In my wordy post at the top of this blog I say that you’re going to hear about our successes and our failures. Today I’ll be sharing not only how we built a moveable wall for our studio, but also will be giving you insight on everything we did wrong, so you don’t have to go through the same thing!
For us, it was pertinent to have something very sturdy. It wasn’t only needed as a two-sided background. It needed to be strong enough that a running toddler couldn’t plow it over (I’ve seen lots of fabulous faux walls out there that I would love, I just know they wouldn’t stand more than five minutes with all the kids I have coming through the studio). I also wanted to be able to move the wall around. When not in use, it creates almost a “foyer” area when first entering the studio with fine art pieces and a sofa. Our space is so vast and contemporary that I wanted clients to be welcomed in a more intimate way that reminded them a bit more of their own home (a bit). Lastly, our studio also functions as an art gallery. We host events on almost a monthly basis featuring local artists from around the community. They’ll bring pieces of all sizes, and occasionally in large quantities, so to us it was also important to have actual drywall that could support most any type of hanging artwork.
With that said, this wall is a beast! I can move it myself, but I feel much more comfortable asking Ryan to give me a hand when rolling it around. Unless you also need it for all of the reasons above, I highly recommend using lighter lumber and substituting drywall for a different solid surface.
Here’s what I purchased (or already had around home):
9- 2×4′ stud lumber, 96″ long (Note: 5 of these should have only been 92″ long)
4- 4×8′ drywall, 1/2″ thick (Note: go as light/thin as possible for your project)
7- heavy duty, locking casters
1- box of drywall nails
1- box of framing nails
1- box of wood screws for casters
1- box of longer screws to secure “wings” to the wall
1- container of drywall joint compound
Tools: hammer, power drill, drywall sandpaper, square, putty knife-applicator-thing, saw
The first thing I did was build the frame. I measured out the distance I would need between each support beam and used my square to ensure everything was attached at a 90 degree angle. The wood was all laid out on the floor and I nailed it together with the framing nails (2 nails per “joint”). Again, note that you should be using 92″ pieces of lumber as the support/stud. Mathematically I forgot to include the 2″ thickness of the top and bottom beams of wood, thinking if my wood was 8′ long, then it would fit the drywall that was also 8′ long. This mistake left me with a 4″ gap at the bottom of the wall (which even then I should have moved to the top since the top doesn’t show in photos!).
Next, with the wall flat on the ground I had Ryan help me lift the drywall down and I scooted it into place and secured every square foot or so with drywall nails. You’ll find that if using drywall, it’s actually marked with little guides to let you know where to nail. Ryan helped me lift the wall to the other side and I repeated the same thing. I then attached the casters to the bottom of the frame. Note, this should be done before you secure the drywall if possible. At this point the wall was so heavy that I couldn’t lift it easily enough to drill in at an angle. Even though the casters said 4″ wide and you would assume that a 2×4″ is also 4″ wide, the holes still overlapped from the edges of the wood a bit. I think you’d have an easier time screwing these in if working with a lighter frame that you could safely lift alone.
From here, I had Ryan help me prop the wall up against the wall and called it a day knowing that it would need side supports/wings and that I’d need a power-saw to do this. My hand saw definitely wasn’t doing the job! That’s when I resorted to Craigslist. I took pictures of what the guy built. In my own head, though, I don’t think this was done as securely as it should have been. There is cracking in the wood (he didn’t pre-drill) and, while the wings look nice enough, I don’t think they’re actually offering as much architectural support as they should (the little straight beam that’s pictured doesn’t actually support any weight. It was added last…I can’t figure out exactly what it’s purpose is other than to be there in case the top angled pieces would cave in). My biggest mistake was accepting the very first response I received to my ad. The guy was *really* nice…just graduated from college and I think a roofer. He even tried to give me back $20 of what I had agreed to pay upfront! But later in the day as more and more responses came in, some people were giving a synopsis of their experience and accreditations.
In retrospect, I wish I would have been more patient and hired someone who’d been doing this for 20+ years. But the wall stands, it rolls and I can lean against it with my full weight and know it’s not going anywhere. All that was left for me to do was to apply the joint compound. You’ll need to wait a day or two for that to dry and come back to sand it smooth.
One more disclaimer; again, just because I did it this way, does not mean it’s the correct/only way to do it. Be careful, don’t attempt this on your own without having another set of eyes/muscles helping you out. If you have any further insights or experience, as always, please share your knowledge below! Tune in next time when I’ll share how I painted/decorated the wall (really, my favorite part)!
6 comments