. We give indicative figures on our dry lining Manchester page, and a fixed price for your job once we have the drawings.
Which areas do you cover?
All of Greater Manchester, including Tameside, Stockport, Oldham, Salford and Trafford, and commercial contracts across the North West.
Price Your Dry Lining Package
Send us the drawings and specification and we will return a fixed quote within two working days. Call 0161 335 0980, email info@sfceilings.co.uk or use the enquiry form.
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Amazing customer service
From start to finish we could not fault the service from S.F Ceilings, the quality and finish of the work completed was second to none. Will definitely be recommending to friends & family.
Our Clients
