departments require that plans
and bathroom walls—especially those that will
Basically, wood-frame walls are an array of
be reviewed and stamped by a
get cabinets or be tiled—and for corners, top wall
licensed engineer before any sig-
vertical studs nailed to horizontal top plates and
plates, and jack studs along rough openings.
nificant structural work is done.
sole (bottom) plates. Depending on whether walls Pieces with slight bows (1⁄4 in. in 8 ft.) can be
are bearing or nonbearing, plates may be dou-
used as studs and joists, but draw an arrow on
bled. Although 2x4 walls are by far the most com- the face of the lumber to indicate which way the
monly framed, 2x6 walls allow thicker insulation
lumber bows so you remember to place slightly
and make routing pipes easier.
bowed joists crown (bow) up, so they’ll be less
likely to sag under weight. Set aside stock that
Structural Carpentry
183
a ton of time. If possible, cut lumber or plywood
right atop the stack that the lumberyard truck
Work Safely
delivered.
Put first-aid kits and fire
extinguishers in a central loca-
nailing iT
tion where you can find them
On bigger projects, pneumatic nailers do most of
quickly. Likewise, spend a lit-
the work, but it’s worth knowing how to use a
tle extra for safety equipment
hammer correctly. Then you’ll create fewer bent
that’s comfortable—safety
nails, splits, and dings (dented wood when the
glasses that won’t fog up, res-
hammer misses the nail), and perhaps avoid a
pirator masks that fit tight to
smashed thumb, tendonitis, and joint pain.
the face, hard hats that are
The perfect swing. If you’re driving large nails
strong yet lightweight, and
such as 16d commons, start the nail with a tap.
disposable work gloves flexible
Then, with a relaxed but firm grip on the end of
enough to grip small items. If
the hammer handle, raise the hammerhead high
safety equipment is not com-
and swing smoothly from your shoulder. If you’re
fortable, you won’t wear it. And
assembling a stud wall, spread the pieces out on
a deck, put one foot on the lumber to keep it in
if you don’t wear it, it can’t
place, bend forward slightly, and let the falling
protect you.
hammerhead’s weight do some of the work. Just
before striking the nail, snap your wrist slightly
to accelerate the swing.
bows more than 1⁄4 in. in 8 ft., which you’ll cut
However, if you’re driving smaller nails (6d or
shorter and use as headers, cripple studs, and
8d), you won’t need as much force to sink them.
blocking. Return corkscrew (twisted) studs to the So choke up on the handle and swing from the
lumberyard for credit.
elbow. Choking up is particularly appropriate if
you’re driving finish nails because you’ll need less
Be methodical. Snap chalklines onto floors to
force and be less likely to miss the nail and mar
mark wall plates. Cut top and bottom plates,
the casing. It’s also helpful to choke up when
then mark stud locations and ROs for doors and
there’s not enough room to swing a hammer freely.
windows onto the plates. Make a cutting list: By
cutting same-length lumber all at once you’ll save
To nail in a hard-to-reach spot, start
A blunted nail point is less likely to split wood because it
A wood block under your hammerhead makes nail
the nail by holding it against the side
will crush the wood fiber in its path rather than wedge it
pulling easier.
of the hammer and smacking it into
apart, as a sharp nail point does.
the wood. Once the nail is started, you
can finish hammering with one hand.
184 Chapter 8
zzzzzz loads and Structure
Dead load (framing)
Bearing wall
Live load
Point load
Foundation
Girder
Soil and
seismic loads
Post
Pad
The right nail. The nailing schedule given in
“Recommended Nailing Schedule” on p. 186
NailiNg Plywood SheaThiNg
suggests the size and number of nails you need
for various framing tasks, but local building
To nail plywood panels 1⁄2 in. thick or less, most codes specify 6d common nails
codes will have the final say. When joining two
spaced every 6 in. along the panel edges and every 12 in. in the field. Panels thicker
pieces of framing lumber, nails should be long
than 1⁄2 in. require 8d common nails spaced in the same pattern. (Structural shear
enough to penetrate the second piece of wood,
walls are typically nailed with 10d nails 4 in. to 6 in. on center along the edges and
without sticking out the other side. Properly
12 in. on center in the field, but an engineer should do an exact calculation.)
sized nails also are less likely to split board ends.
