151/4 in.
Same-size headers ensure that the tops
of most exterior openings will be at the same
311/4 in.
height, which is aesthetically pleasing. (Again,
471/4 in.
you could achieve the same door and window
height by using headers of different depths
Marked stud edges
and cripple studs, but they’d take longer to
assemble.)
The additional cost of using an oversize
CORNER-STUD LAYOUTS
beam is offset by the peace of mind it brings.
Corners require at least three studs to provide
That is, there won’t be any cracks in finish
adequate backing for finish materials. In the
surfaces caused by undersize beams.
first example, the middle stud need not be
continuous, so you can use pieces.
Even in nonbearing walls, the header is
the weakest point structurally. Each time you
shut a door, compressing the air in the room,
the wall flexes a little. The more solid wood
you’ve got to nail to, the stronger the connec-
tion. (Code requires at least five 16d nails
through-nailed into each end of a header.)
insulating headers. Wood is wonderful to build
with but is a mediocre insulator. Consequently,
many builders now use exterior foam sheathing
and, whenever possible, try to slip some insula-
tion into header assemblies. In a header for a 2x4
wall, this is easily done by replacing the 1⁄2-in.
plywood with 1⁄2 in. of rigid foam insulation, typi-
cally expanded polystyrene (EPS) or extruded
polystyrene (XPS).
douglas Fir Header Spans
hEADEr SIzE (in.)
SPAn (ft.)
44
4
46
6
48
8
410
10
412
12
188 Chapter 8
Headers in 2x6 walls offer an opportunity to
When nailing the top plate to the
add insulation, but the perfect solution has not
studs, lift the studs as needed so their
yet appeared. One can build a sandwich of three
edges align with the top plate. Flush
pieces of 2x lumber and two intervening
studs and plates allow drywall
1⁄2-in.
finishing to go smoothly. This exterior
pieces of rigid foam to attain the 51⁄2-in. thick-
wall will have a doubled top plate;
ness of a 2x6 on edge—and an R-5 value for the
the second plate is nailed on once the
header. But that squanders wood. Alternatively,
wall is up, tying this wall to another.
one could create a header sandwich of two pieces
of 2x lumber with a foam center 21⁄2 in. thick.
That would give you a whopping R-12 for the
header, but that header may be structurally
suspect because the 2x lumber pieces on the out-
side of the sandwich aren’t really tied together
and so offer little resistance to lateral or racking
forces. See what local building codes—and local
builders—recommend.
aSSembling THe wall
After marking the top and bottom plates and cut-
ting full-length studs, start assembling the wall.
Place the plates on edge, roughly a wall height
apart. Then insert the studs on edge between
them. Again, use straight studs at wall ends and
Because a 3x4 mudsill is too thick to end-nail through,
After using five 16d nails to end-
cabinet locations; elsewhere, place slightly bowed toenail studs instead. Here, pneumatic nailers really shine:
nail the header through the king
studs crown (bow) up so that stud ends will rest
They nail so quickly that studs won’t drift off stud marks,
stud, face-nail the trimmer stud to
as they frequently do when you’re hand-nailing them.
the king.
on the deck when it’s time to nail them to the
wall plates.
Nailing studs. Position studs to the squared
marks along the plates. Then end-nail studs
through the sole plate, using two 16d common
zzzzzz Half-Cutting the Sole Plate
nails at each end. Space nails 1⁄2 in. to 1 in. from
the edge of the plate. If you stand on the stud as
you nail it, it will stay put. As you nail, be sure
that stud and plate edges are flush, or the resul-
tant wall plane won’t be flat. Once you’ve nailed
all studs to the sole plate, nail them to the top
plate. Important: If the sole plate will sit on con-
crete, it should be pressure-treated lumber or a
naturally rot-resistant wood such as redwood.
Jack stud
Moreover, all nails set into redwood or pressure-
treated plates must be galvanized so the nails
won’t be corroded by chemicals in the wood.
Framing the rough opening. After cutting the
header, end-nail the king studs (through the
Sole plate
plates) on both sides of the RO. If you’re install-
ing a full-height header such as a 4x12, insert the
header between the king studs, and nail down
King stud
through the top plate into the header to draw it
tight to the top plate. Then nail through the king
studs into the ends of the header, using at least
Plate cut
five nails per end. Next, determine the length of
jack (trimmer) studs by measuring from the
underside of the header to the top of the sole
plate. Cut jack studs slightly long, tap them into
A stud wall with a continuous sole plate is less likely to flop around
place, and face-nail them to the king studs, mak-
as you raise it, but it’s difficult to cut through a plate once it’s resting
ing sure their edges are flush.
on a subfloor. The solution? Cut halfway through the sole plate before
you nail it to studs, and finish the cuts after the wall is up.
