Movable wall

[Jason]

I'm having a contractor to build a short wall (sheetrock and 2x4's, roughly 6' wide, 7' tall, and 5" thick) to help separate a rather large basement into 2 rooms. The original plan was to connect one side of the wall to an external wall, and leaving a gap of about 12" from the top of the wall to the drop tile ceiling. The opposite end would be a square column of about 12" that would connect to a beam in the ceiling, cutting the drop tile to fit around this column.

If that doesn't make sense, think of an L laying on it's back, with a really thick back and narrow leg. My house came with several walls built this way, so we're trying to make this one match, and at the same time help with heat/AC flow.

But I've been thinking. One room is going to be a gym, and the other room will hold a pool table (essentially, a game room for when friends come over). While everything will fit OK with the wall stationary, I can't say that it's a GREAT fit, and certainly doesn't leave any room for expansion; especially in the gym. So I'm trying to think of an alternative.

The best idea I can come up with is to make the wall movable, and this is where I need a few opinions. Ideally, I would be able to push the wall further into one room or the other, giving that room an extra couple of feet when needed while still separating the rooms. In order to do this, I'm thinking that instead of nailing the wall to the external wall and to the ceiling beam, I would use something like drawer guides, and then place heavy weight casters on the bottom.

Here are my questions:

1. Will this work? If so, how sturdy can I expect the wall to be? I mean, if a friend comes over, gets drunk, and runs into the wall, is it going to fall over on him?

1. Is there a better way to make a wall mobile to fit my needs?

2. If this is a good idea, where can I find 48" drawer guides? All I'm finding are 24" rails, which aren't exactly right; the rails I'm finding are long and separate out into 2 or 3 parts, while I would prefer a stationary rail with a connector mounted to the wall (like you see on older drawers).

This is what I'm NOT needing:

TIA,

Jason

[buffalobill]

needing:

buffalo ny: just some thoughts:

1, no. 2. skip the wall. how will exercising people get needed fresh air changes in the basement? can the game people come over at night and the exercise people do their thing in the morning? WHO will be using the basement, that is, how many people? WHAT is the moisture/construction type/climate? WHERE are the windows and furnace, water heater? WHEN the year will this be used? WHY do you want a wall? HOW could you overlook ping-pong instead of pool, it folds out of the way. Now you have enough room to install as many treadmills as needed.

[Jason]

Why wouldn't it? I ask this so that I can improve the plan, not to be argumentative.

Two ways, actually:

First off, the top of the wall is open, so air can flow across easily. This was originally done because the heat / AC ducts are in the ceiling, and the ducts are ran into the center of the room; exactly where I want the wall. So, instead of moving the ducts, it's easier to leave a gap so that the air will blow on both sides; plus, it matches the rest of the house this way.

Second, both the game room and the gym have 2 windows each, allowing for plenty of fresh air.

Technically, yes, but this is more of a design element than a functional necessity. The basement is currently JUST a game room, and it's where my friends come over to hang out and have a few drinks, so it's not exactly fashionable to throw a party centered around a bench press, Smith machine, and treadmill ;-)

My girlfriend and I are the only ones to be working out, while the game room can have up to 20 people at one time. The gym will be used throughout the week, while the game room would only be used on weekend.

I'm in eastern NC, and well above sea level, so moisture isn't a big problem. The walls are red brick on the outside, and cinder block on the inside. They are currently covered in paneling, which will be replaced with the same sheetrock that the new wall will be built from.

There would be 2 windows in the gym section, and the game room would have 2 windows, a door leading outside, and an opening to the stairs that lead to the first floor. I have central heat and air; the pump is located in a closet area in one corner of the game room, located beneath the stairs that lead to the 2nd floor, while the water heater is located in a separate laundry room.

Pretty much year 'round. I've been living here for almost 4 years, so I have no reason to believe that anything will change now.

Purely aesthetic. I've been working over the years to make my house look JUST right, and the only thing left is the dining room and the basement. My girlfriend and I take turns on projects, and since we did the bedroom last, it's my turn with the basement.

I've recently begun the basement project, which also includes a third room for a movie theater, modifying the location of the laundry room, removing some carpet and replacing with fake hardwood floors, and removing all paneling to replace with sheetrock. I figure that, since I'm going through all of that trouble, I may as well spend an extra $300 and have a wall built in that will allow me to decorate the game room in more of a "man's" area (leather, dark wood, etc), while decorating the gym with mirrors.

