Bedroom knee wall with glass block

The partition between the living room and the bedroom: a framed knee wall with translucent glass above it, running 9′1″ from the fixed panel of the balcony sliding door to the bathroom wall. Two options for the glass, on the same knee wall.

Option A — 12″ satin block. 34½″ knee wall, five courses of 12″ × 12″ frosted block, 8 per course. A 4″ framed post at the window end carries the panel anchors; the leftover length is split between that post's drywall-wrapped face and a matching pier at the bathroom end.

Option B — reeded glass in a painted wood frame. 38″ knee wall, three tempered reeded panels about 32″ × 52″ in a 2½″ frame, the first stile fixed to the 4″ end post. Price laminated glass for better sound as an option.

Plan (all options), oriented as in the original drawing. The partition runs perpendicular to the balcony sliding-door assembly and butts against the glass of the fixed right-hand panel, about 12″ in from the mullion (confirm this on site); the slider opens to the left. Because it meets glass, nothing can be fastened or bonded to it: the partition gets its own framed end post anchored to floor and ceiling, stopped ½″ short of the panel with a compressible gasket. The knee wall is framed 2×4 with drywall both sides (about 4½″); the glass sits centred on top of it. Ticks show 12″ block joints; the footprint is the same for the framed panel.

Length109″ (9′1″) from the face of the fixed door panel to the bathroom wall, including a 4″ framed end post at the glass. The post is anchored to the floor and ceiling joists only; the joint to the panel is a ½″ compressible gasket so the glass is never loaded, and the post's bottom few inches should be moisture-tolerant trim because condensation runs down that panel in winter.

Knee wall34½″ including a 1½″ wood cap for the 12″ block so five courses land ½″ under a 96″ ceiling; 38″ for the reeded glass. 2×4 framing, drywall both sides, painted.

Glass areaAbout 42 sq ft in every option. For block that is well inside the usual 144 sq ft panel limit; for the framed option it is three tempered lites, each a size two people can set by hand.

ReceptaclesTwo duplex receptacles per face at 27″ and 82″ from the balcony wall, 16″ to centre, so no point along either side is more than 6′ from an outlet. Bedroom-side devices on an AFCI-protected circuit; all devices tamper-resistant. Wiring stays inside the knee wall framing — nothing runs through the glass.

AnchoringPerimeter channel or panel anchors at each end and along the top, mortar bed on the cap, horizontal joint reinforcing every second course. The top joint must stay soft so the ceiling never bears on the glass.