How to Add an Interior Wall With a Doorway

Adding an interior wall requires a basic understanding of framing techniques, but the wall isn't as critical to the structural stability of the house as the exterior walls because it isn't load-bearing. Because the house is already standing, you can be confident that the only thing your new wall needs to support is itself. The doorway in a new interior wall can have a smaller header above the door opening than a load-bearing wall would need.

Measuring tape
Pencil
Paper
2-by-4 lumber
2-by-6 lumber
Circular saw
Hammer
Nails, 3 1/2 inches long
4-foot level

Instructions

- 1
  Lay out the dimensions of the wall and doorway that you intend to build on a piece of paper. Measure the area where the wall is going and determine the width and height of the wall, the width and height of the doorway and the location of the doorway in the wall. Write down all of these measurements on your drawing.
- 2
  Cut a top and bottom plate to the length of the wall you're building. Mark these plates every 16 inches to determine the number and location of studs that you will need. Add two studs because you will need to double up the studs on each side of the doorway.
- 3
  Measure the distance between the floor and ceiling and subtract 3 inches. Cut the number of studs you need to this length.
- 4
  Lay out the parts of the wall flat on the floor. Lay the studs parallel to each other on their 2-inch sides and 16 inches apart. Lay the top and bottom plates at the top and bottom of the studs and perpendicular to them.
- 5
  Measure along the wall and mark the location of the door. Adjust the studs to accommodate the door, taking out any studs that are in the way and positioning a stud on each side of the rough opening for the door.
- 6
  Cut two pieces of 2-by-6 board to a length that equals the width of the rough opening for the door. Nail the two pieces of 2-by-6 together to create a single header that measures 3-by-5 1/2 inches (the actual dimensions of a 2-by-6 are 1 1/2-by-5 1/2 inches, so two of them nailed together will equal 3-by-5 1/2 inches).
- 7
  Place the header horizontally in the wall between the two studs that define the outside of the rough opening for the door. Measure the vertical distance between the bottom of the wall and the underside of the header. Adjust the header so that this measurement matches the height of the rough opening. Cut two studs to this length and place them so they are flush with the two studs on the outside of the rough opening and extending from the bottom plate to the underside of the header.
- 8
  Assemble the wall by nailing the top and bottom plates to the ends of all of the studs and nailing the header to the studs.
- 9
  Stand the wall up and check its level by holding a 4-foot level against the studs. Nail it in place by driving nails through the bottom plate into the floor and through the top plate into the ceiling joists.
- 10
  Cut out the section of the bottom plate that spans the doorway.

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