How Much to Build a Stud Wall?
It’s usually best to hire a professional to complete this work as it can be quite labour intensive. The average cost you can expect to pay for a stud wall installation is around £800-£1,000. However, it may be slightly more if there is any extra work needed.
What's a stud wall anyway?
A stud partition wall is typically installed in order to create a whole new room, by creating partitions between other spaces.
By installing a partition wall, you're going to benefit from such a cost-effective solution, compared to the cost of extensions etc.
How long is it going to take?
On average, you can expect the job to take around 2-3 days to complete, provided there is no extra work needed or there are no complications with the work.
Partition Wall Prices
Below is a list of the different costs of installing stud walls:
| Job | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Installing a stud wall cost | £800-£1,000 |
| Installing a stud wall with a radiator | £1,100-£1,300 |
| Installing a stud wall with a radiator and light fitting | £1,275-£1,450 |
| Installing two stud walls | £1,800-£2,000 |
- How Much to Build a Stud Wall?
- What are the Supply Costs of a Stud Wall Installation?
- What are the Additional Costs of Installing a Stud Wall?
- Tradesmen Costs for Building a Stud Wall
- How Long Does It Take to Install a Stud Wall?
- Types of Stud Wall
- Benefits of a Stud Wall
- How Much Does It Cost to Remove a Stud Wall?
- FAQs
- Sources
What are the Supply Costs of a Stud Wall Installation?
It’s usually best to hire a professional company when installing a stud wall as it is quite a large job that requires a lot of work. However, you may be interested in learning more about the costs of the materials needed for installing a stud wall.
The table below shows some of the material costs that come with this type of work:
| Types of Supply | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Timber frame stud wall with two-sided plasterboard | £55-£65 per square metre |
| Metal frame stud wall with two-sided plasterboard | £55-£65 per square metre |
| Timber studs including vertical studs, head and sole plates | £15-£20 per square metre |
| Timber battens or noggins | £3-£5 per square metre |
| Stud wall insulation | £4-£7 per square metre |
| Plasterboard | £3-£5 per square metre |
| Plywood | £18-£25 per square metre |
What are the Additional Costs of Installing a Stud Wall?
There are several additional costs that you may want to consider with this type of work. Below is a list of the additional costa that may come up when installing a stud wall in your home:
Plastering
Plastering can help to complete this project and will make your new stud wall much easier to decorate. You can expect to pay around £150-£200 to have a single wall plastered.
If you are looking to plaster the entire room, this could cost around £300-£1,200. There are a few factors that could increase the cost, such as the size of the job and the location of your property.
Painting and Decorating
When installing a new stud wall, you will need to think about decorating it once the wall is complete. While this can be completed as a DIY job, many people prefer to leave this job to the professionals.
If you are looking to hire someone to paint or decorate your home, you can expect to pay around £180-£800 per room.
Internal Renovations
If you are installing a stud wall, you may also be interested in completing a range of other internal renovations. The cost of internal renovations will depend on the work being completed, the materials used, and your location in the UK.
On average, you can expect to pay around £100-£150 per square metre for internal renovations.
Tradesmen Costs for Building a Stud Wall
In this section, we will take a look at the costs that you can expect to pay for the labour aspect of installing a stud wall.
Installing a stud wall is quite a labour-intensive job, and it will usually require at least two contractors to complete the work. A professional company will charge you around £800-£1,000 on average to build a stud wall.
If there is any additional work needed, you can expect to pay more for the labour part of the job. For example, if you are installing a radiator at the same time as your stud wall, you will typically pay around £1,100-£1,300 for the installation.
If you also want to have light fittings installed at the same time, this may cost around £1,275-£1,450 on average.
If you are looking to have two stud walls installed at the same time, this will likely cost around £1,800-£2,000.
The actual prices that you pay will depend on the difficulty of the job, how much work is needed, the additional work involved, and your location in the UK. Those based in the London area can expect to pay more for the work than those based in the North or other parts of the UK.
How Long Does It Take to Install a Stud Wall?
If you are having a new stud wall installed at your home, you may be curious about the timescales that you can expect for this type of work. In this section, we will go over the expected timescales for various stud wall installations.
If you are installing one stud wall on its own, you can expect this to take around 1-2 days to complete depending on the size of the wall and the difficulty of the job.
If you are completing additional work with the stud wall installation, such as adding a radiator or installing light fittings, you can expect the work to take around 2-4 days in total. If you are installing two stud walls, the work will take around 2-3 days to complete.
