Let's Build a Partition Wall

We built a partition wall in the garage to separate workspace from storage space.

Now, if you're a professional reading this, you may be shaking your head at why we built our wall the way we did. Our design choices were made based on our skill and strength level, as well as the tools we own.

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You will find a complete this of material/tools with links on our website.

Materials:

• Tapcon 3/16 in. x 3-1/4 in. Phillips-Flat-Head Concrete Anchors
• (32) Simpson Strong-Tie 20-Gauge 2X Reversible Stud Plate Tie
• Simpson Strong-Tie Strong-Drive 8d x 1-1/2 in. SCN Smooth-Shank Connector Nai
• SPAX #9 x 2-1/2 in. T-Star Drive Flat-Head Partial Thread Yellow Zinc Coated Multi-Material Screw
• (3) 10’ 2x4
• (8) 8’ 2x4
• (3) 4’x8’ Underlayment

In a nutshell, this is our wall design. Three horizontal boards for the bottom and top plates, 8 studs and metal plates to hold it all together.

The garage ceiling was a little over 8 feet tall which necessitated an extra top plate to compensate for the extra ceiling height.

After determining where the wall was going to be built, we cut out the baseboard so the 2x4 would sit flush to the side wall. We chose this location based on the availability of a stud in the existing wall which would help support our new wall.

After cutting the board to size, we marked the placement on the floor with painter's tape.

We used a rotary hammer and speciality bit to drill through the 2x4 into the concrete below. We continually vacuumed out the wood and concrete dust which was essential so the screws could be fully screwed into place.

An impact driver proved to be effective in drilling in the Tapcon screws. We used Tapcon screws just in case we ever wanted to remove the wall. Other anchor methods are permanent.

Before securing the top plate, the bottom and top plates were put on top of each other to mark the placement of the studs. The studs are placed 16" on center, which means when you measure from the center of one stud to the center of the next one it should measure 16".

We had the luxury of being able to tie into an existing wall stud, but weren't so lucky when it came to tying into a joist in the ceiling. We had to add some blocking to extend a 2x4 over the placement of the top plate so that we had something to screw into to support the wall.

Those short pieces of wood extend the new joist to the position right over the top plate placement. The clamps were used to keep everything tight while screwing it into place.

In this photo we've already screwed one top plate into place and are now working on the second. Two top plates are actually not required in this type of non-load bearing partition wall. The ceiling in the garage is a little over 8'. We decided that we could use two top plates and 8' studs would fit without cutting or we could have used one top plate, purchased longer 2x4s, then cut them to size. We decided it made more sense to use the second plate.

With the bottom and top plates in place, it was now time to put in the studs. The first one was nailed to the existing side wall. The level showed the stud was perfectly straight!

Okay, you're probably asking why we used those plate things rather than the traditional toenailing technique. Well, frankly, with our skill set and strength we could not physically do it. Through some research we found an alternative way to attach the studs to the bottom and top plates. These Simpson Strong-Tie stud plates were just what we needed.

We used a Ridgid pneumatic palm nailer with a Ridgid compressor to drive the nails. This was easy AND fun! This tool drives the nails with ease.

All the studs are in place and ready for the final step.

The last step was to attach thin underlayment to the backside with a brad nailer.

We purposely left the front side open so that we could add storage between the studs. We eventually added some Wall Control metal pegboard panels and a system to store Milwaukee outdoor tools.

This project had some steep learning curves in it. Prior to starting, we read lots of tutorials and viewed videos to determine the best course of action for this build. When you start reading tutorials you'll find there are a lot of different ways to do things. We took all the information we found and figured out how we could do this with our skills, strength and available tools. We did not need a permit to build our partition wall, but always check in your area to see if permits are needed.

For more detail, please visit our website!