I already have everything needed at this point (furniture, pool table, movie projector and screen, and gym equipment), so the only thing left is the construction and painting.

Please forgive my stupidity! LOL I bought the pool table for a steal at $200 (4x8 slate with claw feet and leather pockets), and always figured that I could place a ping pong table on top of it if I wanted. It's not uncommon for me to play alone when work stresses me out, though, so the pool table was a cool buy for me.

If only it were that easy! ;-)

J

[Bob]

If that doesn't make sense, think of an L laying on it's back, with a really thick back and narrow leg. My house came with several walls built this way, so we're trying to make this one match, and at the same time help with heat/AC flow.

But I've been thinking. One room is going to be a gym, and the other room will hold a pool table (essentially, a game room for when friends come over). While everything will fit OK with the wall stationary, I can't say that it's a GREAT fit, and certainly doesn't leave any room for expansion; especially in the gym. So I'm trying to think of an alternative.

The best idea I can come up with is to make the wall movable, and this is where I need a few opinions. Ideally, I would be able to push the wall further into one room or the other, giving that room an extra couple of feet when needed while still separating the rooms. In order to do this, I'm thinking that instead of nailing the wall to the external wall and to the ceiling beam, I would use something like drawer guides, and then place heavy weight casters on the bottom.

Here are my questions:

1. Will this work? If so, how sturdy can I expect the wall to be? I mean, if a friend comes over, gets drunk, and runs into the wall, is it going to fall over on him?

1. Is there a better way to make a wall mobile to fit my needs?

2. If this is a good idea, where can I find 48" drawer guides? All I'm finding are 24" rails, which aren't exactly right; the rails I'm finding are long and separate out into 2 or 3 parts, while I would prefer a stationary rail with a connector mounted to the wall (like you see on older drawers).

Here is one idea that comes to mind, although it may not be what you want. Not sure where you could get it, but if you could get some of the garage door track and rollers, then you could cut the track to the length desired. Bolt the track to the walls (maybe need three or four tracks - upper, middle, & lower). Attach the rollers to the movable wall.

You might be able to buy track and rollers from a garage door company, or even get used ones from an installer, perhaps at very little cost.

On one hand, this idea sounds dumb, but on the other, it may just be dumb enough to work.

Bob

[dadiOH]

Very flimsy. __________________

Probably. An architect - especially one working on commercial buildings - would be helpful. ___________________

Assuming guides would work, what's wrong with ones that are in multiple parts? Any guides you used would by necessity be exposed and I'd think the shorter the better. You'd need guides both top and bottom...at least four. I know Knape Vogt makes guides at least 36" long but I don't think drawer slides are a solution. I'd think tracks (mounted horizontally on fixed wall at each end, top and bottom) and wheels would work better.

I think you might do better to stop thinking of what you want as a "wall" and think of it as a "divider". Do that and you get more options...

1. A free standing accordian fold screen or screens 2. Bifold doors, track across the top of the room 3. Bypass doors, track across the top of the room. Obviously, only half the area could be opened up with these. 4. Freestanding divider on casters.

For the latter option you'd need considerable depth for it to be stable. A hard surface floor would be best.

I once had a long, narrow room like that, built a cabinet 96x96x24. Lower portion had cabinets accessible from either side. Above the cabinets was an open area about 18" high and above that were bookshelves on one side, china cabinet on the other. It sat on a carpeted floor and was solid as a rock...probably weighed 1000# loaded.

When redoing the condo before selling I needed to move the divider for new carpeting (it went with condo, too big too remove). To do so, I tipped it slightly in one direction and slipped 3/4" blocks under at each end on the raised side; then tip the opposite way, add blocks...repeat until it cleared the floor enough to slip a piece of ply with casters under each end, then remove blocks so it sat on the castered ply pieces. Once done, it was duck soup to push it around on the now uncarpeted floor.

[hallerb]

How about a moveable drape? Low cost, easy to move entire thing if needed someday.

[HeyBub]

I vote for curtains or room dividers.

Room dividers offer more flexibility - and are much cheaper than a wall.

[Goedjn]

If you put in a wall, you have to put power outlets in the wall. That's code. If the wall moves, then the power in it has to also move, which means you're going to need some very expensive, hard to find, sliding/flexible electrical connections.

THEN you're going to have to solve the problem of making said wall rigid in either (any?) position.

If the gym is never going to be used at the same time as the game room, then I think you should arrange the equipment into a fairly small section with an accordion door/wall or even just a curtain separating it off, and just open it up when you're using the gym.