aqzman

Hi everyone,

I recently moved into a new house and for the past few months I've been renovating the upstairs of the house, and now it's time to start on the basement. My first task is putting up a wall in a rather large opening.

I've attached an image of the opening which I drew in paint, I apologize for the poor quality of the drawing, but I'm not exactly the artistic type. If I'm unable to get across what I need to with that image I will take a picture.

Anyway, time to get to the problem at hand. The opening I'm trying to cover is for a temporary bedroom, as the resident this bedroom (my son) will probably be moved out in 6-12 months. So I don't want anything too permanent, although I may leave the wall there once he leaves, so the quality of the wall is still important. I would also like to install a door in the wall.

As it stands right now the opening is (hopefully the visual representation helps!) approx. 8 feet wide, 7 feet high, and the length of the wall inside of the opening itself is 10" wide.

So I was wondering if you guys might have some suggestions as to what exactly the best solution might be to this problem. I may just build a wall with 2x4 and gyprock, but I'm hoping for something a little less permanent.

Thanks,
aqzman

EDIT:

I forgot to mention this, so I'll do it now.

Image #1 is the view of the opening if you're standing on the outside of it looking at it.

Image #2 is the view of the opening if you're standing inside of it looking at the length of the wall.

Attached Thumbnails

 

CustomBuild

I'm a little unclear about the 10 inch thing. What I am understanding is the rough opening is 8' long, 7' high, and 10" thick. I am guessing that the opening is concrete foundation. It seems to me that you should decide if you want to have a permanent solution or not, because the strategy will be different for both. My suggestion is that you fasten a 2x10 to the floor and ceiling, omitting the base plate where the door will be. A 2x10 stud on each side of the door, and a 2x10 header laid flat. Then you can frame each side of the wall with 2x4's or even 2x3's independently, creating a hollow cavity inside the wall. When you install the door, install it all the way to the hinged side of the opening, flush to your finish wall material. Then add jamb extensions(probably 1x8) to extend the door frame to cover the jacks. If you dont want to go with drywall, then you can use something like t-111 plywood, and screw it into place, then unscrew it when you are done. As for fastening the whole wall to the rough opening, I would suggest renting a powder actuated tool to nail the studs/plates all the way around. If you are looking to remove the wall later, then look at the hardware store for wedge anchors that are removable(most are not). Hope this helps.

Joe Carola

I hope your planning on putting in an egress window. Even though it might be temporary, you need an egress window in case of a fire in front of the bedroom door your son will be able to get out of the bedroom through the window.

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Joe Carola

walkman

If you want something simpler than a 2x wall, what about just hanging some heavy drapes across the space?

If you do build a wall be sure to use PT for the bottom plate. There are also some special electrical requirements for basements if you plan to do any wiring.

Definitely plan for egress for a teenager bedroom (you might need to place it in a different part of the basement.

Joe Carola

If he makes a wall with a door for the bedroom, he has to have an egress window in that bedroom, not another part of the basement. If he's doing this with or without permits, he should have an egress window in his sons bedroom for his sons safety. Small price to pay for his sons life.

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Joe Carola

GBR in WA

"Definitely plan for egress for a teenager bedroom " ----- I had to read it twice, Joe.

"you might need to place it in a different part of the basement" ----- I think he meant the bedroom. Sentence structure, almost got me too! lol
http://www.codecheck.com/cc/pg07_08building.html http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuild...s-windows.aspx
http://www.aacounty.org/IP/Resources...ementGuide.pdf
Be safe, Gary

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