Structural Carpentry
189
raising walls
Two workers can raise an unsheathed stud wall 8 ft. to 10 ft. long. but if it’s much
longer than that or if it’s sheathed, assemble a larger crew or use wall-lifting jacks to
raise it.
raising walls safely takes prep work: Clear the deck of tools, scrap lumber, and
other things you might trip over. nail the top of a diagonal brace 1 ft. below the top
plate, using a single 16d nail so that the brace can pivot as you raise the wall, and nail
a 2x block into floor framing so you can quickly nail the bottom of the diagonal brace
once the wall is plumb. if you are raising an exterior wall, nail 2x stops to the outside
of the platform so the bottom plate can’t slide off the deck during the operation.
if you are raising a partition within an existing structure, expose the ceiling joists
or end-wall studs you’ll nail the partition to. if joists run parallel to the new partition,
add blocking between the jo
ists beforehand, as shown in “Partition Parallel with
Joists” on p. 200 and “nailing Off Sole Plates” on p. 202.
Here are three tips for raising walls:
Several workers straddling the top plate can drive their hammer claws into the
top plate, lift in unison, and slide 2x blocks beneath the top plate. This will enable
them to get a good grip before actually lifting.
lift with your legs, not with your back.
if your crew is small, set two sawhorses nearby, perpendicular to the wall; the
horses will support the wall once the crew has raised it waist high, allowing them to
reposition themselves so they can push the wall up the rest of the way.
After leveling and toenailing the lower plate of a
windowsill, end-nail cripple studs under the sill. After all
cripple studs are in, face-nail the upper plate of the sill.
Doubled sill plates are common in the western United
States; elsewhere, they’re usually reserved for wider
windows only.
If the header requires cripple studs between it
and the top plate, install king studs, then jack
studs, then the header. Holding the header tight
to the top of the jack studs, nail through the king
studs into header ends. If the header is laminated
from pieces of 2x lumber, each piece should get
two or three nails per end. Then cut and toenail
the cripple studs that run between the top of the
header and the top plate. If you’re framing a
rough opening for a door, you’re done.
However, if you’re framing a rough opening
for a window, your final steps will be leveling and
toenailing the sill (also called a saddle) to jack
studs and then nailing cripple studs between the
underside of the sill and the sole plate. Again,
space cripples according to the 16-in. on-center
markings along the plates.
leaving the sole uncut. You’re now ready to tilt
up the assembled wall. Note, however, that sole
plates haven’t yet been cut and removed within
door ROs, and for good reason: It’s far easier to
raise a wall if its sole plate is continuous. Cut
only halfway through the sole plate while it’s flat
on the deck, as shown in “Half-Cutting the Sole
Plate” on p. 189. Finish the cut once the wall is
up and nailed down.
190 Chapter 8
After constructing a wall on the ground and walking it up, Several workers hold the wall plumb while one worker
the crew must now lift it up 3 ft. and align the mudsill
adds diagonal braces on both ends. After plumbing and
holes to the bolts in the foundation wall. Have a lot of
bracing both ends and tightening sill bolts, they’ll run a
workers on hand, and lift with your knees, not your back.
string between ends to ensure the wall is straight. The top
plate needs to be straight so the rafters will line up.
Plumbing and SeCuring THe wall first nailing the upper 2x4 of a doubled top plate
to the exposed ceiling joists—use two 16d nails
Once the wall is up, nail the bottom of the brace
per joist—before raising the wall. Tilt up the wall,
so the wall will stay upright as you fine-tune its
slide it beneath the upper top plate, plumb the
position. Use a sledgehammer to tap the sole
wall, and then face-nail the top plates together
plate until it aligns with your chalkline on the
using two 16d nails per stud bay. Finally, finish
floor. As you adjust, continuously check for
nailing the sole plates, driving two 16d nails into
plumb, using a 6-ft. level. If you unnail the brace
the joists or blocking below. In the corners, use
to plumb the wall, have workers support the wall 10d or 12d nails to toenail the corner studs to
until you’ve renailed it.
blocking or existing studs; use 16d nails if you
Once the bottom plate lines up with the
can face-nail them. Adding blocking to existing
chalkline, drive two or three 20d nails through
framing is discussed on p. 199.
