If you’ve ever managed a renovation in an active hospital or school, you know how quickly costs spiral. The challenge isn’t just staying on budget while getting the work done. It’s protecting patients, staff, and students while meeting all the compliance requirements that come with occupied healthcare facilities.
It’s tempting to choose what looks cheaper upfront, like plastic sheets or drywall barriers. But most of us have learned the hard way: the “cheap” route rarely stays cheap. Once you factor in labor, cleanup, and compliance risks, drywall and other “budget-friendly” solutions can easily blow your budget.
That’s why more facilities now rely on the protective power of temporary wall systems. They’re reusable, faster to install, and designed to meet infection control standards. In other words, you save money without cutting corners.
For years, drywall served as the go-to choice, but it was never designed for hospitals or schools. On the surface, the material seems inexpensive. The real costs hide in everything around it.
The biggest issue when you opt for a cheaper solution is compliance. Drywall often fails to meet the infection control standards inspectors expect. One failed inspection can stop a project cold, and then you’re left scrambling to get back to your projected timeline.
By saving time, reducing cleanup, and cutting out the waste of disposable materials, temporary call barriers like STARC® Systems RealWall keep your projects moving forward and your budgets under control. The cost savings don’t stop after one project either. With panels purpose-built for reuse and compliance, you’ll see long-term value that drywall and other low-cost options can’t deliver.
Crews can install panels in hours instead of days. That speed cuts labor costs and keeps projects on schedule. Removal is just as quick, so you don’t lose time between phases.
Installation and teardown don’t generate dust or debris. Cleanup is faster, safer, and especially critical in patient care areas where air quality matters most.
The real cost savings come with reuse. Once you own panels, you can move them from project to project. Every reuse lowers your cost per job and maximizes your investment.
Faster installs mean fewer closed rooms, less staff rerouting, and fewer patient moves. In schools, it allows classes to continue with less interruption.
Modular wall systems include sealed edges, negative air compatibility, and durable surfaces. These features give inspectors confidence and reduce the risk of costly rework.
When barriers fall short, inspectors can shut down work on the spot. Crews sit idle, labor costs rise by the hour, and timelines stretch. Regulators may even issue fines on top of those delays.
The bigger risk is safety. Without proper containment, dust, mold, and airborne pathogens slip into occupied areas. Patients, staff, and students face unnecessary exposure — and your facility takes on the liability.
Reputation takes a hit, too. Families and staff trust you to keep them safe during construction. A failed inspection sends the opposite message and damages that trust.
Inspectors zero in on five things:
Temporary hard wall barriers check each of these boxes. That’s why they pass inspections the first time and keep projects moving forward without costly interruptions.
Picture a hospital planning a wing renovation. The facility manager has to decide: stick with drywall, or invest in modular walls.
On paper, it looks like the budget-friendly pick. But once work starts, the hidden costs surface fast. Crews spend extra days hanging sheets and finishing seams. That extra time pushes labor costs higher.
When the walls come down, they generate clouds of dust and piles of debris. Cleanup takes longer, and the waste fills dumpsters by the ton. Disposal fees rise with every load hauled away. Then the inspector steps in, finds leaks in containment, and halts the job until corrections are made. Suddenly, what looked “cheap” has turned into rework, downtime, and thousands of dollars in unplanned expenses.
Crews roll in pre-engineered panels and lock them in within hours. No mudding, sanding, or dust clouds. Cleanup is minimal because the system doesn’t generate debris. When inspectors arrive, the setup already meets the key requirements — negative air compatibility, sealed edges, and airtight seams.
Work continues without interruption. And when the next phase begins, the same panels move down the hall, reset quickly, and go right back to work. Patients stay in place, staff routines stay intact, and the project keeps momentum.
The contrast is night and day. Drywall starts cheap but chips away at your budget through labor, cleanup, disposal, and inspection failures. Modular walls do the opposite. They speed up schedules, cut hidden costs, and deliver predictable results. The panels don’t just pay off on one renovation; they become a long-term asset you can redeploy again and again across your facility.
Modular wall systems are a strategic purchase that you’ll reap the benefits of as a facility manager year over year. One purchase, and you’re saving money with every project after.
Instead of buying disposable barriers for every project, you purchase once and reuse the same panels for years. Each reuse lowers your cost per project, keeps budgets predictable, and eliminates the cycle of recurring material expenses.
They also cut down on waste. Drywall demolition fills dumpsters by the ton, drives up hauling fees, and sends debris straight to the landfill. Modular panels break that pattern. By reusing panels instead of throwing them away, you lower disposal costs and support your facility’s sustainability goals. That’s a win for both your facility’s budgets and its environmental impact.
For facility managers, the value goes beyond dollars saved. Modular walls create a smarter, repeatable process. Projects move faster, compliance gets easier, and the system pays off not just today but for every job that comes after.
Cutting costs doesn’t mean cutting corners. The smartest cost savings come when you choose the right tools from the start.
Temporary wall systems give you what drywall can’t: safe containment, faster schedules, and predictable costs. They protect patients, staff, and students, they pass inspections the first time, and they keep crews moving without the wasted time and rework that kill budgets.
Discover how to build cost savings and compliance into your infection control strategy today with our HEPA vs. ULPA Guide.