They said it couldn't be done
 

I told my contractor that I wanted a 6'8" high pony wall to extend 10 feet out from the side wall into my living room so I'd have a place to hang my TV. He said "You can't do that. A wall that high would be all floppy. You have to attach it to the ceiling." I didn't want to attach it to the ceiling and I didn't think it had to be floppy, plus the contractor used the wrong pronoun. (he should have said "I" not "You").
I wanted a wall that looked like this (only finished).

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1309838998.jpg


First thing I did was cut back the carpet and saw out a section of the floor to expose three of the bays between the floor joists.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1309838706.jpg


I cut a 2x10 and screwed&glued it to the floor joists. I bolted&glued the 2x4 that would be the end stud to the 2x10, cut four 2x4 blocks to fill the space between the 2x4 and the floor joists and screwed and glued them in place. Then I bolted the floor joists together with 7/16 all thread. I put a length of 2X6 under the flooring as far back under the new wall as I could get it working through the hole (about 4 feet) and screwed&glued it to the bottom of the flooring.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1309838930.jpg

I built the rest of the frame for the wall and set it in place. I nailed it to the end stud and put a 2x6 gusset in the upper corner. I glued the bottom plate to the floor and put screws through into the 2x6 I had put under the floor.
I was having such a good time hanging drywall that almost forgot the blocking to hang the TV from.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1309839127.jpg


The wall is up. It doesn't exactly ring like a tuning fork, but it's tight and I can lean my 230 lbs on it at about a 30% angle and it doesn't budge. Now I just have to do the finish drywall work, which I hate. I'd hire someone to finish it, but they'd probably tell me it can't be done because I'm making 1/2 radius rounded corners on it.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1309839584.jpg

Nice piece of "shoot from the hip" engineering, and it'll probably be standing a hundred years from now. It amazes me that some - a lot actually - contractors don't seem to have any imagination. If he was basically concerned about liability because it wasn't a "standard" piece of construction, you could have done a contract between the two of you releasing him from it. I've found lots of contractors can't imagine anything unless it's from the book. If he would have agreed to it, you would have probably ended up doing most of it yourself anyway. Good job, and you got what you wanted.

Great job. You'll have no problems supporting a TV with that.

Are you putting a power outlet + source signal boxes high enough so they'll be behind the TV when it's hung?

They do. its easier to standard then to do extra work because you may not pay for them.


when I was starting out, I suggest all kinds of crazy ways of over building. Some people pay for it, some think that I am a thief, over building just to squeeze money out of them. Words finally got around that we over engineer and build. some of those guys come to us to problem solve. We not get the screwed up job site that's all the way with limited access on top of the hill hanging over a cliff.

No, I've got an optical audio cable, HDMI input cable, and power to run to the TV, so I'm going to mount the TV, determine the best place for the hole, then cut a hole in the wall and put in a quickie wall plate bracket like this.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1309876701.jpg

I've already installed another one down at the same level as the power outlet (you can see it in the first photo). I'll drop the wires into the wall through the upper hole and fish them out the lower one.

Nice, the only upgrade I can think of, and it can be done in the future, is to turn the wall into a piece of furniture.

Depending on how the rest of your house is finished, I can imagine the wall being covered in a wood veneer, perhaps with a grid pattern for the seams, trim and or reveal joints.

The wall could have also use different materials, frosted glass in areas, perforated metal or even padded fabric.

I think the rounded edges are a good idea. You might want to consider rounded edge beads from Fry Reglet or others.

Radius Corner Trim

More here:
Shape Finder: Reveals & Moldings: Fry Reglet Products

I wouldn't put in rounded edges/corners if there are no others in the house...

Figured you had a plan, but was curious about the missing box up high. Makes sense.

That's a good point, maybe matching wood trim end caps top and sides would work best if that is the case.

Can be done with reveal edge or let the wood stick out 3/8" or so all around.

Yep... good.

By the time the remodel is done the other three corners in the room will be rounded.

Thank you kach22i. I followed your link, which lead to some more research, and I found a company called Phillips that produces all kinds of fitments for bullnose corner bead. When I first used it 12 years ago, you could hardly find the basic bead around here. I made some calls and scored all the parts I need to make steel corners locally (they have to order the stuff from New York, but it's local to me). Steel bead has got to be more durable than wood and drywall compound. They even have three way corners in vinyl. Phillips Vinyl Bullnose Corners & Transition Caps
When I did this 12 years ago I had to get the corner bead from Cleveland and had to make the three way corners out of bondo, filed and sanded to shape. Things have come a long way in a short time. I had no idea. :(

That will be a big blank wall when you first come in.
Inset some small shelves?
Mega painting?
Wainscoting or pattern style to match the rest(as per kach)?
Stuffed Florida alligator head that pops out of the wall triggered by door sensor?

We're looking forward to having a wall to hang some art on. But the alligator idea, hmmm....

It has a real minimalist feel to it. Which I like.

And I bet it was less expensive than buying a Flat screen TV cabinet.