Temporary Walls In A Rental House

[Keith Starosta]

Howdy, Folks! Been a while since I've ventured into The Creek, but here I be...and I've got questions! :)

We will be moving into a new rental home in just a few weeks, and I'm trying to figure out the best way for us to maximize the space we will have. The house has a very nice, fully-finished basement. The dimensions are approximately 25'x30'. My hope is to divide this large room into two smaller rooms, to be used by my daughters as bedrooms. The simplest way would be to just hang a big 'ol curtain right down the middle, but I'd like to try to give them both a little more privacy than that. I'm open to putting up a temporary wall (all screws, studs/drywall, no tape or mud), but am wondering if there is a more "elegant" solution than that. The only limiting factor would be that I would have to de-construct anything at the end of our lease.

So, what say YOU fine people of The Creek?

Thanks!

Keith

[Jim Becker]

Keith, I'd do it with metal studs which screws together fast and only use wood at the doorways. Throw some insulation in the wall and use inexpensive panelling installed vertically with appropriate colored pan-head screws. While bead-board would look nice and is also very paintable. A cheap passage door finishes things off.

[John Goodin]

There are lots of great ideas out there. What is your budget, how old are the kids and how long do you plan on renting? The answers will help in providing suggestions.

[John Goodin]

Run the drywall vertical and install a board and batten type frame to cover where tape should normally be applied. Battens at the ceiling and base would help give it a finished look and cover all the seams. Skip applying caulk where the battens contact permanent walls. Paint all the bedroom walls the same color and all the bedroom trim and battens white. In essence you would be creating an accent wall while hiding the fact it is a temporary. Go ogle interior board and batten for visuals.

[Keith Starosta]

Thanks, guys! I like both of these option a lot.

The top plate isn't that big a deal, as long as I find the ceiling joists to screw into. The floor plate, however, is a different story. Since it has to be removed at some point, how should I attach the 2x4 to the carpeted floor?

[Ray Newman]

Question: does your landlord have any issues with what you want to do?

[Keith Starosta]

I did fail to mention that. This is all contingent upon the property management company being good with the temporary modifications. :D

[Richard Coers]

If you build the stud wall just a bit short, you can drive in wedges at the ceiling joists and wedge it to the floor. After the wedges are tight, shoot a screw through them. A small dollop of silicone under the floor plate won't leave much of a mark if you want a tad bit more resistance to moving in the wall. Even a small intermittent bead of caulk on each side of the baseplate could be taken off with a razor scraper if you take them down.

[Nike Nihiser]

Is there legal egress in case of fire. By legal I mean you need something like a 3' x 5' window in an exterior wall generally, to be legal for a bedroom.

[Lee Schierer]

Warning: basement bedrooms without proper egress is a building code violation.

[Bill Dufour]

Would the rental company allow you to build a permanent wall and leave it behind when moving?

[John Lanciani]

No space without two means of exit should ever be used as a bedroom.

[Martin Wasner]

Look for cubical dividers on Craigslist. Cheap easy way to split the room.

[Earl McLain]

No space without two means of exit should ever be used as a bedroom.

Whether it's code or not. Appropriate egress paths in the event of an emergency are lifesavers.
earl

[Tom Bender]

If you hit a wall with the management company and if you can justify a bit more material this could work'

Build a room divider out of giant bookcases and wardrobes. (the girls might have some clothes to hang) If you separate them with a hallway you could forgo the door.

[Rick Potter]

If this basement room does not already have proper egress windows or door, there is no way any sane owner would let you do that. Any problem, and he could lose his house, along with your chance of losing a family.

Please, coming from a landlord and retired fireman.....safety first.

[Frank Pratt]

If this basement room does not already have proper egress windows or door, there is no way any sane owner would let you do that. Any problem, and he could lose his house, along with your chance of losing a family.

Please, coming from a landlord and retired fireman.....safety first.

There have been a couple of cases in recent years here where landlords faced charges relating to basement development. One was where there were no functioning smoke alarms and the other where the basement window was too small for egress. Both involved house fires with fatalities.

So, no landlord or father should have sleeping quarters where there are not at least 2 means of egress.

[Dan Baginski]

I think the idea of office cubicle walls is a good temporary solution. You should be able to find used ones cheap. The proper height will be the hard part. Lots of times when offices remodel or move they get rid of them for free.

[Carl Beckett]

Interesting thread about multiple exit options. My current house doesnt have this (it has windows, but they dont open sufficiently). At least two other places I have lived did not have this either. Had never thought about it. Wonder how common it is to not have secondary escape routes.

[Jim Becker]

Carl, the egress requirements are a "more recent" change to code and homes built prior wouldn't have the feature. Where it comes into play with existing is during a major renovation in an area that requires permits for such work. Building codes will require the retrofit. That's "technically"...since many projects like this are done under the radar, but nonetheless does create a situation. I think that folks are correct that there is great risk in a rental property for something like this, whether the change is formal or ad-hock, and would want owner approval (in writing) before proceeding. I had forgot about the egress thing when I made my original post that only dealt with the functional question of attaching the wall.

[John Lanciani]

Interesting thread about multiple exit options. My current house doesnt have this (it has windows, but they dont open sufficiently). At least two other places I have lived did not have this either. Had never thought about it. Wonder how common it is to not have secondary escape routes.


Don’t think of it in terms of how far the windows open normally, think of the opening when you remove the sashes by force, either from the inside or the outside. The current code requirement allows for a fire fighter wearing SCBA to get in through the opening to effect a rescue. I’ve never seen any (normal) house ever built that had above grade bedroom windows so small that a person couldn’t get out if their life depended on it.

[Bill Dufour]

For decades science classrooms have had to have two doors. Since the 1950's or older in progressive cities.
Bill D.

[Martin Wasner]

Wonder how common it is to not have secondary escape routes.

Probably most I would think.


How do apartments work?

[Rick Potter]

It's been a while, but if I remember correctly ground floor units have windows with a certain square inches of clear area, and 2nd thru 4th(? hazy here) have slightly more square inches of clear area, accessible by ladders,etc.

[Mike Kees]

This is a interesting thread. Canadian National building code has required two means of egress from every room at least all the way back to the 1986 code. When I apprenticed the 1990 code book was out but not yet being enforced. Our window requirement for egress is not less than 16'' high clear opening and a minimum of 3.2 square feet clear opening. No window hardware can be in this opening. Most basement bedrooms use slider windows to accomplish making code.We used to be able to make code with a 24"x48" slider,however now we have to go to 30" height. There are still lots of older houses that would not meet code here as well.