How to level floor and install walls?

[mgs788]

Hi Bunnings Community,

I'm planning a renovation project to transform our rumpus room on the back of our garage into a combined study and laundry room, and I could use some advice. Here's an overview of what I'm aiming to do:

Room Size: 5m x 4.6m

Plan Overview:

1. Flooring: The existing concrete floor is uneven (higher in the center). I plan to level it - I a considering a self-leveling compound and cover it with water-resistant hybrid flooring panels. Any product recommendations for these materials?

2. Room Division: I want to divide the space into a study and a laundry area using a permanent wall. What type of materials and insulation would you suggest for this purpose, especially to keep noise from the laundry down? 

3. Ceiling: Planning to install a drywall ceiling that can be easily attached to the existing garage cross beams. There is some insulation already in the ceiling that was done for the rumpus and plaster covering between the beams. 

4. Wall Covering: I’m considering using VJ paneling for the walls. Could you recommend paneling? does anything need to go between the paneling and bricks? (the existing walls are brick)

5. Lighting: I plan to install recessed lighting in the ceiling with the help of an electrician. There is wiring already there to utilise. 

6. Doors: Cavity sliders x 3 - again open to suggestions. 

Please see rough plans in the images 

Thanks in advance for your help! I appreciate any advice or recommendations you can offer

[JacobZ]

Hi @mgs788,

Thank you for your question and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it's brilliant to have you with us at the planning stage of such an exciting project.

There are many members, such as @Nailbag @Dave-1 and @Jewelleryrescue who are experienced renovators and I'm sure they'll be happy to join in on the discussion and offer their advice and experiences.

One of the best things you can do is upload a few photos so our members can run an eye over things and maybe point out anything you may have missed. 

Allow me to offer some advice on each individual area.

1. Flooring - 
   
   Levelling the floor with a self-levelling compound is a going to be a great place to start. Confirming the change in height from the highest point to the lowest is going to be the first step in deciding on a product for this. This can be done with a floor laser such as this Lasertec FX360R Floor Laser by placing the laser on the highest point and measuring down from the line at your low spots. This can also be done by using a suitably long spirit level, with one end placed on the highest point, holding it level and then measuring down from the level to the low spots. Once you have confirmed the change in height, you can select a self-levelling compound. You can use Sika 20kg Sikafloor Level Pro Underlayment in layers up to 30mm thick, so this might be a good option for you.
    
2. Room Division -
   
   In terms of dividing walls, you have two main options, timber or steel. There are benefits to each and they should be taken into consideration when selecting a material.
   
   Timber such as this 70 x 35mm Framing MGP10 H2 Blue Pine is a fantastic option if you are planning on hanging anything from the walls such as cabinets or dryers as it is much better at supporting a load than steel studs are. Check out How To Build a Stud Wall for some insight into the construction process.
   
   Steel framed walls, which come in a variety of sizes, are made using a top and bottom track such as this Siniat 51 x 3000mm 0.50bmt Steel Track alongside steel studs such as these Siniat 51 x 2400mm 0.50bmt Steel Stud. They are attached together using small metal screws such as these Zenith 8G x 12mm Galvanised Button Head Metal Screws.
   
   Some of the benefits of using steel as opposed to timber is the ease of construction, only requiring a pair of Straight Cut Aviation Snips to cut them to length and a drill or driver to screw them together. The narrower width of the material also means you can maintain more space in the rooms.
   
   In terms of insulation, there are a number of options to choose from depending on your preferences, but the range of Earthwool acoustic insulation will be a great option for you. Take into consideration the thickness of the wall when selecting a product as they are designed for use with common framing thicknesses.
    
3. Ceiling - 
   
   It sounds like you're pretty comfortable with the ceiling, but you might like to consider attaching battens, such as these Roll Form Industries 6100mm Zinc Ceiling Batten to allow a cavity for easy cabling and additional insulation. I'd also suggest using Supaceil in the largest sheets possible as this is designed with an internal membrane to prevent sagging on ceilings and using the longest sheets possible will limit the number of plastered joins, which can show under lights if the plastering is not perfect.
    
4. Wall Covering - 
   
   VJ panelling, such as this easyVJ, requires block walls to be battened out prior to installation of the panelling. Check out page 10 of the Easycraft Installation Guide for some guidance. VJ panelling is a great option to add depth and style to the room and I'm a big fan of its use. You might like to check out our Top 10 most popular VJ panelling projects and VJ panelling projects for any room in the house for some examples of it in application.
   
   You might also like to consider using plasterboard, as a wall covering as it can be installed using the dot and daub method over block walls. Check out this guide from CSR for instructions on this method - Gyprock Masonry Wall.
    
5. Lighting -
   
   Downlights, such as these DETA 9W IP44 Tri-Colour Dimmable LED Downlights can be purchased in bulk packs and are a great option for this kind of renovation. I'd suggest mapping out a lighting plan, alongside any power points and light switch locations with your electrician prior to construction to ensure you are on the same page and that everything is possible and accounted for. Once the flooring and dividing walls are installed, this is the perfect time to have your electrician come in to rough in their cables. This will also give you a midway point in the project where slight alterations can still be made if required.
    
