Closing off a doorway between apartments but keeping the door?

Question

I own two condo units that are connected by a doorway in the common brick wall. Now I'd like to rent one of the units and close the doorway. I was wondering if it was possible to leave both options open, that is if there is a way to close the opening but to keep feasible to reintroduce it at wish.

What would be some ways to do that? I was thinking of building a wall inside the opening and keep the doorframe, but what would be possible materials?

Answer 1

Standard method is to put a door with a deadbolt on both sides of the doorframe, so both parties have to open their door for the doorway to be open. If not anticipating much use, you might want to pack the space between doors with insulation to reduce sound transmission. And if you don't want them playing with it, no need to give the tenants a key to that particular deadbolt. No need for a knob, either.

Otherwise 2-3 studs, drywall, insulation (again, to block sound as much as possible) and more drywall. Or 4-6 studs (2-3 on each side) that are not connected in the middle for better sound blocking. Double-layer drywall on at least one face might also be worth it for acoustics.

Answer 2

Ideas:

• Create a 'built in' book case on each side that could be removed later.
• remove the trim and just sheetrock over
• add a door to each side (like adjoining hotel rooms), add insulation in the middle, and lock them.

Note that you may have to check with local code first. You may need a full fire wall there between two rentable units. In which case, these best solution is to just sawzall out the current door and frame, stick it in the attic/garage, and fill the hole as a proper wall.