building advice

[raggie33]

ok i was thinking(scary thought) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif.i want to make my area of house i sleep in and work in smaller.so it will be easier to cool.so i thought id build a wall right down middle of that wall it will work.but i never built nothing before.but im good with my hands.well it is a 15x15 room with 10 feet ceiling this is the first room ya enter when ya come in house thru front door..stupid house has 2 front doors.like 2 feet from each other but other door goes to other room.so i thought about haveing front door seperated from my liveing area with a wall .but what is the cheapest way to do this i have 2x4,s already but i hear drywall is expensive would wood paneling work?

 

[raggie33]

ok added a raggie style blue print i didnt do it corect i just wanted to give ya a idea what i want to do

 

[Silviron]

Raggie, I really can't say much either way about your plans, but drywall is VERY inexpensive for the raw materials... About 1/4 the price of cheap wood paneling.


Drywall is pretty easy to do, although takes a lot of experience to do it really well. You ought to be able to pick up the general idea if you can find someone building a new house that will let you watch for an hour or two.

Basic Drywall doesn't even require fancy tools; a razor knife, chalk line and measuring tape is all you need to install a plain wall, either hammer & nails or (preferred) a cordless drill/driver and drywall screws. Then a few things for finish work.

It is heavy though... I "like to kilt myself" putting up a drywall ceiling by myself without a drywall lifter tool.

 

[bobisculous]

Raggie, its cheap stuff. And as long as your painting it and not texturing it, its somewhat easy and cheap. If your going to texture it, and have no special drywall blow guns, you must be really skilled. Even with the gun, its tough to make is all uniform without skill. I have some general knowledge since my dad is a contractor so feel free to ask questions.
Cameron

 

[raggie33]

cool thank you for advice. i added new drawing with kitchen and bathroom odly i think this house had no bathroom when it was built lol.it is very old.anything will look better then it looks now it dont have drywall on walls now it just has like 2 inch boards nailed to wall may be tonge and grove i dont know but it looks aweful to me

 

[Silviron]

Texturing is pretty easy as long as you aren't particular... (Now, matching textures if you are patching can be a real PITA)

I just mix a little pre-mixed plaster, or joint compound in with the same latex paint I intend to paint with, and roll it on with a long nap roller. I've seen guys do it with brooms, brushes and all kinds of stuff.

 

[raggie33]

the one thing i wonder is i have to frame wall. well i imagine ya do it on ground.then raise the entire un drywalled wall nd nail it to floor and celing but id think if it is the same height as celing the angle that will occur when raiseing wall with bind it from being able to be raised

 

[BB]

You can certainly make the room smaller--but you would probably do as well, or better if you insulate the ceiling/attic over the room and add an IR film to the windows (replacing with double pane windows would be better). If you are really pressed for cash, you could use styrene sheets on the windows. Adding insulation to the existing walls will help also, but is more expensive.

Much of what you do will depend on relation to the sun (south facing windows/walls?).

Other low(er) cost options include adding shade (trees, awnings, trellis, etc.) and better attic ventilation (even adding an attic fan). Sealing against air leaks (caulk), adding weather striping to doors. Add a "whole house fan" to cool the house quickly in the evening/night (if it gets cool enough), then seal up the next morning.

For our home, double pane vinyl windows (with low E glass), ceiling insulation, and a porch over the south facing wall (with trees in front) has allowed our home to be roughly 10 degrees cooler during the day. Before, the rooms were the same temperature, or a bit warmer than the outside air (we don't have air conditioning).

-Bill

 

[Silviron]

[ QUOTE ]
raggie33 said:
well i imagine ya do it on ground.then raise the entire un drywalled wall nd ...

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I wouldn't do it that way.....

Put your header and footer 2X4s in, with some long screws to the roof beams / joists then put your upright studs in individually, and screw or nail them to the headers or footers. To be up to"code" studs are supposed to be on 16" centers, but for a non-load-bearing wall you can get away with 24" inches between, as long as the building inspector doesn't find out.

 

[Eugene]

2x4's are cheap so making 16" centers won't cost much more. I built a small closet in my kitchen to hold the washer and dryer. You can build the wall and raise in into place, the little bit where the corner sticks out because of the angle isn't much compared to the 8-10' height of the wall, hit it with a hammer and it will go up.

 

[raggie33]

lol im almost thinking of going like this rofl trully easy way .ok ill get a big pice of pvc or pipe run it along side celiing then get some of that thick plastic and doing like a shower curtain thing .but i doubt that will keep cold in cold side. but i want cheapppppp lol

 

[BB]

We use a shower curtain rod in our hallway and hang a piece of 5 or 6 mil poly sheet from it. In the winter, it lets us keep the bedrooms warm without heating the whole house. It's not perfect, but it does work OK.

In a large room, you may have to tape it to the walls and floor to prevent airflow.

-Bill

 

[keithhr]

just curious, do you own this house? If not, putting in a wall without the owners permission would not be a good idea. You would damage the existing walls where they meet while doing so. Putting in a less than professional looking wall would even be worse. If building a temporary wall as a partition you could even rip your 2x4's in half if you didn't have enough. Drywall is the cheapest material you could use and it does have some insulating value by itself.

 

[raggie33]

well i was buying the house from one guy and he lost it to bank,its compicated.guy ripped many people off if i heard right around 100 people.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

If I recall correctly you were screwed out of the house???

If you are still there, who actually OWNS it?

Plastic sheeting and duct tape is the ghetto way. Building a frame and raising it into place is the "right" way. And of course allows for insulation that sheeting won't.

But if I understand correctly, you have a decent window unit doing a LOT of work. The plastic would probably help up to 30-40% easy.

 

[raggie33]

yep got screwed big time. i hope i never run into that guy.im afraid id lose temperand break his nose.and im genely a peaceful person.and this ac is a decent window unit it is remote controled and etc but it is a tad small .it can keep up at 78 f but i dont want it to run 24/7

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Oh yeah, 10 foot ceiling pegs it as an older house. My Grandads house in the Houston Heights had high ceilings, wood walls with Wallpaper. It had a real attic with an attic fan that blew air up into the attic and out of the eaves.

Back when I was a pup, it never felt hot. These days, I NEED that AC to get to sleep!!!

 

[raggie33]

opps some other guy owns it now and a mangement company manages it . if i understand coretly he bought all the house miller was loseing.people next door are in same boat as me and many other people are to.