As a home owner, there’s nothing I like more than an all-day weekend project. Whether it’s painting the living room, organizing the basement, or building a half wall with built-in shelving between my dining and living room, I’m all about it! This is why today I want to share with you how to build a half wall with built in shelves. It’s not as difficult as you might think, and can be done over the course of a weekend if you’re willing to put in some elbow grease.
I had wanted to put a half wall with built in shelves between our living room and dining room for some time. I finally got around to doing it this past spring, and I thought I’d share the process with you.
A half wall is a great way to create a divide between two rooms. It can be built in any size and shape, with shelving or cabinets, depending on what you want to use it for.
In my case, I wanted to build a half wall with built in shelves between our living room and dining room because those two spaces are pretty close together. I like having them separate so they each feel more like different rooms than one big open space—and having that little bit of separation makes the kitchen seem like it’s off somewhere else
You may be wondering how exactly this works. Well, let me explain: first we measured around everything on both sides of our opening (the length between two end points) which would determine how tall our new half walls were going to need to be; then we measured from floor level up all along each side until they met at an appropriate height—this was where our new top line would go
The first thing we did was remove the baseboards along the walls in the way of where we wanted to build the half wall. This is what it looked like under the baseboards.
The first thing we did was remove the baseboards along the walls in the way of where we wanted to build the half wall. This is what it looked like under the baseboards.
Next, we removed all carpeting from this area and then proceeded to screw in ledger boards on each side of each wall stud. We used 2×4’s for this but if you have another type of material for your subfloor (like plywood), then feel free to use that instead. The ledger boards need to be level with each other so make sure you measure them before attaching them!
After attaching these ledger boards, I anchored them into place by screwing 2×4’s into each corner every 16 inches until they were secure enough not fall down during our next step: building out our shelves using 1x6s (also known as five-eights inch board).
We then removed all the carpeting in that area as well.
We then removed all the carpeting in that area as well. We also removed all of the baseboards, which was just as easy to do with a crowbar or other heavy object. You could also use a utility knife if you’re careful and have some experience using it.
Once we had completely taken down all of these things, we were ready to begin putting up our half wall
After removing the carpet, we put a ledger board on both walls and attached that to studs in each wall by screwing into them.
After removing the carpet, we put a ledger board on both walls and attached that to studs in each wall by screwing into them. The ledger boards were also level with each other. We then used 2x4s as spacers for our first row of pallets, making sure to keep them spaced apart evenly. It’s important to make sure your first row is level before adding additional rows of pallets so that everything lines up properly later on
The ledger boards will be attached to these studs and help support the half wall structure.
This is the ledger board, a support structure that will be attached to these studs and help support the half wall structure. The ledger boards are screwed into place with screws.
On one side of the area, we also built a 2-foot wide support structure on which 2×4’s would be attached to create a space for storing bins underneath. You can see my husband attaching this support structure in place below.
On one side of the area, we also built a 2-foot wide support structure on which 2×4’s would be attached to create a space for storing bins underneath. You can see my husband attaching this support structure in place below.
We prefabricated the shelves by measuring out how far apart they were going to be and then cutting in between each shelf with a saw (you could just as easily use a jig saw if you don’t have access to tools). Once we had our pieces cut out, it was very easy to screw them together and get them ready for attaching to our new wall
Here’s what it looked like after he’d finished building it.
Now it’s time to finish the wall. Here’s how it should look when your carpenter has finished building it:
- The blocking is in place
- The 2×4’s are attached to the ledger board with nails and then every 16 inches along the studs with screws. In some places, he may have added a few more wooden blocks. These were used as spacers for his walls when he was attaching them, so they’re not necessary if you don’t want them there (but they do make things look pretty).
Now, with both support structures built, my husband made sure they were level with each other which would ensure that once he installed it, the top of the half wall would also be level across.
Next, he put up wooden boards (called blocking) along each wall so that he could attach more 2×4’s directly into each stud every 16 inches as recommended when building walls.
Next, he put up wooden boards (called blocking) along each wall so that he could attach more 2×4’s directly into each stud every 16 inches as recommended when building walls. The reason you have to do this is because the plywood will stick out from the wall and once you add on your trim, it’ll be really obvious if there’s a gap between the wood and trim.
If you don’t want to bother with the blocking, it won’t affect how well your shelves are secured or how strong your shelves are but it does help ensure that all of those 2x4s are evenly spaced which makes for better-looking results.
Conclusion
In the next tutorial, I’ll show you how we created the top of the half wall and built in shelves.
Thanks for watching
# Blog Post Instructions and Template
In this project, you will write a blog post about one of the two topics that we discussed in class: “Digital Textbooks” or “Plant-Based Diets.” You will use all three of your writing skills in this project: expository, persuasive, and creative. Your prompt is as follows:
Conclusions: Include conclusions after each section (3 total), reiterating key takeaways from each section’s content. Make sure that your tone changes appropriately across sections (e.g., professional for expository or persuasive content; friendly for creative content). Each conclusion should include an outline summarizing what was covered in its respective section. Say why this blog post matters overall in its final conclusion section by citing real world examples relating back to its topics’ significance today. For example, if you’re writing about digital textbooks, cite statistics on current trends in education technology today; if you’re writing about plant-based diets cite statistics on meat consumption today along with its impact on climate change etc.) Note that these are only suggestions – feel