6. Doors -
   
   Cavity sliders, such as this Hume 2040 x 820 x 90mm Evolution Flush Jamb Door Cavity Unit, are a great option for maximising usable floor space, but you should be aware that for them to work, you need twice the width of the door to allow the framed pocket that the door slides into. Based on your plans, the door between the stairs and the laundry may not be possible.

There are a million things to consider when planning a renovation and it is very hard to think of everything. You might like to have a read of these handy articles for a bit of guidance and inspiration -

• Project Planning 101
   
• How To Plan Your Home Office Setup
   
• Laundry Design: How To Plan A Laundry
   
• How To Design a Laundry
   
• How To Design A Laundry For Your Space
   
• Enhance The Style Of Your Small Space With These Simple Lighting Tips
   

Hopefully this gives you some good information to start with and opens the conversation for us to help this project come to fruition.

Let me know if you have any further questions or would like any clarification or advice moving forward. 

I'm excited to see this project come to life!

Jacob

[Nailbag]

Hi @mgs788 

I'm only going to comment on a few suggestions outside of the already amazing detailed ones that @JacobZ has provided.

Flooring: Before starting anything, I would get a plumber in to discuss how water and waste will need to be handled as it may require cutting channels in to the slab for access.

Room Division: In addition to the acoustic installation I would line the walls with "Superchek" or similar acoustic plasterboard.

Ceiling: Definitely go with ceiling battens as Jacob suggested, much easier to level,

Wall Covering: I Love VJ paneling but only for a feature wall not all 4 sides as personally the lines would be too much. Plus you will loose the opportunity to use Superchek. So, I would attach these sheets directly to the brick walls which is super easy.

Lighting: Definitely get the sparky in at planning stage.

Doors: You won't get a 720mm (smallest) cavity slide frame for the laundry as it needs 2040mm but allow more for packing and architraves. So unless you can move the diving wall in to the study you will have to consider normal swing doors. All others are fine with standard 820mm cavity sliders.

Nailbag.

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @mgs788 

Both @JacobZ and @Nailbag have really pointed out anything I could add  

Jacob and Nailbags suggestion about the cavity doors is really something I would take into account.

The ceilings joists above may look level but probarly wont be so battening it out will make that a lot easier.

There is no window in the new study? Is the door going to be glass? Looking at your drawing it could be a double glass sliding door? Some photos would help visulise things that we may be presuming

The last thing I can add is to do sketches and more sketches of the ideas and how you would impliment them. It really helped me out nutting cornice, door jambs ect out. One last suggestion before you start would be to mark out with tape on the floor all the dimensions of the rooms and doorways. Then step through and see if they feel comfortable. Lots of times I see too small an allowance for cornering and access. Make sure you are comfortable with the space. I was just looking at your 2m width for your laundry. The wall will chew up a bit as will the door widths. Check to see if whare you are placing the washing machine, dryer ect all pass that floor test.

Dave

[mgs788]

Awesome - thanks so much @Dave-1 @Nailbag @JacobZ 

Useful suggestions. I reckon we will opt for superchek just for the ease. 

Glass sliding door to a little courtyard space (next project is decking over the concrete). We will also have sky lights installed for more light in the study. 

With plumbing - we are planning on using a pump out system like a saniflo system as the space is lower than the sewage line. Have you guys had any experience with these systems? It still might involve cutting the slab and pumping from under the house rather than in the laundry. (sounds like a mess but I think it will work!)

We will drop the laundry door way to the right, as you guys pointed out it will be tight for space and on reflection not really required. 

Attached are a few photos of the space. The red line indicates where the divide is. 

The door you can see goes to the garage.Looking from the garage door into the room

[Nailbag]

Hi @mgs788 Looks like you have some great spaces there to work with.

In dealing with the surface electrical conduit, get your sparky to relocate them down between the cavity. Since your cover the walls over and installing a lowered ceiling, there will be no issues with access. New cables can run wall to wall via the ceiling and knocking out top bricks will access the cavity. Then knocking out a brick at the new points for light switches and GPO's. See a few samples below when I had to do the same. To save labour money on the sparky, I knocked the bricks out and fed new cables or you can at least run the draw-strings.

Some years back I helped my next door neighbour with a front of house garage to master bathroom and ensuite renovation on a slab floor and a flat roof. The side of his house the ensuite backed on to had a concrete path and the sewage was along the back fence. Since we couldn't run the waste down or out the side the only direction left was up and over the roof to the back of the house with a similar system to the Saniflow. It was all automatic and worked very well. Obviously all this work was done by a licensed plumber, who we helped with what was needed along the roof to both support the pipes and conceal it from view.

Nailbag.

I 

[mgs788]

Thanks @Nailbag 

useful images. I’ll do that to save on electrician costs.

Do you mind sharing what system you used for the pump out?

[Nailbag]

Sorry @mgs788 the plumber supplied the system so I don't know the brand. It was about 4yrs ago and so I'm sure there would be advancements in the tech since then.

Nailbag