Don’t overdrive nails. Ideally, nail heads should depress but not crush the face ply
As the table indicates, use two 16d nails to end-
of the plywood. Panel strength isn’t affected if nail heads are overdriven by 1⁄16 in. or
nail a stud through a plate, and four 8d nails,
less, but if more than 20% of the nail heads are 1⁄
which are shorter and skinnier than 16d nails, to
8 in. or deeper, the Engineered Wood
toenail stud ends to sole plates. To reduce split-
Association (APA) recommends adding one extra nail for each two overdriven ones.
ting, hammer nail points to blunt them before
Pneumatic-nailer pressure that’s too high is the most common cause of overdriven
driving them in.
nails. It’s far better to set the nailer pressure so the heads are flush, and then use a
single hammer blow to sink each nail just a little deeper.
Assembling a wall on the ground is no guarantee that
lumber edges will line up. Here, a builder uses his hammer
to raise the top plate flush to the header before nailing.
Wear safety glasses when using a pneumatic nailer.
Structural Carpentry
185
removing nails. Everybody bends nails now
and then, especially when nailing at an odd angle
or in a tight space or nailing into a hard wood
like southern pine. To remove a bent nail, slip a
block under a claw hammer head to increase the
leverage as you pull out the nail; if the nail
head is buried too deep to grasp with a claw
hammer, use a cat’s paw, which has pointed
claws, to dig it out.
recommended nailing Schedule*
APPLIcATIon
SchEDuLE
Use a Speed Square to mark stud locations on a pressure-
treated mudsill (sole plate) and a top plate. An X usually
Joist to sill or girder
(toenail)
3-8d
indicates regular studs 16 in. on center; a J, jack studs; a
K, king studs; and a C, cripple studs. The sole plate has
ledger strip
3-16d at each joist or rafter
been predrilled so it will fit over the anchor bolts when the
wall is assembled and lifted into place.
16 subfloor or less to each joist (face-nail)
2-8d (or 2-13⁄4 staples)
wider than 16 subfloor to each joist (face-nail)
3-8d
laYing OuT wallS
2-in. subfloor to joist or girder (blind-nail and face-nail) 2-16d
Wall layout varies, depending on whether you’re
erecting walls in open space (say, framing an
Sole plate to joist or blocking (face-nail)
16d at 16 in. o.c.
addition) or within existing space (adding a par-
tition). In both cases, use house plans to position
Top or sole plate to stud (end-nail)
2-16d
walls. Snap chalklines onto subfloors (or floors)
Stud to sole plate (toenail)
3-8d or 2-16d
to indicate the location of sole plates. If you’re
building a partition, next measure from existing
Sole plate to joists or blocking
3-16d at 16 in. o.c.
framing to determine the height and length of the
new wall, as described in “Reinforcing and
doubled studs (face-nail)
10d at 24 in. o.c.
Repairing the Structure” on p. 199. Finally, mark
doubled top plates (face-nail)
10d at 24 in. o.c.
the locations of ROs, wall backers (blocking you
nail drywall corners to), and studs onto plates.
doubled top plates, lap-spliced (face-nail)
8-16d
The easiest way to frame a wall is to construct
it on a flat surface and tilt it up into place. Once
Continuous header, two pieces
16d at 16 in. o.c. along each edge
the wall is lifted, align the sole plate to a chalk-
rim joist to top plate (toenail)
8d at 6 in. o.c.
line on the floor. This construction method is
arguably stronger because you can end-nail the
Ceiling joists to plate (toenail)
3-8d
studs to plates rather than toenailing them. End-
nailing uses larger nails (16d) driven into the cen-
Continuous header to stud (toenail)
4-8d
ter of each stud, which will better resist lateral
Ceiling joists, laps over partitions (face-nail)
3-10d
forces on a wall. Toenailing better resists uplift,
but the four smaller nails (8d) angled through the
Ceiling joists not attached to parallel rafters (face-nail) 3-10d
corners of stud ends are more inclined to split
rafter to plate (toenail)
the wood. These distinctions may be splitting
2-16d
hairs, however, because both methods are time-
built-up corner studs
10d at 24 in. o.c.
proven. In any case, in renovation, there’s often
not enough room to tilt up walls—which will be
built-up girders and beams, 2-in. lumber layers
10d at 32 in. o.c. at top and
addressed later in this chapter.
bottom and staggered; two
nails at ends and each splice
Mark rough openings. Place the sole plate, face
up, next to a chalkline, then place a top plate next
* From the international residential Code, 2009. (International Code Council [ICC], Washington, D.C.) to it so that edges butt together and the ends
Reproduced with permission of the International Code Council. All rights reserved.
align. Use a square to mark the top plate and the
sole plate at the same time. (If the top plate is
186 Chapter 8
doubled, there’s no need to mark the upper top
plate.) Using a tape measure, mark the ROs for
doors and windows. Rough openings are so
Doubled
named because they are roughly 1 in. taller and
zzzzzz Stud-wall elements
top plate
wider than prehung doors or windows (so frame
jambs can be shimmed snug), and thus 2 in.
