Turning Doors into Walls...

[CluelessChick]

Hi

I want to close out a useless door and turn it into a wall. The existing wall the door is in divides a loungeroom and bedroom, so the closing of the door would need to be finished either side. The wall is concrete as it's in a unit that is part of an old 70's block. The existing wall would be say 10-12cm in width with thin skirtings around the door frame.

Would this be possible, and what sort of cost would be involved?

Thx
CC:-

[autogenous]

picture?

how thick is the wall including plaster?

[Fuzzie]

Is the door frame wood or metal?

[CluelessChick]

It's wood, including plaster I would say the wall is about 10-13cms thick.

[SAISAY]

I am not a builder or anything but the way we did it in our house, was to remove the old doorframe and attach a vertical either side of the doorway, then attach horizontal timbers top, bottom and 1 or 2 in the middle (my husband called them soldiers) between the verticals.
We covered the framework with cement sheets or you could use gyprock, plastered the cracks and painted the wall.
Nobody ever knew there used to be a door there.
Have fun :U
Wolffie

[SAISAY]

Just thought that an easier way would be to make a frame around the doorway and cover one side with gyprock, then put shelves in and use the doorway as a bookcase/display unit.
Wolffie

[Carry Pine]

I am not a builder or anything but the way we did it in our house, was to remove the old doorframe and attach a vertical either side of the doorway, then attach horizontal timbers top, bottom and 1 or 2 in the middle (my husband called them soldiers) between the verticals.
We covered the framework with cement sheets or you could use gyprock, plastered the cracks and painted the wall.
Nobody ever knew there used to be a door there.
Have fun :U
Wolffie

What Wolffie said but I call the horizontal timbers 'noggins'.

Carry Pine

[SAISAY]

My 'usband was Danish lol
Wolffie

[CluelessChick]

Okay thanks, that's really good! Not sure if the wall would actually be thick enough to make a shelving feature wall, more keen to close up completly and make a blank canvas of the wall in general.

I'm not very DIY, do you have any idea how much a tradie or odds job talented person (!) would charge for something like that? Assuming labour, plus materials?

Thinking of repainting anyway so that might be separate....

[orraloon]

Check in yellow pages for handyman services or similar. The materials should be under $100 (without paint) What they want in time is another matter but remember they do it for a living so they do require something reasonable. The job is only a few hours work but the filler has to dry (overnight at least) before sanding back so they have to come back to finish up.

[Fuzzie]

As orraloon said you'll be best to get a local builder/handyman to quote. Some years ago I got a quote to brick up a doorway and it was like $1000 and that didn't cover replastering and painting, just the brick work. I bricked it in myself.

If you know what you want the finished result to look like, i.e. a timber and plasterboard infill will probably be cheaper but more obvious, or a fully finished bricked, plastered and painted to match job then a builder might give you a reasonable idea over the phone. At least it sounds like you wont have to hassle with replacing a lintel as you don't have a steel door jamb which was often used in flats in the 70's.

Get several quotes. Don't be surprised if one quote is twice as much as another.