the plate into the joists or blocking below so the
wall can’t drift. Methods for securing the top of
alTernaTive Framing meTHOdS
the wall vary. If you’re framing an addition and
In renovation, it’s not always possible to assem-
have wide-open space, typically two walls inter-
ble a wall on the deck and tilt it up. There may
secting at right angles are raised, plumbed, and
not be enough room, shoring may be in the way,
braced, and then tied together by overlapping
or sloping floors may frustrate attempts to cut
top plates.
studs accurately in advance. In those cases, it
But if you’re raising a partition in an existing
may be easier to build the wall in place, piece
room, you’ll usually nail the top plate to ceiling
by piece.
joists. Invariably, space is tight indoors, and
you’ll often need to gently sledgehammer the
Building a wall in place. Start by positioning
partition into place, alternating blows between
the plates and tack-nailing them to joists (or
top and sole plates until the wall is plumb.
blocking) above or below. Although it’s most
Alternatively, you can gain room to maneuver by
common to snap a chalkline on the floor and
Structural Carpentry
191
plumb up to the top plate, it doesn’t really matter
which plate you attach first, unless there’s a com-
a Smarter way
pelling structural or design reason. If you’re
erecting a bearing wall, for example, center its
to Frame
sole plate over the appropriate girders or bearing
renovation carpentry will always be a mixed
walls below. But if you’re trying to align a non-
bag of standard methods and whatever works in
bearing partition with a rafter above, set the top
nonstandard situations. For the most part, the
plate first and plumb down to establish the sole
plate. If possible, face-nail the plates with two
methods discussed in this chapter are pretty
16d nails at each joist crossing.
conventional.
Mark stud intervals onto the plates, and
and pretty wasteful, building scientist Joseph
then—especially if floors or ceilings slope—
lstiburek would add. not only are three-stud cor-
measure the stud lengths individually. Cut the
ners, 16-in. o.c. framing, and oversize headers not
studs slightly long (say, 1⁄16 in.) so that they fit
needed structurally, but they’re also wasting energy,
snugly. Toenail each end of the studs with three
he maintains. Compared with fiberglass, cellulose,
10d nails or four 8d nails, angling them roughly
or foam sheathing, wood is a pretty lousy insulator.
60° from horizontal. Use a spirit level to level the
So anywhere there’s wood—when there could be
headers. Use three 16d nails to end-nail a header
insulation—you’re creating thermal bridg
es that
through the king studs on either side. Then face-
waste energy.
nail jack studs to the kings, staggering 10d or
a case in point is three-stud corners. They
12d nails every 16 in.
reduce the amount of batt insulation you can fit
Framing beneath slopes. Framing beneath stair
into a corner, and cold air moves easily in the odd
stringers or rafters isn’t difficult if you measure
spaces and cavities three-stud framing creates.
carefully and use an adjustable bevel to transfer
the angle of the slope. Mark off 16-in. intervals
along a 2x4 sole plate, nail it to the floor, and
then plumb up to the underside of the rafter or
stringer to mark the top plate. Cut the top plate
to length, and nail it to the underside of the slop-
zzzzzz Three-Stud Corners
waste wood and energy
ing rafter or stair stringer. Then use a laser or a
½-in. plywood or OSB, R-1
plumbed board to transfer the 16-in. intervals
Wood escorts cold
marked on the sole plate up to the top plate.
into the house.
To establish the angle at which you’ll cut the
top of the studs, plumb a piece of 2x stock in
front of the top plate and use an adjustable bevel
to duplicate the angle at which they intersect.
(Set your circular saw to the angle of that bevel.)
Once you’ve cut two adjacent studs, the differ-
Cold air can circulate
ence in their lengths—represented by the X in
freely, making the
insulation ineffective.
“Sizing Gable-End Studs” on p. 194—will be con-
stant for all successive pairs. Toenail the studs
Cold spots can
with four 8d nails on each end.
condense water vapor.
establishing kneewalls. Kneewalls are short
partitions, about knee-high, which isolate the
largely unusable space where the rafters
1-in. foam sheathing, R-15
approach the top plates of the exterior walls.
(This space can be great for storage and built-in
closets, however.) Kneewalls usually run parallel
to the roof ridge and consist of a single top plate
and sole plate, with studs spaced 16 in. on center.
Position the sole plate and plumb up to the
underside of the rafters to mark the location of
Full-width wall cavity
the top plate. Using an adjustable bevel, copy the
doesn't compress
angle at which the rafters intersect, using a
Renovation 4th Edition Page 44
