what are my patition walls with no wood studs

Egg crate prefabricated panels, cheaply built interior walls designed by numpty architects, asbestos panels are used more on the exterior of buildings, so it's unlikely that the partions will contain asbestos. Commonly used with local authority property. The skirting finish at the top can be removed, but will require to be taped/scrimmed.

 

Wimpey homes of the 1970's, and some new builds, have stud walls which constructed of paramount wall boards. This is made from a sandwich of two pieces of plasterboard and an internal, hexagonal, network of cardboard, for rigidity and stiffness. No cross noggins, very thin 'stud' at the joint between the boards. Kitchen units were mounted directly on to the plasterboard !!!

To reduce the stresses at the fixings the units were often linked to floor standing larder units and had mini-battens placed directly beneath them in order to spread the load.



Paramount plasterboard thankfully is not popular as it difficult to achieve modern limits (NHBC) on sound transmission between rooms. Penny piching ****, but were still available a couple of years back.

 

why not over board with a soundblock board to either side,got to be cheaper

 

If your new stud wall is on the first floor (i.e. on T&G floorboards supported by joists)and the main length of the wall runs parallel to the joists, it should be sited over two normal sized joists bolted together. At least that's what in the regs. and the NHBC guidelines. Some paramount 'stud' walls weren't sited over doubled up joists, possibly because they are quite light?

It's often why building inspectors can want to stick their oar in, even if its just a 'non-load bearing' wall which is moved during alterations where people assume there's not a problem. Their argument is Studs, Noggins, two plasterboards, Skim and anything you hang on the wall can weigh quite a bit.