I think you are wasting time and money carving it up. I can't imagine adding a $1,000? of studs and drywall significantly increasing the sales price. Sounds like an illegal AirBnB. It's also illegal to have a bedroom with no egress window. It could not be listed as a bedroom.

But anyway, you can get 2x3 studs or you can turn 2x4 studs flat.

You could use a bi-fold door, they are about 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" thick, and don't need any frame or trim (if you neatly finish the sheetrock around the opening.)

Ha! I knew someone would challenge me on it! What is legal for code purposes has nothing to do with what you can list as a bedroom for MLS purposes. So most people in our neighborhood will want a 3 bedroom - but as i said, only for an office or other non-sleeping purpose. So it's pretty standard to list a non-legal bedroom as a bedroom, so long as it serves the purpose that people are looking for (some minimum square footage, closet, whatever else that may be).

In any event, a 2 bedroom in our neighborhood for for well over $1m, but a three bedroom likely adds $200k to the price, so to the extent i can get someone to visualize our house as a 3 bedroom instead, then yes, it's worth spending $1000!!!

Yeah - you're going to add $200k to the price by adding $1,000 worth of building materials. Outrageous.

All of the building codes I am aware of require all habitable rooms (not bathrooms) to have a window for ventilation. That is why there is no wall and door now. To claim or even allow a prospective buyer to think it could be used as a bedroom would be irresponsible and dishonest regardless of what your agent tells you. I realize agents cheat and buyers expect it but you are actually creating the lie not just allowing the agent to misrepresent the rooms of your house.

As for the thickness of the wall, the building code should allow a 2x3 stud and 3/8" drywall (not flat studs) but I doubt you are concerned with the code. IMO, If there is not enough space to add 1 1/4" to the wall, the room is not big enough to be marketable.

A standard door frame will be for a 4 1/2" wall but it can be cut down to fit a thiner wall but I doubt its worth the effort to save so little space.

If you don't add a receptacle and light switch in the the wall the buyer's inspector may spot it as well as the missing window and force you to correct the building code violations (good luck trying to fit electrical wiring into a flat stud wall). Be sure to let us know how that works out.

It is possible to supply mechanical ventilation to the room in lieu of an operable window but ventilation means outside air so it would be cheaper to add a window..

Geoffrey gave you the solution, but JDS is right. In my state, listing as your talking about would be illegal, despite what the realtor says. If you did that here, I'd sue and get all my money back.

In my area new buyers often check the building department public records to see if improvements were made without permits. If it is obvious the wall has been added recently and without a permit, the seller might be asked to get a permit and make the room legal which would involve exposing the electrical work and adding a window.

H202-

You sound like you are convinced that this is the right thing to do and that notwithstanding the good advice here that it is illegal you want to go ahead. All I can say is that putting in a non-standard, thin wall will look like crap and yell "cheapo hack job" to any buyer who has more than a million dollars to spend. If you really think this is a good idea, get a permit, build standard walls, install a window that meets egress requirements, and put in necessary electrical. I don't know what kind of realtors you have been talking with, but they are either incompetent or conning you.

To add to the good advice already given, many cities/counties base sewer charges and taxes on the designed occupancy of a building---meaning number of bedrooms.

You bought your house as a two bedroom. Making it a 3 bedroom means permits were required. When listed as a three bedroom, the tax folks may pay a visit---would not be the first time by a large factor.

If the advantage is worth so much, get the permit, which will make the change legal(I would NOT trust a realtor on code requirements---and that stems from long experience with shady realtors' agents) and make the wall as geoffery advised.

What is legal for code purposes has nothing to do with what you can list as a bedroom for MLS purposes

Wrong. If it isn't a legal bedroom, you wont be able to claim it as one during selling. All you can do is note there is a non egress room, but they cant include it in the bedroom count. You could call it an office/ play room/ den/ or non egress room.

Even if you try to fudge the numbers, an inspector or appraiser for a loan will find out. A knowledgeable house buyer would probably notice it also. I also don't think people will consider that room very worthwhile with it so small.

