How to Frame a Rake Wall
New construction on a home can be simplified by a little planning ahead. Instead of building standard height walls, and then framing on top of them to intersect a vaulted ceiling, you can frame a rake wall, which grows in height to match the pitch of the roof. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Look at your new construction plans and determine the pitch of the roof. This is always expressed in slope form, as some number over 12. The pitch is the number of inches the roof rises for every foot of distance.
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Lay out the wall measurements on the sub floor, as you would for standard height walls.
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Clear a spot on the sub floor to mark out the rake wall. You're still in the early stages of construction, so it's alright to make marks in the middle of the sub floor.
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4
Measure the height and length of the rake wall, and convert them from feet and inches to decimals. For example 13 feet, 6 inches will become 13.5, for example.
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Multiply the pitch of the roof by the length of the rake wall to determine its rise. A 6/12 pitch can be expressed as 0.5. Multiply that by the wall length and the result is how much height the wall gains. Add this to the wall's starting height to get the height at the wall's tallest point.
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Using these measurements, snap the outline of the rake wall on the sub floor. Cut the top and bottom plate and lay them along your line.
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Lay out studs every 16 inches on center. Every stud is a different length, so measure their lengths, and cut the right pitch to meet the top plate. Nail them in place, cut and nail the second top plate, and stand the new wall.
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