Types of Stud Wall
There are two types of stud wall frames to choose from – timber or steel. These are both fitted to the ceiling and floor, and they are both plastered on both sides. Below is some information about both of these types of stud walls:
Timber Stud Wall
Timber stud walls tend to be cheaper than steel stud walls, however, they tend to take longer to install than steel frames. One of the issues with timber stud walls is if you’re planning on fitting heavy things to your wall, it may not be able to support them well.
It is worth taking a photo of the wall beforehand so that you know where the studs are located.
Pros:
- Low costs
Cons:
- Takes longer to install
- Difficult to fit heavy items to
Steel Stud Wall
Steel stud walls are more expensive than timber stud walls. However, they have many benefits, including being lightweight, faster to install, and they have greater strength and stability compared to timber frames.
Pros:
- Lightweight
- Faster to install
- Strong
- Stable
Cons:
- More expensive than timber
Benefits of a Stud Wall
There are many benefits to installing a stud wall, including:
Cheaper Than Expansion
If you are looking to add another room to your home, you have two options – install a partition wall, or get an extension. While an extension adds extra space to your home, a partition wall works great if you’re not looking to add any extra space.
Installing a stud wall costs much less and requires a lot less work than an extension.
Materials are Easy to Obtain
The materials needed to install a stud wall are very easy to get. So, you won’t struggle with getting the right supplies, especially in comparison to an extension that will need a lot of different materials.
Easy to Manage
If you are installing a stud wall, this is much easier to manage than an extension. A stud wall installation can be quite a labour-intensive job, however, it is quite easy to manage the workload.
Provides an Extra Room
When you install a stud wall, this is a great way to split up your home and add an additional room to your home without needing an extension. While open-plan living can be great for some people, others prefer their rooms to be separated by walls, so a stud wall is great in these instances.
How Much Does It Cost to Remove a Stud Wall?
There are a few reasons why you may want to remove a stud wall in your home. Some examples can include if you want more space in your home, if there is a problem with your current wall, or if you prefer open-plan living.
If you are interested in removing a stud wall, you may be interested in the costs that are involved with a removal. If you would like to hire a professional to remove your stud wall for you, you can expect this to cost around £1,200-£1,750. This price includes the cost of the removal and the cost of disposing of all of the waste.
This job will usually take around 1-2 days to complete depending on the size of the wall and the type of materials used.
FAQs
Q: How can you tell if a stud wall is load bearing?
A: There are several ways for you to confirm whether or not a wall is load bearing. One of the simplest ways to identify a load bearing wall is to check if the wall is parallel to the floor joists. If it is, then more than likely it is not a load bearing wall. Load bearing walls typically face the joists at a 90-degree angle.
If your home has a basement, you can identify the load bearing wall by going down into the basement and seeing if there is a support wall or beams facing the same way. In this case, it may be a load bearing wall.
If you are unsure about whether or not the wall you want to remove is load bearing, then you should contact a structural engineer or an architect who can come and inspect the wall and determine whether it is load bearing or not.
Q: Can you plasterboard a stud wall?
A: Yes, you can plasterboard a stud wall. It will usually require a 12.5mm-thick plasterboard covering.
Q: What is the best type of insulation for a stud wall?
A: There are several different types of insulation materials that you can use for a stud wall. However, the most popular type of insulation for a stud wall is mineral wool, as this type of insulation helps to raise thermal efficiency and can retain heat very effectively.
Q: How thick is a typical stud wall?
A: If you are wondering about stud wall thickness, this should give you a good idea. A typical two-by-four stud wall is around 3.5 inches wide. When you add on the additional 0.5 inches of drywall on either side, this brings the total width of the wall to 4.5 inches in thickness.
If your walls contain any pipes or plumbing, then these will need to be thicker depending on the size of the pipes.
Q: Can a stud wall be installed in a large open-plan room to make two smaller rooms?
A: Yes, it can. This is actually the only effective way to create two smaller rooms from a larger open-plan room. This is because solid walls need to be built directly above existing solid ground floor walls. With this in mind, a stud wall is your best option for creating two rooms.
Q: What is a stud finder?
A: A stud finder is a device used to locate the framing studs that sit behind the wall. These devices are typically used when you want to hang something on the wall, and they will help you find the optimum location for hanging. There are two types of stud finders – an electrical stud finder or a magnetic stud finder.
Q: Do I need to follow building regulations when installing a stud wall?
A: Generally, you don’t need to follow any stud wall building regulations as long as the wall is not load-bearing. Some listed buildings may require building regulations approval. In these cases, it’s best to check with your local authority first.
Sources
- https://www.diy.com/ideas-advice/how-to-build-a-stud-partition-wall/CC_npci_100041.art
- https://www.fastbuildsupplies.co.uk/knowledge-hub/stud-partition-wall-building-regulations