Cripple studs
taller and wider than unframed units.
(“dragon’s teeth”)
As you mark the width of the RO on the
plates, keep in mind that there will be a king stud
P R O T I P
(full length) and a shortened jack stud (also called
a trimmer stud) to support the header on each
when partitions run perpen-
side of the opening. After marking the ROs, mark
dicular to the joists, center the
the corner backers (also called wall backers)—
studs over the joists whenever
Doubled
extra blocking for drywall where partitions
2x6 header
possible. aligning studs and
intersect with the wall you’re framing. “Corner-
joists creates straight, open
Stud Layouts” on p. 188 shows several backer
channels from floor to floor, so
configurations.
plumbers and electricians can
Jack stud
easily drill through plates and
Mark studs on the plates. After marking the
or trimmer
run wires and pipes. Partitions
first stud, which is flush to the end of the plates,
that ran parallel to and directly
mark the subsequent studs 3⁄4 in. back from the
over the joists would be a big
red 16-in.-interval highlights on your measuring
King stud
problem if you needed to run
tape. (In other words, mark stud edges at 151⁄4 in.,
wires or pipes. instead, consider
311⁄4 in., 471⁄4 in., and so on.) By marking stud
moving the partition 1 in. to 2 in.
edges 3⁄4 in. back, you ensure that stud centers
to avoid the joist.
will coincide with the edges of drywall or sheath-
ing panels, which are usually some multiple of
Sole
16 in., for example, 48 in. by 96 in.
(bottom) plate
Mark studs every 16 in. on center on plates—
through the ROs as well—so that drywall or
If you use doubled 2x6s for your header in a
sheathing panels running above or below open-
rough opening in standard 8-ft. wall framing,
ings can be nailed to cripple studs at regular
you need cripple studs to support the doubled
intervals. At window openings, you’ll mark crip-
top plate. If you use a 4x12 instead, it will
ple studs on both the top and the bottom plates.
support the top plates. Although code may al ow
But on door openings, you’ll mark cripple studs
a single top plate for nonbearing walls, a single
on the top plates only. Note: For door openings,
plate offers little to nail drywal to if the ceilin g
where 16-in. on-center studs occur within 2 in. of
is finished before the wall.
a king stud, omitting the 16-in. on-center stud
will not weaken the structure.
Head
erS
Every opening in a bearing wall must have a
Standard
header over it, and it’s common practice to put
FraMiNg
headers in all openings in exterior walls, whether
For standard 8-ft. wall framing, cut studs
bearing or not. Headers for 2x4 walls are usually
921⁄
constructed by sandwiching a piece of 1⁄
2 in. long—or you can buy them as “pre-
2-in.
CDX plywood between two pieces of 2x lumber;
cuts.” one bottom plate and two top plates will
as 2x lumber is actually 11⁄
be roughly 41⁄2 in. thick, creating a wall height
2 in. thick, the header
package is thus 31⁄
of 97 in. This height accommodates one drywall
2 in. thick—the same as the
width of a nominal 2x4 on edge. Headers must be
panel (1⁄2 in. to 5⁄8 in. thick) on the ceiling and
able to carry a cumulative load and transfer it
two 4-ft.-wide drywall panels run horizontally
downward without flexing or pulling away from
on the wall. If you install a 4x12 header directly
the sides of the opening. Thus headers must be
under the top plates of a standard wall, the
sized according to the loads they carry and the
rough opening height will be 821⁄2 in. This is just
distances they span.
right for a 6-ft. 8-in. door, and door head
That noted, many builders use this rule of
heights will match that of the windows.
thumb when sizing headers for single-story build-
ings with 2x4 walls and a 30-lb. live load on the
Structural Carpentry
187
roof: The nominal depth a 4x header in inches
equals the span in feet of the opening.
oversizing headers. Span tables establish mini-
zzzzzz Stud layouts
mum requirements. In the field, however, many
STUD-AND-PLATE LAYOUT
builders often oversize headers—using 4x12s,
say, to span all exterior openings—because it’s
Mark stud edges on plates so that stud centers
quicker than building header “sandwiches” from
will be spaced 16 in. on center (o.c.).
two pieces of lumber and plywood between.
Distances (o.c.)
48 in.
Plus, you don’t need to cut dragon’s teeth, the
short cripple studs between a header and the top
16 in.
16 in.
16 in.
plate. Quicker it may be, but it’s an extravagant
use of wood and it increases thermal bridging
(see p. 192). That noted, oversize headers have
some advantages:
Renovation 4th Edition Page 43