Sounds like a waste of money. A lot of times it is better to just sell and let the new owner do the reno instead of doing a reno to try to make the space sell for more. Renos are good for people that plan on living there so they can live in what they want. Only certain instances are renos good for increasing value, usually on house gut and flip jobs, or updating old spaces to only help the house sell, or DIY a whole addition (increasing livable space). If you do an addition but hire out you will mostly break even on sale. Here you are taking existing space and trying to repurpose, and not in a way that every buyer might like.

If having the extra bedroom is worth $200K, wouldn't it make sense to plan properly, obtain permit(s), add a window and make it a real bedroom? Cost couldn't be near $200,000 so you'd realize a sizable profit.... IF your realtor is correct.

Rooms have size and height requirements also, you would just barely meet size requirement with 8x9 ft.

http://sacramentoappraisalblog.com/2014/09/09/the-4-requirements-for-a-room-to-be-considered-a-bedroom/

To answer your question, as geoff said you can turn the 2x4 sideways and have a thinner wall. You wouldn't want to mount cabinets on a wall like this but it will work fine as just a wall.

If your going to do this, do it right and get a permit and have a proper sized window installed. You will also need outlets installed and some form of heat run to the room either ductwork or radiator (especially if the room has an exterior wall).

2x4 flat studs are allowed by building codes but it is not possible to meet the requirements for drilling for electrical wiring. The minimum stud size is therefore standard 2x3's.

If my math is correct - we have a 8 x 9 room - 72 sq/ft. By erecting a curtain wall the home will appreciate by $200,000.

Each sq/ft of that room would be worth $2,777 ($200,000 / 72) - that's probably more than Tokyo! Funny thing that greed :)

The idea that a tiny room with no window will add $200,000 to the sale price of the house is ridiculous. The 3BR houses you see listed will have real bedrooms and possibly an additional bathroom.

JDZ-

Actually the wall alone will add $200,000 as the space is already there. Time for me to start adding some of those walls to my house. I'm on my way to Home Depot. I figure I can add about $1M to my home's value this weekend.. :-)

Do some due diligence and find a realtor who you trust. If the realtor is willing to list the property as a 3 bedroom then let him, if the realtor wants to call your bathtub an indoor pool let him do that too. In home sales the burden to investigate is on the buyer not the seller. If a real estate professional that you have contracted with advises you to increase your property value by adding a wall, then add the wall.

If I was a buyer and came into the house seeing your 3 bedroom really was only a 2 bedroom because you didn't even have an egress window, I'd walk out no matter how much I liked the rest of the house. The way I figure it, if you and your real estate agent were willing to stretch the truth with that, there must be other things that were fishy and I wouldn't want to take the chance.

All I would add to bry's excellent advice is to get a building permit for the new wall because the burden is on you alone to make modifications to your home that meet the requirements of the building code.

For all of those reciting building code. a sleeping room must have a minimum 48” wide window. Period, both stated in IBC and IRC, but more importantly firecode for escape purposes/ no ocuppancy cert would be given. As for as MLS/Realtors normally what is stated on tax roll is the room count, up to consumer/realtor to confirm if conforming or not/hence many list an accessory room as an office/den for liabilty purposes. as far as closet, as stated above, 2x3 or side 2x4 as long as not weight bearing or stand alone, or in the case of my new corner pantry 36”x28” was framed/ attached to two major adjoining/ perp perpendicular retaining walls so weight bearing for food storrage was not an issue.

"a sleeping room must have a minimum 48” wide window"

That is not correct in at least NY State, and from what I understand most all states. Here is what it states:

The height of the clear opening must be at least 24" and the width must be at least 20". The sill height must not be more than 44" above the floor. If the sill height is below grade, the window must have a window well. If required, the window well must be at least 9 sq.

@alsconsulting That is a lot of wrong in one post! A bedroom window doesn't have to be 48" wide, that is patently ridiculous! Even doors don't have to be 48" wide.

Neither MLS or realtors normally check the tax roll. In most areas they will determine how to list your home during an inspection. There is no liability for the listing as every listing has a disclaimer.

I have no idea what your closet thing means. So far as I know there is no closet requirement at all. I have sold several houses that were more than 100 years old with furniture wardrobes and they didn't need a closet. Moreover, I don't know what "weight bearing," is. I mean you are going to hang clothes on it, so it is going to be weight bearing. I assume you meant load bearing, but you should just quit while you are behind.