CRF Services Ltd

Stud wall building and partition walls

A stud wall is a lightweight internal wall made from a timber or metal frame with plasterboard fixed to each side. It is the usual way to divide a large bedroom, create a box room or en suite, or close off part of a room for storage. CRF Services Ltd builds timber stud walls inside homes across Rochester and Medway. The costs are covered separately in the [stud wall cost guide](/guides/stud-wall-cost); this page explains what the work involves.

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What is a stud wall?

The frame is made of a timber rail fixed to the floor, a matching rail fixed to the ceiling, and upright studs between them at regular centres. Short pieces called noggins run across between the studs to stiffen the frame and give something solid to fix to later. Plasterboard is screwed to both faces, and the joints are taped and skimmed or filled so the wall can be decorated like any other.

Inside, the void can take insulation to cut sound between rooms, and cables or pipes can run through it before it is closed. Most houses built since the middle of the last century already have some stud walls upstairs, and you can usually tell them by the hollow sound when tapped.

Building a new partition

The first job is working out where the new wall goes and what it lands on. The top rail needs to fix into ceiling joists, or into noggins added between them, and the bottom rail onto the floor joists or a solid floor. Where a wall runs parallel to the joists rather than across them, extra timber is often needed underneath to carry it. A door opening is framed in with a header, ready for the door lining, covered on the door fitting page.

Marking out the line of the wall on floor and ceiling
Fixing head and sole plates into joists or the floor
Setting studs and noggins, framing any door opening
Adding acoustic insulation in the void
Boarding both faces and finishing the joints
Fitting skirting and architrave to match the room

Stud walls in bathrooms and en suites

When a stud wall forms part of a wet room or en suite bathroom, it is boarded with moisture resistant board, and with cement based board and tanking where the shower sits. Pipes and waste runs are positioned in the frame before boarding, and extra noggins are fitted where a basin, toilet frame or heated rail will hang.

Stud wall regulations in the UK

A simple partition inside a house does not usually need planning permission. Building Regulations can apply, though, especially where the new wall creates a new room. A new bedroom needs a window that is suitable for escape in a fire on some floors, the new room needs ventilation and natural light, and in some layouts a new wall changes the fire escape route through the house. Building control can confirm what applies before work starts, and it is far better to ask first than to fix a problem after.

Can you remove a stud wall?

Many stud walls are non load bearing and can be taken out. But not every hollow sounding wall is safe to remove. In some houses, especially older ones, a timber stud wall helps carry floor joists or a roof structure above. Before any wall comes out, it needs checking, and if there is any sign it carries load, a structural engineer should assess it and building control should be involved. CRF does not remove load bearing walls; where a wall turns out to be structural, you will be told so plainly and pointed to the right professional.

Making good after

Removing a wall or building a new one leaves work on the ceiling, floor and walls either side. Patching the ceiling where the head plate was, and repairing the walls it met, are covered on the plasterboard and ceiling repairs page. Stud walls are part of the general building service; send a sketch and photos through the contact page to get a quote.

This work is part of our General Building service.

Common questions