How to build walls inside an apartment

Every person who has conceived an apartment renovation at least once asks the question: should I break this wall, and not move this partition two meters to the right and at an angle of 45?

I will not consider issues related to various building codes and approvals, because this is not a topic for an article, but for a whole book, but suppose that all the cherished papers with signatures and seals are in your pocket, all the partitions that interfere with the flight of your imagination demolished and it remains only to start the construction of new.

First of all, you should understand what you need from your walls.

Will it be just a partition separating one room from another, or something more. Whether you need heat and sound insulation or not, whether your wall will have a niche or an arched opening. Or maybe you put a sliding door and want it to go inside the wall, or you can’t imagine your life without regular sports, but you don’t know if you can fix a horizontal bar or a Swedish wall on your new partition or not. And so on…

Warm walls

Wall insulation is relevant for those who live in corner apartments, when two walls of the room are front, or in the case of any façade defects, because in a normal house built in compliance with all building codes and without violations of technology, there should not be such problems.

So, obviously, only the outer wall should be insulated. Glass wool, mineral wool or expanded polystyrene are usually used as insulation. Then the insulation is covered with plasterboard sheets fixed to the frame in one or two layers. Mineral wool and glass wool have approximately the same thermal conductivity properties.

There is a prejudice against glass and mineral wool as unhealthy, but this is not the case. In fact, it is harmful to breathe microparticles, which are present in the air in the form of dust during the installation of mineral and glass wool. Therefore, when working with them, you must use a respirator. After the insulation is covered with drywall, it poses no danger, in addition, it is absolutely non-combustible material. The most famous brands on the Moscow market of building insulating materials made of glass and mineral wool are ISOVER, ROCKWOOL, URSA.

Expanded polystyrene is a more effective insulation, as it has a lower thermal conductivity. The disadvantages of expanded polystyrene include a higher price compared to mineral and glass wool, as well as the fact that it is a moderately flammable material. When insulating walls with expanded polystyrene, it is advisable to use brands with the addition of a fire retardant – a substance that reduces its flammability.

Silent walls

If you want peace and quiet, but cheerful neighbors throw parties every day, or you want to install a home theater in the living room, and there is a nursery in the next room, then you just need soundproofing of the walls. In principle, the materials and technologies used for sound insulation are very similar to thermal insulation, but there are some differences. When soundproofing walls and partitions, a combination of materials of different densities is used. For example, mineral and glass wool – as a material with a low density, and as facing panels, not gypsum plasterboard sheets are attached to the frame, but gypsum fiber sheets, which have a higher density. There are others, including specialized, sound-insulating and sound-absorbing materials, but their significant drawback is the very high price.

Do not forget that with both heat and sound insulation, you will have to sacrifice the area of ​​the apartment, since the thickness of the walls will increase by at least 6 cm.

All that has been said about sound insulation is true for any of the partitions, which will now be discussed..

Types of partitions

Partitions from plasterboard and gypsum fiber sheets I have already considered, I will only add that they are very convenient for creating curved surfaces, various niches, columns, arches, etc. An important point is that they are quickly mounted and do not require plastering. Inside such partitions it is convenient to place electrical, telephone and Internet wiring, antenna cable.

The disadvantage of such partitions is the inability to attach heavy objects to a single-layer partition.

But there are several solutions – the use of cladding in two sheets on each side, laying a wooden beam in the metal U-shaped posts of the partition frame, as well as fastening the plywood to the frame before installing the drywall sheets.

Brick partition. The most traditional. Brick for partitions in an apartment is best used ceramic, solid or hollow. Solid brick is good for erecting partitions on which something heavy will be hung (for example, a sliding two-section oak door). In such a wall, it is also easy to equip niches, arches, etc..

The disadvantage of brick partitions is the obligatory plastering of the surface before final finishing and a longer construction time compared to other technologies..

Partition of gas silicate and foam concrete blocks. Such partitions are erected much faster than brick ones, but surface plastering is also necessary..

Partition from tongue-and-groove gypsum boards. It is a very convenient material, the walls are erected from it very quickly, do not require plastering and are ready for final finishing..

Unfortunately, expanded clay, aerated concrete blocks and tongue-and-groove slabs have some limitations in terms of design, but, as practice shows, such problems are quite rare..

All of the above types of partitions are non-combustible and have good sound insulation properties..

The cost of various types of partitions without plastering and putty (material / work in rubles per 1m2):

Brick (half brick) 330/350
Foam concrete and gas silicate blocks 300/300
Tongue-and-groove plates 330/300
Drywall (1 layer) 235/350

Make the wall smooth

It is important to keep in mind that plastering is not required for tongue-and-groove slabs and drywall. But we plaster and putty brick, expanded clay and foam concrete partitions.

In my opinion, it is better to use gypsum plaster.

It is, of course, more expensive than a conventional cement-sand mixture, but it has undoubted advantages over it: it is much more convenient to work with, dries faster, has better adhesion and allows you to achieve smoother surfaces, which will subsequently save on expensive putty.

Do not forget that paint putty is more expensive than wallpaper.

When putty for painting, it is advisable to apply a finishing putty with a very fine filler fraction on the walls: 0.1 mm is the maximum, or even less. Gypsum plaster mixes and putties are presented in our market by the brands KNAUF, VETONIT, CONSOLIT, UNIS, STARATELI, BOLARS.

Now that we have got even and smooth walls, the most crucial moment has come – which type of finish to choose. There are quite a few options here, and it is impossible to tell in detail about each within the framework of this article, but it is worth listing: wallpapering, wallpapering for painting, simple painting, multi-colored and immiscible multicolor paint, decorative painting, Venetian plaster, facing panels made of various materials, decorative stone (for the last two types of finishes, wall putty is not required) and so on. The choice in this case is yours. From my own experience, I can say that the most important thing here is a general intelligible concept of the entire project and the quality of its implementation..

Conclusion: a few tips

If you do not really trust the builders and are afraid that they are using cheaper materials than those specified in the estimate, then it is worthwhile to appear in the apartment several times during the process of building walls. It is very difficult to distinguish, for example, a more expensive and high-quality tongue-and-groove slab of a well-known brand from a cheaper slab “no name” (there is no need to talk about brick, expanded clay and foam concrete). But to see how the workers plaster and putty your walls is quite real. The difference in the price of these materials from different manufacturers is very significant..

When soundproofing walls, it is very important that an elastic tape is glued between the plasterboard frame and the floor, ceiling and walls. If you don’t, your wall will be an excellent resonator for impact noise transmitted through floors..

The outer corner of the wall or partition must be closed with a special plaster corner to avoid damage.

Many are worried about the practicality of this or that wall covering – the possibility of easy cleaning from pollution, durability and ease of repair. Obviously, the most practical are hard and smooth coatings (as opposed to brittle and textured ones). When repairing one or another damage, the greatest problems can arise with the restoration of surface texture and decorative paint..

And one last thing, just in case, after completing the repair, be sure to save one roll of each type of wallpaper used.