A small, modular office can be a temporary solution to many household needs.
An office doesn't have to be large to result in a large turnout of work. Privacy is a primary issue. Sectioning off a small office that can be removed at a later time may be just what you need for a child to concentrate on homework or for the start-up of a new home business. A small office can be built in a basement, a bedroom, or in any place you can spare the room. It can even be built to become a permanent addition. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Office with room dividers
1. Measure off the area you are planning to use as well as the desk and other equipment you need to put in that space.
2. Modular wall dividers can be purchased at home improvement centers or office supply stores. The dividers are padded for sound protection and actually look quite nice.
3. In the corner of your chosen room or space set the divider on the feet that are provided. Using two existing walls, one divider will make a third wall in the "room," leaving the fourth wall space open for an entrance.
Office with a more permanent wall
4. Build a wall frame for a more permanent wall. Choose a corner of a room where only one more wall will be needed.
5. Measure your required length for a wall and purchase two 2 inch by 4 inch boards this length to be used as top and bottom or sole plates.
6. Place the plates on the floor, horizontally in line with where the wall will end up. Place the 2-inch part of the board flat on the floor.
7. Measure the height of the wall.
8. Cut eight 2-inch by 4-inch boards for a 10-foot section of wall, that is, the height of your wall minus 3 inches. The top and bottom plates are called 2 by 4s but are actually only 1 and 1/2 inches by 3 and 1/2 inches. This is called their "actual size." An 8-foot high wall will need studs cut 7 feet and 9 inches to fit between the top and bottom plates.
9. Place the upright wall studs 16 inches "on center" starting at the outside edge of the top and bottom plates. "On center" means that the middle of the 2-inch board's width will be 16 inches from the center of the next 2 by 4 board. Measure the first stud from the outside of the 2 by 4 to the "center" of the next 2 by 4. Then measure from the center of that 2 by 4 to the center of the next 2 by 4. Place the studs on the floor perpendicular to the top and bottom plates.
10. Nail the upright studs through the top and bottom plates and into the stud with two 3-inch nails in each end. The first and last 2 by 4s nailed to the top and bottom plates will make a rectangle. The next 2 by 4s, 16 inches on center, will fill in the rectangle. The last 2 by 4s will not be evenly "on center."
11. Find a stud in the existing wall with a stud finder. This hand-held device is placed on the wall and moved horizontally across it to indicate where the studs are located.
12. Lift the wall frame and nail it to the wall through an existing stud. For a permanent wall, nail it to the floor and ceiling with a framing nail gun and 3-inch nails.
13. Cover the frame with drywall or paneling that has been cut to the correct height. Nail the covering to the studs from the first stud to the center of the second stud. This should leave half of the second stud on center, so that the next sheet of covering will be nailed to the other half of the second stud and onto half of the third stud.
14. Leave what would be the fourth wall of the square open for an entrance.
15. Paint or wallpaper the drywall to finish the rest of the room.
Tags: bottom plates, center next, permanent wall, second stud, wall will
