Frame Dividing Wall

Amy Matthews: Framing a dividing wall is a simple project you can do yourself. You’ll save a few hundred bucks and build equity in your home. Here’s what you need to know. Just make sure you have a few friends to help you out.

Adam: It’s a workout.

Amy Matthews: That’s why we bring Adam.

Mark the floor and ceiling for the location of the wall.

Adam: The next step, we’ll start building the walls.

Amy Matthews: Before cutting the studs, subtract three inches to allow for the top and bottom plates. Now, you can assemble the wall on the floor. For about $60.00 a day, you can rent a framing gun and compressor.

Yep and we’ve got two, so this should make our life nice and snappy.

This is will save you hours of hammering nails the old fashion way. Your stud should be 16 inches on center. Once the wall is nailed together, you can lift it in place to see how it fits.

Adam: All right guys, it's time for raising.

Amy Matthews: Hopefully, it will be a nice, tight fit.

Adam: It is.

Amy Matthews: This is where precise measurements pay off. If you’re off just a fraction of an inch, you’ll be hammering the wall in place or starting from scratch.

There you are right there. And our goal is to get it as plum as we can and then we’ll actually take a level to it and check the plumb—Beautiful! So, we’ll check every other one as we go and then get to the end and check for the level there too.

Once the new wall is perfectly level, you can fasten it to the floor.

All right, it looks pretty good.

For a plywood surface, use two and a half inch screws but if you’re working with concrete, you’ll need a Ramset.

And what this does is it fires a 22 blank and we’re going to put it right in here. And then we’re going to put the nail in at the bottom and then pull it close.

Always use extreme caution. A Ramset is just a like a firearm.

All right great! That’s it for the base, so grab the framing nailer and we’ll hit the top.

With your wall in place, the only thing left to do is finish it with drywall and paint. Framing a dividing wall is a simple project that you can do in an afternoon. But if time is an issue, a framing crew can knock it out in about an hour. I'm Amy Matthews from DIY Network’s Sweat Equity.