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Stud walls and partitions
A typical bedroom stud partition costs £700 to £1,300 built, boarded and skimmed, which is about a day and a half of work plus materials. Metal stud costs slightly more than timber and is what most fire and acoustic specifications ask for.
What this covers
What it costs. A typical bedroom stud partition costs £700 to £1,300 built, boarded and skimmed. Full cost breakdown.
What the job covers
- Timber stud partition to split a bedroom, boarded both sides
- Metal stud partition where weight or fire rating matters
- Forming a doorway opening in a new partition
- Insulating a partition for sound between rooms
- Boarding and skimming the new wall ready for decoration
What is involved
A stud wall is a frame of timber or light gauge steel, boarded both sides and finished. The frame is what decides everything else: stud spacing at 400 or 600 millimetres sets what board thickness works, noggins set what you can fix to it later, and the head and sole plate detail sets how much sound goes through.
Sound is the thing most people care about afterwards and least about beforehand. A bare studded partition with a single layer of board each side carries conversation between rooms. Filling it with acoustic mineral wool, using two layers of board on one side with staggered joints, and isolating the frame from the structure all improve it, and each of them costs a fraction of doing it again.
The other thing to settle before the board goes on is fixings. A television, a radiator, a basin, a handrail and kitchen units all need timber behind the plasterboard, and a noggin put in at framing stage costs nothing.
Timber stud partition to split a bedroom, boarded both sides, one of the jobs a stud walls specialist is hired for.
Choosing someone for the job
Ask whether the frame is timber or metal and why. Ask what goes inside it, because an empty partition carries sound and a filled one does not. Ask where the noggins are going and tell them what you plan to hang. Ask whether the price includes the doorway lining and the architrave if there is a door in it, because those are often quoted separately.
Common questions
Do I need building regulations approval for a stud wall?
Often yes. Dividing a room affects ventilation, natural light, escape routes and sometimes fire separation, and creating a new habitable room almost always needs approval. A partition that does not enclose a new room is usually simpler. Ask the council rather than assuming.
How do I stop sound going through a stud wall?
Acoustic mineral wool in the void, two layers of board on at least one side with the joints staggered, and sealing the perimeter with acoustic sealant. Doing all three is far better than doing one, and none of them can be added afterwards without taking the board off.