Putting the wall back

bouicca21

As part of my seemingly never ending hunt for a house I have seen a place that has a through room. I am not into modern open plan living. I would prefer two small but decent sized rooms to one long thin one.

Presumably it is easier to put a dividing wall back than it was to knock it down in the first place. Does anyone have any idea how much it might cost to do? Obviously an alternative would be to put doors there but I'd really prefer a wall.

lstar337

bouicca21 wrote: »

As part of my seemingly never ending hunt for a house I have seen a place that has a through room. I am not into modern open plan living. I would prefer two small but decent sized rooms to one long thin one.

Presumably it is easier to put a dividing wall back than it was to knock it down in the first place. Does anyone have any idea how much it might cost to do? Obviously an alternative would be to put doors there but I'd really prefer a wall.

A simple stud wall you could do yourself for the cost of some timber, insulation, and plasterboard.

olias

Dead easy and cheap should you need to get someone in to do it. Main issue will me making good the decor - re plastering both sides, paint/paper/skirting boards/re fitting carpet etc. Should be no more than £500

Olias

bouicca21

Brilliant - thanks so much.

cyclonebri1

£100 DIY, £500 builder

There's a clue in there, ;)

ed110220

If you're at all handy with DIY you should be able to build the wall fairly easily, building the studwork and putting up the plasterboard is straightforward. The only thing you're unlikely to be able to DIY is the skimming.

fluffymuffy

Even easier DIY... build a stud wall and deck with hardboard (use panel pins) and then cover with lining paper - no plasterboard or skimming required. (Done quite a few of these)

cyclonebri1

fluffymuffy wrote: »

Even easier DIY... build a stud wall and deck with hardboard (use panel pins) and then cover with lining paper - no plasterboard or skimming required. (Done quite a few of these)

Hardboard is more expensive than plasterboard, is less rigid thus bends, does not take wall coverings easily, and the results are inferior. Please discuss.

bouicca21

I am the proud possessor of a small socket set. Since separating from my husband I have learned how to change a car battery (hence the need for the socket set). This is the total limit of my DIY skills. Hence not having a clue how easy/difficult/expensive it is to put up a wall, and somehow secure a picture rail and skirting board to match the rest of the room.

My money saving soul says saving 400 quid would be well worth it. My brain shouts, yes but it will take you ages and be rubbish. I've been told that b&q run really good DIY courses so when I get a place I may well do some. For the time being it is just great to know that this isn't a huge task and that if I get the house, I can afford to do it.

Thanks.

ed110220

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Hardboard is more expensive than plasterboard, is less rigid thus bends, does not take wall coverings easily, and the results are inferior. Please discuss.

I agree. Upstairs in my house (and most BISF houses) the walls are/were lined in hardboard as there was a shortage of plasterboard at the time and so the plans to use plasterboard throughout were changed to allow hardboard. They did however insist on plasterboard downstairs and around the stairwell for fire resistance.

It is not really satisfactory in my opinion (perhaps it is if you're happy with papered walls) so I've been stripping it off, replacing it with plasterboard and getting it skimmed.

cyclonebri1

I forgot to add 1 crucial safety point to my earlier post. If you do decide to brick or block it back up, (personally I would if that's what the side support walls are), then it is absolutely imperative that any new masonry is keyed into the original as there will be not load from above to weigh down the wall. The lintel above will be taking that load and the new wall won't have enough support.

No need to key in but minimum requirement would be screwed in butterfly ties every few courses, cheap enough.