How To Build A Stud Wall

Carefully layout the position of the wall.  If there's a doorway, mark its position, allowing for the thickness of the door lining.

Fix the top and bottom horizontal battens, using a plumb line to ensure the top and bottom corners are in line and level.

Fix the vertical studs to the wall, then at 600mm centres along the wall's length.  This provides a stud in the middle and at each edge of the 1200mm wide plasterboards.

Fix a series of horizontal studs to provide rigidity.  These should be nailed or screwed into the verticals, with the fixing being driven through the end timber at an angle.  You may want to temporarily fix something below the end of the stud to keep it in place as you fix it.

Fix the plasterboard to the stud-work, scribing around obstacles like pipes, skirting and coving.  I find that it's best to use screws, as this causes less trauma to the stud-work than banging nails in.  Make sure the heads are slightly below the surface.

Fit the door lining so that it straddles the timber and the plasterboard skin.  If you're going to have the wall skimmed with plaster, make sure the lining is 3 or 4mm proud of the surface.  Then, decorate the wall as required and fit architrave, followed by the skirting.

Materials usually used for stud walls would be:

3" x 2" prepared timber;

2400mm x 1200mm x 9mm plasterboard;

115mm x 27mm door lining (length will be dictated by the door opening);

2" eights posi-drive screws.