Home Garden

How to Move a Partition Wall

After purchasing a home, some homeowners like to make improvements or change the layout of their house. Nonstructural walls, called partitions, often are the first place to start. Partition walls are nonload-bearing walls put up for decor or, occasionally, to divide a room. Homeowners often knock down or move these walls to free up space and reorganize their living area. Moving the partition wall, and creating a new one, can be accomplished by most novice builders.

Things You'll Need

  • Hammer
  • Sledgehammer
  • Plaster
  • Putty
  • Putty knife
  • Plasterboard
  • 10 boards, each 2-by-4
  • Tape measure
  • Building nails
  • Electric hand saw
  • Trowel
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Instructions

    • 1

      Check with the homebuilder or the blueprints to see if the wall is not essential to the structure and can be taken down or moved. The blueprint should indicate which walls are for structural support and which are not load-bearing. Contact your real estate agent or your local government for information on the builder. The wall must not be a load-bearing wall and, preferably, should not contain extensive plumbing or electrical lines.

    • 2

      Tear down the existing wall by hammering through the existing partition with a hammer or sledgehammer and removing nails with a hammer as you go along. Loosen the plasterboard from its frame first by putting holes in it. Then bring down the frame by cutting it with an electric handsaw and hitting it with a hammer. Break all sides of the wall up and move out the leftover material.

    • 3

      Use a tape measure to determine the width and height of the new partition wall and the area available. Cut four 2-inch-by-4-inch boards to your wall height, which is usually around 8 feet, and width measurements -- two boards for the width, and two for the height. Use these four boards to create the frame for the partition. Remove any carpeting or flooring that may be in the way of the proposed partition wall.

    • 4

      Lay the width-length board flat on the floor. Nail it into the existing flooring to create the base of the wall frame. Nail through both boards at an angle where the two ends meet. Add stud supports within the center of the frame. Do the same for the upper portion of the frame and repeat the entire process for the other sides of the wall.

    • 5

      Cut the plasterboard to the dimensions desired for the partition wall or buy plasterboard that already fits the dimensions. Nail the plasterboard to the frame at each corner first and then around the majority of the frame until it is sturdy. Repeat this process for the other sides of the wall.

    • 6

      Apply plaster evenly on the face of the plasterboard using a putty knife or a similar tool. Smooth the plaster with a trowel. Let it dry for 48 hours. Repeat the same process for each side of the wall.