Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jan 09, 2013 10:54 pm We just bought a place which has a separate lounge area and we are planning to convert the lounge to an extra bedroom. This would involve putting up an internal wall on one side with a door, this side measures about 5m. Without knowing the details, this seems quite straightforward, so would like your opinion on a few things: 1. How much would a simple solution cost? 2. What material is required for insulation from noise? 3. Does it need council approval? 4. What is the estimated effort for such a job? 5. Any builders that you can recommend for this type of job around the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne? Thank you and appreciate all your comments. Re: Building an internal wall 2Jan 10, 2013 7:47 am This is usually a simple job, but does require a bit more info to answer your questions. I'll try and answer them as best as I can. 1. Cost will depend on a number of factors. Will the room have access to light and ventilation when the wall is up (factor in window cost). How will the wall be supported, on a slab or will i require additional stumps/joists on a timber floor? Taking away these factors, may only be a couple of grand, but with these could be a lot more. 2. Sound insulation is fairly straight forward in the sence that there is only so much you can do to a stud frame wall, batts, soundcheck plasterb'd. The secret is to seal all air gaps and minimise large areas of hard surface. All depends on what noise you are trying to block out as well. 3. Pretty much anything needs council approval. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise (builders/tradies) I fix up a lot of illegal work and believe me its more expensive retrospect. With an additional bedr'm it may require town planning also if you are in a unit or only have one car parking space. With more the 2 bedrooms, a unit requires an additional car space. 4. How long is a piece of string.....I know this is an annoying response but the above factors all come into play. 5. This is another tough one, as being such a small job, most builders are going to want to load it (price wise) to make it worthwhile. Ideally, if you are handy with tools, this is an owner builder job. Having said that, if you are struggling to find anyone, PM me as I work as a building designer/consultant is the East of Melbourne......Sorry, had to get the plug in. Good luck with the project, either way. Cheers Thank you alexp79 and gommeqld for your advice, that's very helpful, thanks 3 7862 3 10151 Sorry, don't know costs, but there are a couple of very important principles you need to get right (and now) .... (1) never agree to any "upgrade" unless you first know… 5 6793 |