By adding an interior dividing wall to your home, you can partition off open areas to better utilize your living space. For instance, a dining area can be converted into a more formal dining room or a child's play area can be separated from a family room or other living space. A dividing wall is usually not load bearing, or in other words it does not provide any support to the structure of the building. For this reason, a dividing wall can be easily framed and installed with materials available at your local lumber yard or home center.
Instructions
1. Build your dividing wall from 2-inch by 4-inch stock lumber available from lumber yards or home centers. (Note: The actual size of 2 by 4 lumber is 1 1/2 inches by 3 1/2.)
2. Determine the approximate location where you want to install your dividing wall. Determine the direction that the ceiling joists run by using a stud finder on the ceiling. Locate your wall, if possible, directly under a ceiling joist if your wall will be parallel to the joists; this way you will have something solid to secure your wall to at the top. Use a pencil and mark the locations of all ceiling joists intersecting your wall if the joists run at right angles to your wall.
3. Snap a chalk line on the ceiling where your wall will be located. Transfer the mark to the floor by dropping a plumb bob from the chalk mark above to the floor level. Mark the floor where the plumb bob points to the floor with a pencil. Now snap a chalk line on the floor using the marks made with the plumb bob.
4. Cut a top and bottom plate for your wall from 2 by 4 lumber with a circular saw using your chalk lines on the floor and ceiling for measurements. Hold the top plate to the ceiling using a helper. Secure the plate to the ceiling with 16D nails driven in with a hammer. (Note: If your ceiling joists run at right angles to your wall, secure the top plate at the marks you made on the ceiling in step 2.) Lay the bottom plate on chalk mark on the floor and secure it with 16D nails.
5. Use a measuring tape to find the height from the inside surface of the top and bottom plates at both ends of your wall. Cut vertical end studs from 2 by 4 lumber. Toenail the studs to the top and bottom plate at each end with 16D nails. Do this by holding the nail at approximately a 45 degree angle on the outside edge of the stud, so that when driven in the nail will also penetrate the top or bottom plate. (Note: Toenailing is necessary in this instance since the outside ends of the top and bottom plates are obstructed by the ceiling and floor surfaces.)
6. Mark the top and bottom plates at 16 inch centers to fill in the remaining vertical studs. Measure the height of each stud at your 16 inch marks using the method in step 5. Cut the studs to length and secure them to the top and bottom plates by toenailing with 16D nails.
7. Cover the framework with your desired wall covering (gypsum board, wood paneling, etc.) and finish to your taste.
Related posts
Frame a Wall With a Drop CeilingThe wall framing required in an area that is going to have a drop ceiling is only slightly different from standard framing practices, with the addition of a line of...
Extend a wall to enclose a room.Extending an existing wall gives two adjacent areas a well-defined separation. Perhaps it will extend a wall to create a hallway effect, such as in a main entryway...
Framing is a useful and money-saving skill set.When most people think of building homes or rooms, or even just adding a wall in their homes, they immediately think of hiring a contractor. However,...
Too many siblings in one room can lead to arguments over space and belongings. If children are bickering over private space and personal property, a room divider wall may be the key to restoring f...
Convert your attic space into livable space.Knee walls are used to create living space in an attic. Knee walls are short vertical walls installed between the attic floor and the roof rafters. The...
