The one place that people love is the bedroom but one thing you could be missing is an extra space to put your guest or child.
So, when you want to enjoy the room alone, you can decide to partition it into two rooms to accommodate another bed.
It this article, we will explain simple ideas to divide the bedroom into two separate rooms just for that reason. It doesn’t matter whether you’re splitting it for kids or adults. Do you think your room is large enough to accommodate your bed and an extra one? Let’s see how you can go about splitting your bedroom into two.
This articles discusses 4 Methods:
- Using studs and plywood
- Using EverBlocks
- Using Drapery Rod and Curtains
- A Geometric Bedroom Partition
Remember…
You can install movable partitions or fixed walls to divide the bedroom. Note that the first method of partitioning we are about to describe will still be ideal if you decide to remove the wall in the future.
Anyway, for this case, we will use 8 feet as our preferred wall height.
Step 1: Assemble the material including studs and equipment
What you will need
- A bottom stud (2 by 4) by 8 feet tall (but you can set your preferred height)
- You’ll need 3 pieces for bottom and top plates
The reason for using these two top plates is to ensure that our 8-foot 2 by 4 studs will be able to fit snugly into place.
- Middle studs
- 2 by 4’s (your preferred length). Have at least 6 of these.
- Stud plate ties
- These are used to connect all the studs.
- Underlayment material (4 by 8)
- These will be used to back the wall.
- Tapcon concrete anchors
- Dremel Multi-Max or any other cutting machine applicable.
Step 2: Determine the Placement of the Wall
By now, you have already made up your mind where you want the wall to be.
Lay the bottom plate down to find the wall stud.
Cut out the baseboard to ensure that your new wall will be flushed with the existing wall.
For the cutting, we used Dremel Multi-Max.
If dry walling is your plan, ensure that you cut the baseboard to fit the width of your bottom plate and also the thickness of the dry wall you are using.
Location for a door
If you want to seal the rooms completely, remember to leave space for a door.
The standard bedroom door size ranges between 24 – 32 inches wide.
Step 3: Mark the Locations for Top and Bottom Plates
You may mark the location of the bottom plate with a painters tape just in case the plate moves while you’re securing it.
If your floor is concrete, there are many way to connect the bottom plate to the floor.
One way to do it is to use a rotary hammer that will allow you to drill directly into the wood and the concrete floor.
As you do this, it is good practice to remove excess concrete dust.
Then lift up the bottom plate and drill a little further deep into the concrete floor. This will ensure that your screws will go in with ease.
Take your Tapcon concrete anchors to secure the bottom plate to the concrete floor.
Use a rigid impact driver to drive all the anchors into place. There is no limit to the number of anchors to use but 16 inches apart will be fine.
A standard wall will require your studs to be 16 inches apart.
Make sure you mark those points for the top and bottom plates at the same time.
Step 4: Stabilize the Top Plates
Stabilize the top plate just enough so that you can begin securing it into place.
Check to ensure that your screws in the top plate are going into the attic support.
Use a strong, stable ladder while attaching the first plate to the attic. You could do well if someone else offered a helping hand by supporting one side of the plate until it is well-secured.
After adding the first 2 by 4 plate, go ahead and crew the second one as indicated in the image above.
Step 5: Attach the first Stud
Attach the first stud to the wall.
Start attaching all the other studs.
Use stud plate ties on the top and bottom side of the wall as you attach on the spots you have previously marked 16 inches apart.
To do this, use a rigid palm nailer.
Just load the nails to the palm nailer and apply them to the wall. They will go in very easily.
Step 6: Add a Thin Underlayment Material
Once you’re done with putting all the studs in place, place a very thin underlayment material to the back of the wall. This will depend on which side of the wall you want to consider the outside.
Remember, nothing is supposed to hang on the wall.
Its purpose is to ensure that nobody can see through it. That is why you can chose the cheapest material you can find.
If you have your board overlapping, use a saw to trim it.
You may notice that once you put the board on the all, you will not see the studs. However, you really need to be able to see them to attach the underlayment using Brad nails.
To accurately put the brad nails in, you can use a laser level clamped to a ladder.
Alternatively, you can manually measure the position of the study by calculating 16 inches from the first stud, using stud thickness incrementally until the last one.
Your final partition should look something like this on one side.
Step 7: Coat the Partition with Clear Varnish
Varnish is a thin layer or film that offers protective benefits to your wood. It prevents staining.
You can even find pigmented versions available commercially.
Step 8: Paint the Wall a Different Color
Although this is an optional step, sometimes you may want the partition to blend into your bedroom.
Thus, what you need to do is to paint it to finish the project.
Paint also seals marks such as from pencil drawings that might have been lefts while you were measuring.
Alternatively, you can put art all over the partition to suit your liking.
Step 9: Clear the Work Area
After completing all the building, clear the work area by removing all tools and left-over pieces such as wood and nails.
You will then follow this by cleaning as usual.
Other Bedroom Partition Ideas
So, what are Other Ways to Divide a Bedroom into Two Rooms?
The method we have explained above requires wood and a little bit of expertise. It may also take a few days of planning and a whole day of work.
Here are some exciting ideas how to divide a bedroom into two rooms.
1. Use EverBlocks
Splitting your bedroom into two can be even much easier using EverBlock. These dividers only require one person to arrange in a couple of minutes and you have two rooms just like this.
Good news is that it is temporary and you can relocate the partition to any place you want.
The more flexible your partition is, the more likely you will be able to move it.
2. Use Drapery Rod and Curtain
The curtain is the most common room divider that can help you split your bedroom into two.
This partition is quite inexpensive and works well for smaller spaces such as the attic bedroom.
If you need more privacy, you might want to use darker curtains.
3. Use a Geometric Bedroom Partition
This partition will definitely make your bedroom both modern and unique.
The geometric divider is both simple and natural to make. All you need is a stack of plywood and lumber.
How to make the divider
- Cut the plywood 10 inches square, then half diagonally.
- Sand all sides of the plywood triangles.
- Paint all the triangles to your liking or to match your bedroom colors.
- As the paint on the plywood dries, build the frame using 2 by 2’s. Size and height should be to your liking.
- Once you’re done with the frame, glue the triangles horizontally to make multiple rows.
- Add smaller vertical divisions within separate rows.
- Sand your partition to remove any glue stains left on it.
- After making three or more of such panels, connect them using hinges.