Stud Partition Poser ...

[dgmckay]

I'm planning to partition my "L" shaped lounge/diner into a separate lounge and study with a stud partition wall. It's a concrete floor, so the sole plate is not a problem, but the ceiling joists are parallel to the run of the new partition, and not suitably placed to allow me to locate the top plate so I can "square off" the lounge. The first floor is tongue-and-grooved chipboard flooring which would be almost impossible to take up to fit noggins (even if the upstairs wall layout offered access to the area in question).

What are my options? Do I have to bite the bullet and line the new wall up to one of the existing ceiling joists, even though that means forming an alcove in the living room instead of a straight wall? Or is there an alternate method of securing the top plate? The ground floor walls are all concrete block construction, btw.

Thanks in advance (hopefully),

Dave.

 

[DAZB]

Depending on the width of the wall you wish to build the fixing of the top plate may not be that crucial . You can obviously get solid fixings in to the base plate and the walls and if your top timber is cut so it is a tight fit between the opposing walls then it will be rigid enough. If it is going to be a long wall then this may not be the case but another option is to mark on the ceiling where your top plate will sit and then using a sharp knife , carefully cut out the plasterboard obviously taking care for cables and pipes which then if you build the studwork a little taller will allow for the top plate to sit into the channel and therefore not be able to move sideways at all.

 

[dgmckay]

Cheers for the advice!

The partition would be 2.46 metres across. Given the width, would your first option give me a rigid wall?

 

[Handyman]

If it were me, I'd take down the plaster board from the joist space where your wall will go. This makes it dead easy to positon the wall in place and fix the wall rigidly in place using appropriate noggins (which would be better if there's a door in it) and check for pipes & wires, etc. Then fix battens (e. g. 2" x 2") along top of new wall to support a new bit of plaster board to span the 9" or so gap. If you don't do this, then I'm not sure how you will achieve a rigid fixing between the previously cut plaster board and the new wall. I would also suggest that you've got to be pretty good to cut the plaster board at exactly the right place, in a perfect line, and without the board breaking away, in order to achieve a good joint with the new wall. It's not a good idea to leave a cantilever of plaster board sticking out over a gap as the join with the new wall will always tend to crack (unless you propose to cover it up with coving).

(Well, that's my tuppence worth, anyway)

 

[masona]

All good point here, I suppose you could put some "no-nail" on top of the wall plate timber and bedded it onto the ceiling with the upright stud supporting it and that should stop it moving or use a toggle fixing with a L-shape bracket in the ceiling then screw it to the side!I've done loads studwork where you can't fix the top wallplate for the oblivious,once all the noggins are in,it shouldn't move.

 

[DAZB]

I would say that with the wall only being 2.46 metres wide then it will be rigid enough but for more assurance you could always build it with a double top plate . Regarding Handyman's reply, I was advising to just allow enough of a channel in the plasterboard ceiling for the timber stud to sit in and therefore when it was boarded with new plasterboard and presumably skimmed the existing parts of the ceiling plasterboard will be supported and also covered by the new wall boards.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

Try these ,taking the weight of a heavy bird cage no problem.

 

[ashten]

You will of course be seeking Building Regulations Approval for this work?

You will otherwise be contravening the Law.

 

[masona]

You will of course be seeking Building Regulations Approval for this work?

I think you will find building permission doesn't apply as it only a added internal alterations providing you don't altered the structure of the building.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

Does this mean we are gonna need building permission to change our wallpaper soon? How far can Big Brother interfere/control our lives without f**k*n it up totally ??

 

[AdamW]

I would cut the plasterboard away from the ceiling and install noggins from the underside, however if you look at the metal studwork used in offices to partition off meeting rooms etc. you will see the top plates are usually screwed into ceiling tiles and the gridwork supporting the ceiling tiles. That is probably not much stronger than plasterboard so if you use some good plasterboard fixings you should be ok. I would recommend coving if you have an artex ceiling to cover the gap usually left around the artex pattern. Otherwise it might look odd.

You could always use metal L-shaped brackets to bolt the header to the side walls, this could easily support the weight.

 

[AdamW]

I would cut the plasterboard away from the ceiling and install noggins from the underside, however if you look at the metal studwork used in offices to partition off meeting rooms etc. you will see the top plates are usually screwed into ceiling tiles and the gridwork supporting the ceiling tiles. That is probably not much stronger than plasterboard so if you use some good plasterboard fixings you should be ok. I would recommend coving if you have an artex ceiling to cover the gap usually left around the artex pattern. Otherwise it might look odd.

You could always use metal L-shaped brackets to bolt the header to the side walls, this could easily support the weight.