Freestanding - Divider Indoor Wall

[RFreund]

I have a situation where a company is remodeling the interior of the store. They would like to install freestanding/divider walls that have no ceiling. Some are oriented in an L shape. The walls would be 10-12' tall and the roof is at 24' or so. Is there a way to use a steel column that is fixed at the floor slab (6" thick) to give the wall stability? Either through bolts or cutting out the old concrete and embedding the pole into the slab? I'm not exactly sure how to check the slab for this loading.
If this is not practical I could have columns go up to the roof at the end of the walls and put a girt at the top of the wall to provide stability.

EIT

 

[BAretired]

Either of those methods works. If fixing the base, unless you know that the slab is capable of carrying the applied bending moment, you would be better to install a footing or pile at each column.

In my location, I would choose a pile as it is easier to construct than a footing. The pile would be considered to take the column moment. With 24' of headroom, there is plenty of headroom to install piles.

BA

 

[JAE]

You can use the following to brace interior stud walls like this:

1. Intersecting walls can brace the other walls..usually we try to use the top-of-wall track or a tube or some other stud-like member at the top of wall to span between intersecting walls.

2. Where there aren't intersecting walls - use either of the following:
a) Vertical tube columns bolted to the slab-on-grade and extended to the roof structure with vertical slip connections.
b) Vertical tube columns bolted to the slab-on-grade and extended to the ceiling - then laterally brace the tube column with other structural braces extending diagonally to opposite wall corners.
c) Diagonal angle or tube struts from the top of wall up to the roof structure (assuming the diagonal nature of the braces won't try to take vertical loading from the roof).

3. Put a structural lid/ceiling framework over the top of the walls to create a global diaphragm capable of bracing the walls.

There may be other ideas.

Design to resist lateral 5 psf interior wall loading.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I try to use "L's" and "T's" whenever possible. Even short legs - on the order of 1' to 2' help a lot. Try one. Otherwise do as suggested above.

 

[RFreund]

Thanks for the recommendations!

EIT