An apartment that is listed as a convertible 2 or convertible 3 simply means it has a living space large enough to be converted into a bedroom with a temporary wall. Temporary walls are most commonly added to save money when sharing an apartment with roommates! A flex wall is a temporary, non-load-bearing wall installed with the use of pressure. This makes the wall easy to remove and means it won’t cause damage to the existing structure. That being said, the flex wall is just as study and secure as a regular wall.
Flex Example:
This is a one-bedroom apartment with the option to add a wall to make it a two-bedroom apartment
Types of Temporary Walls:
- A full pressurized wall is a temporary wall that does not screw into the other walls, floor, or ceiling but looks and acts the same as a traditional wall.
- A walkabout wall is another common wall that landlords allow. It is two walls that stand adjacent to one another but with space between so you can literally walk about them in a z shape.
- A bookshelf wall is a wall that is similar to a pressurized wall but it leaves 12 inches of space from the wall to the ceiling. This will allow light to flow into your living space and is the type of wall that is most commonly allowed by landlords.
Growing families, businesses, and roommates may all use flex walls to divide a large space into more private rooms. Installing a flex wall will cost anywhere from $650 to well over $3000, depending on the ceiling height, features, and other factors.