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Temporary Shop Wall/Divider

MIKE JG

Well Known Member
Looking for some advice on how to divide up my half of the shop I am renting.

The space is 13' wide by 23' long and I'm trying to put up something down the middle of the two side by side bays, of which I'm occupying one.

The ceiling is quite high so hanging something from it is not really an option.

This needs to be temporary or only semi-permanent as I'm just renting the space. I'd rather not frame in temporary walls if I don't have to.

Really just looking to reduce the overall volume of the area I'm working in to help keep it warm and organized.

Has anyone done anything like this, hung up temporary tarps or something similar??
 
Strip curtains are relatively inexpensive and can sometimes be found used. They do require a top rail and don?t provide any security between spaces, in fact you can walk right through them. They do a decent job keeping heat in.
Anything you do free standing will require stantions of some type that will constantly be in the way.
 
Low cost temporary divider can be constructed by installing heavy screw in eyes on each end of the building, attach a rope and pull taunt, drape a heavy gauge plastic sheet over the rope or several ropes to get the shape needed.
I used this method to form a booth and paint my aircraft, worked out well.
 
Build a wall with..

Rigid foam insulation board with foil face-----tape it together at the edges.

For spans that are too big for just the foam board, add some 2x4s.
 
Temporary insulated wall

I did this in my 3 car garage to keep the heat task to a minimum. I used ?sections? or panels that I built out of 1x2? pine backed by 1/2? plywood. Each section was 4? wide and approximately 8? high. I then fastened a piece of foam insulation board on each sheet of plywood. Once I had enough panels I simply screwed them together with 4? wood screws to make a wall. I did put a few screws in the top that went into rafters or support beams to keep the wall from tipping.

Minimal footprint and not permanent. Here is a blog post that shows a few pictures. http://www.darinanderson.com/2015/12/some-progress.html
 
If you want to keep your heat, you'll obviously have to go all the way to the ceiling, unless you want the divider to include your own false ceiling. I like Mike's idea of 1/2" insulation board, but as strange as it sounds, stopping air leaks will give you more heat retention than the insulation. If you can secure plastic sheeting ('visqueen', etc) to the roof, walls and floor, it'll do about as much good as a solid insulated divider that has a bunch of air leaks around it.
 
2"x2" and plastic sheeting

I used 2"x2" covered on both sides with plastic sheeting to separate 4 spots from the other 12 in a large garage. Just sized it to jam in between the floor and the ceiling (both concrete) and it worked great. You can kind of see it here:

20050616201401703_1.jpg
 
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