Basic Wall Framing

Much like any other specialized field, construction has its own set of challenges. These challenges can range from anything as skillful as constructing a whole structure to something as basic as framing a wall while building a house. Knowing how to frame a wall is as useful for the professional construction workers as it is for those who want to take up the task of building their houses by themselves. The good thing is that once you master the art of framing a wall, it is nothing but a few hours’ job from thereon.

Before you start framing a wall, make sure you have the required wooden boards (2×4 in size) as well as the other construction equipment available at hand. The first thing you need to do is to identify the top plate, the bottom plate and the wood spacing that will provide a firm structure to your wall. Once you understand the concept, the job becomes much easier.- The top plate, which is the topmost part of any wall, needs to be reinforced by doubling it with another 2×4 wooden board. You will be required to do this once each wall is framed and held together along with the other framed walls by tying them around their corners. The 2×4 wooden boards will cover the whole boundary of the framed wall. They will add extra support to the joint by overlapping on them. The upper most 2×4 of the top plate will be added after the wall has been framed and the length should overlap, not line up with the lower top plate.

- Once you decide how long the wall should be, the next step will be to cut the top and bottom plates to the length of your choice.

- Lay down the top and bottom plates side by side and mark their centers every 16-inch distance. Most tape measures show these marks clearly so you you don’t have to be a math whiz.

- Next, move the plates at about a distance of 92 inches from each other but in the exact direction as they were before they were moved from their place. You need to be careful that the direction of the boards is not changed for any reason. Standard wall studs come precut  at a distance of 92 5/8″, so no cutting will be neccessary if you are building an 8 foot tall wall.

- Adding the 92 5/8  inches along with the 1.5-inch wood spacing between the top plate and bottom plate and the 2×4 studs on the top plate, you will be able to achieve a wall of the standard 8-foot height.

- Aligning the studs in accordance with the center points marked, all you need is to nail them together at the corners and you have your wall ready in just a matter of few hours.

One Response to “Basic Wall Framing”

  • montytx:
    October 23, 2012 at 12:10 am

    You are correct in your assumption. You can only set up a temp. wall under the existing load. In some cases you may have to set up 2 temp walls to carry the load on each side of the wall being demo’d if the ceiling joist are not adequate. But, if it is only one or 2 ceiling joist for a small space you can likely get away without temp. walls.

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