Hello, I live in an apartment, a 2-bedroom, and being young as I am, I want to divide the living room into 2 rooms so I can have a cozy/gaming/movie corner. I am considering building 2 walls that will be connected to each other but freestanding on the floor, meaning they won't be screwed into the ceiling, floor, or other walls. Is this a viable solution?
The space is intended to be about 3x3-5 meters and will house a sofa, table, TV stand, TV, home theater system, and several gaming consoles.
As I am planning to build, the walls will be constructed in an L formation, and the areas that are against the ceiling and floor will be covered in speaker felt (the kind used to cover car subwoofer boxes) to avoid scratching anything. I plan to use 45x45mm studs and 3mm masonite panels, possibly with insulation in between. I also plan to build all parts in sections so they can be easily disassembled into smaller modules and taken along during a move.
Has anyone here done something similar? Is this a sustainable idea? Do you have tips on other types of timber/panels I should use?
I've never done this exact solution, but spontaneously it sounds very flimsy with 45x45 and 3mm hardboard. I would probably do it with 70x45 and drywall on both sides. Building modules mostly becomes fiddly and wobbly; I would build the walls in one piece and connect them with each other so that it becomes stable. Then you can probably hang the TV on the wall if you want. Mounting walls stretched between the floor and ceiling is not unusual at all, but, as mentioned, you usually use somewhat more stable materials.
Would it be very unstable if it is built in modules? Would it be very wobbly if I use 45x45? I don't have much space so I want them as thin as possible, but not too thin. The TV will probably be able to go up on one of the apartment's concrete walls so I'm not too worried about that, might even get a projector (when finances allow).
The idea is that they should more or less stand on the floor and not be tensioned between the ceiling and floor. From my own experience, things tend to be quite stable if they're connected in an L formation. I was also thinking of attaching boards at ceiling height that go into the new room as a tip protection.
Put together a quick estimate at Byggmax with 45x45 studs and plasterboard and it came to about 808 kr, but I have no idea yet if it's too much or too little material since I've only made a rough estimate.
A quick illustration of how I have it in mind (not to scale)
Where you see in profile you can see the intended tip protection.
Red=my homemade small walls
Black=apartment's walls, floor, and ceiling.
Since I haven't tried it, I can't say how unstable it will be. If they're going on the floor, I would definitely increase the dimensions and also screw the sections into an L-shape. Why not secure it? It's not difficult and will be much sturdier. You can skip the tip protection against the ceiling. If the "wall" starts to slide at the floor, it won't serve any purpose at all. Better to spend the money on something else.
Or rethink entirely, furnish with bookshelves or similar to create your gaming corner....
okay, will probably increase in dimension to make it more stable if the construction happens. It will be screwed together in an L formation. I hadn't thought about the fact that it could actually slide against the floor.
It's hard to find bookshelves that go all the way up to the ceiling; I want it as screened off as possible to avoid light from the street, lamps, and other things. Also, it's much more fun to build something than to furnish with other furniture.
Start with bookshelves and craft a cover piece up to the ceiling... But yes, it's more fun to do it yourself. You can always try with 45x45, if it works, it works. You can always reuse the drywall boards. If you want a slightly raw, industrial look, you can go with plyfa instead and leave it as it is. It will also be sturdier than drywall boards.
You brace against golv and ceiling by cutting the beams that should be against the floor and ceiling, respectively, and place/hold them in position. Then measure the distance between them and cut the vertical beams. Place them in position and then take wedges and tap them in under the beams so they are pushed up slightly. This will create a tension in the framework that keeps it in place. I believe it's Byggmax that has a film that shows how to do it.....
