Building a Stud Wall Kingston
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New Malden
Building a Stud Wall
It is fairly simple to construct a partition wall if you wish to divide a large room into two smaller rooms. Partition walls are simply a framework of timber over which plasterboard is laid. As this wall is not load-bearing, you can place a door or window anywhere you wish. This guide is based on building a stud wall no more than about 2400mm high.
Safety First
The first thing you need to do is to find out where the electricity cables and water pipes are in the room you wish to partition. Electronic devices for detecting pipes and cables can be bought quite cheaply and are very useful if you are not 100% sure where pipes and cabling might run.
Ceiling Plate
The ceiling plate is simply the piece of wood nailed to the ceiling, which then creates the top support for your partition wall. Cut the ceiling plate to the required length from 75mm by 50mm softwood. If the ceiling plate runs at right angles to the existing joists simply nail it directly to them. If however, the partition runs parallel to the ceiling joists you may need to lift the floorboards above to insert additional joists (noggins) into which you can nail. An easier option might be to move the partition slightly so it is directly under an existing joist. Once you have the ceiling plate fitted, use a plumb line to mark the position of the sole plate.
Sole Plate
Measure and cut the sole plate from the same wood used for the ceiling plate, bearing in mind that it will not run across the foot of any doorways you are planning. Be very careful to ensure the sole plate is directly beneath the ceiling plate by using a plumb line. When you have it lined up, you need to fix it securely to the floor. If fixing to a wooden floor, use 100mm nails driven into the floor joists where ever possible. If you are fixing to a solid floor, use 90mm screws at intervals of about 600mm.
Marking Out
Starting at the end of the sole plate which is furthest from any doorways you are having in the partition, measure in 25mm and mark the soleplate with a pencil. Now measure 600mm (or 450mm if using the narrower type of plasterboard) from that mark and mark again. Continue this along the full length of the partition. It is unlikely that your partition will divide equally into 600mm sections, so when you get to the general area where you want a door or opening to be, make the mark and then add 25mm and make another mark. This is where you can cut the sole plate to allow for the door later. Marking out in this way will help to reduce the number of plasterboards you will need to trim later.
Making sure you know how wide the door and lining is or will be, mark this on the soleplate and then continue to mark out the 600mm centres for the studs on the other side of it. You can cut the sole plate out for the doorway later, once everything is secure and sturdy.
Cutting and Fitting the Studs
Measure the distance between the head and sole plate at the point where each stud will sit. Write the length each stud...