How to Frame a Wall

Building repairs or remodeling can be major projects. Often a new wall has to be built in order to expand a room or add an extension to the house. Framing the wall is not a very difficult task but does require care and precision in measuring and cutting. There are also some standards that need to be adhered to when constructing the wall. Follow these steps to learn how to frame a wall properly.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Supply of 2-by-4 inch boards
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Nails
• Hammer
• Circular saw
• 2 saw horses

1. Measure the width and height of the wall to be built. Write these down and then re-measure the dimensions.

2. Take 3 long 2-by-4 inch boards and measure the length of the wall's width and mark it on the 3 boards. Re-measure the dimension on the 3 boards and check the marking.

3. Set the boards one by one on a pair of sawhorses and cut the boards to length with a circular saw. Once they have all been cut, lay them out on the ground with one board where the bottom of the wall will be and two boards where the top of the wall will be.

4. Measure the height of the room yet again. Now subtract from that the width of three 2-by-4s. Standard 2-by-4 boards are 1.5 inches thick and so the three will add to 4.5 inches. Subtract the 4.5 inches from the overall height the wall is supposed to be and mark each board. Finally check your math and measuring of the board.

5. Cut the two boards as marked. Now place one board at each end of the three boards laying on the ground. Using your hammer, nail the two end boards into the bottom board. Then to the inside of the two boards at the top of the wall.

6. Cut the studs for the wall. The studs that you cut are formed from more of the 2-by-4 boards. Measure the width of the wall you are building from side to side. Divide the result of the measurement by 16 and that is how many studs you need to cut.

7. Install studs along the wall frame. The standard stud spacing is 16 inches. The first stud is placed 16 inches in from the outside edge of the end of the wall. You measure from the outside of the end board 16 inches and the point at which the tape reads 16 inches will be the center of the next stud.

8. Continue to install the studs at 16 inch distances down the entire width of the wall. The space between the last stud and your edge piece may be very short--that is okay.

9. Take the last piece of the long 2-by-4s and line it up with the top of the wall. This forms the header of the wall.

10. Position the new wall in place and nail the wall into the floor joists at the edge of the room.

11. Raise the wall and nail it into place with the mating walls. The nails are driven from the end-cap of the new wall into the mating walls end studs. The end may need to be supported until brace bars have been placed to support the weight of the new wall. Brace bars are simply studs that are nailed to a free end of a wall and angle down towards the ground to support the end that hasn't been tied in. It keeps the wall upright and keeps the free end from flopping back and forth.

Tips & Warnings

• Always make it a habit of measuring twice so you only have to cut once and don't waste materials.

Resources

• How to frame a wall.
• How to frame a wall in a house.