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There are two ways to build partition walls: in place (shown below) or preassembled. When you build a wall in place, you nail the wall plates to the floor and ceiling and then fill in the studs between, toe nailing each to both plates. The great advantage of this approach is that it makes for a tight wall in rooms where the floor and ceiling aren’t parallel, which is often the case in older houses. Preassembling a wall, on the other hand, is easier because you cut all the studs to the same size and nail the plates to the ends of the studs before the wall is tipped up.

Step 1. Building a partition in place is often the best way to create a small wall in a room where the floor and ceiling are not parallel. The first step is to lay out the location of the wall on the floor and snap chalk lines for the bottom plates. Nail the plates to the floor, hitting as many floor joists as possible.

Step 2. Once the bottom plates are installed, establish the location of the top plates so they will be plumb with the bottom plates. To do this, hold a stud on the bottom plate so the edges of both are flush. Then hold a level to the side of the stud, and move the stud until it’s plumb. Mark the ceiling at this point.

Step 3. Add a stud between the bottom and top plates until the wall is framed. Preassemble a 3.stud corner, and nail it between the plates. This corner post should be plumb in both directions.