Ok this may sound obvious to you guys but I just want to check. I am about to start and do my partition wall, I assume I should do the head plate first so I can use a plumb line for lining up the sole plate? Or do I do the sole plate and use an upright with spirit level for the head plate. Or does it matter which is first.
Doesn't matter. Start with whichever one needs to be in a particular position/orientation relative to other features.
In article , ss writes
Neither :-), build your partition on the floor and then lift it into place. Shim the top plate to the ceiling to take up the gap and fix into the ceiling.
This way is easier and makes the vertical alignment a piece of piss.
See the comment in bold here - passed onto me by a chippy of many years experience:
Build the rest of the wall, then pull the nails / unscrew the fixings enough to enable you to get everything exactly in position (you can shift the entire wall studwork by clomping it with a sledge/club hammer!). When you are happy with the position, fix it.
That way you don't have to worry about anything shifting as you build it etc.
After reading up that this was the "proper" way to do it, that's how I did a parition wall. God, it was a pain. You do realise that the workspace you have to construct it in is within a couple of millimeteres exactly the same size as the object you're trying to construct. How do you get your hammer onto the outside of the uprights when the uprights are butted up against the walls? And trying to rotate it upwards into the vertical without it catching on every slight off-square bump in the walls, floors, or ceiling. Argh!
Every other parition wall I've done I've done by the tried and tested bit-by-bit construction. Floor plate first, make the first upright with some noggins, put upright in place, with another temporary upright to hold the ceiling plate in place, then add uprights and noggins as you go.
JGH
Thanks all for the replies. some useful guidance.
I did a small one that happened to be perpendicular to the ceiling joists. I used some screwtite's through the ceiling plate into the joists above. Floor plate was plumbed off ceiling plate then screwed down. Uprights then cut to be a "tap" fit and scrived in with diagonally applied screws.
Hammer? Ah, you did this a while ago ;-)
The benefit for me was pre-prep in bulk, chop sawing 10 or so verticals at once to the same size, same with noggins. All screwed together with framing screws (Screwtites), outers first to set out a square (well, rectangle) and true it up. No slant screwing on the verticals as they went straight through the end plates. I think I staggered the noggins so that I could again straight screw them but IIRC there was some slant screwing, perhaps at the close to the wall end. I didn't have a problem at the other wall end as it was a corner partition which I think may be the case with SS too.
It all went together very quickly and quietly which was important as it was in an office space.
I remembered after posting that I fixed a wide batten into the ceiling first as I was using plugs to fit into lath and plaster then shimmed the gap once in the vertical and screwed through the top plate into the batten.
Takes time but I'm sure that method still has its place.
John I found your article on wiki.diy most useful, the only thing I would add as an expert in the process of building my first ever stud wall :-) is possibly an additional row of noggins on the base plate in order to give `extra` wood for nailing skirtings.
ss,
At what centres are your uprights, as your skirtings are naied to these - so there is no need for additional noggins at the base?
Cash
Valid point, Can you tell its my first time. Centres are at 400.
ss,
Nail the skirtings at every upright and you'll be ok.
Cash
Good idea, and if the wall is going to have a radiator on, put some extra noggins lined up with the radiator brackets.
JGH
I'v been watching Mike Holmes of Canada TV, when building fences and partitions he insists that they see which way the wood curves (I forget the name for that) and put all the uprights with the curve the same way, (or else the plasterboard looks wavy)
[george]
Yup, probably worth adding... Its something I always remember to do on floor joists (camber up) - but probably pay less attention on walls unless the timber is particularly wonky.
(well worth checking when buying it though - I usually pick through the stuff in the store room and leave anything that is too far out)
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