Things You'll Need:
- Circular saw, safety glasses,hammer, nails, square, pencil, step ladder.
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Step 1
The most important step during the entire process will be to make sure that you are working in a safe environment. You can accomplish this by researching construction job site safety on the internet. There are many things that need to be known about safety before attempting to build anything as construction can be very dangerous.
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Step 2
Once you have figured out your wall height you will need to cut your studs (unless you are using pre-cut)4 1/2" shorter than the desired wall height which allows for 1 bottom plate and 2 top plates. You will need to check with your local building inspection department on this as well because some areas require 2 bottom plates. Also if your bottom plate is touching concrete or masonry it will need to be pressure treated.
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Step 3
The next thing you will need to decide is the wall height. This will vary depending on whether you are building on a wood floor, a concrete slab or a masonry foundation. Typically your overall wall height(including your foundation) will be 1 and 1/2 inches more than the desired ceiling height. So for a garage with a 12' ceiling you will need to have a total wall height of 12' 1 1/2".
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Step 4
If you are going to have widow and door openings you will need to provide a header over top of them to support the load above. You will also need to do this for your garage door header. This is also something that you need to get approved by your local inspector. For the rest of this tutorial I recommend that you use 2 16d nails every 16" on everything and at least 3 every 16" on your headers.
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Step 5
Once you have the information you need for your openings you can begin to layout your plates. To do this you will need to chalk a line or measure in 1/2 which is the thickness of typical wall sheathing around the perimeter of the garage. This will make the sheathing flush with your foundation. Cut your bottom plate first for the entire perimeter as well as cutting out for any doors. You will want it to continue through your windows. Once you have it all cut go around and nail or bolt it down so that it does not move. This will depend on you local building code as well as it may need to be nailed down or bolted depending on where you are located.
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Step 6
Next you will need to cut your top plate and double top plate and stack them on top of your bottom plate so you can mark all three of them at the same time. This will also help to keep all the studs in the wall straight. If possible try to keep at least a four foot lap between the joints in the top plate and the double plate. This will meet most building codes and will add strength to your walls.
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Step 7
Now you will need to mark all of your openings for your windows and doors. You will need to make sure you have the correct rough opening sizes for the products you wish to use as well as the header heights for the windows. Try to keep your windows at least 18" off the floor if possible and at least 2 feet away from any door. This will keep you from having to buy tempered glass later.
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Step 8
Once you have layed out all of your openings you will need to layout the studs in the walls which is typically 16" or 24" on center. I recommend 16".
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Step 9
Now you are ready to assemble the walls. Start by building your corners and headers . You will need to use 3 studs for your corners nailed with 2 16d nails every 16". Make sure you cut your headers at least 3" longer than your rough opening to allow for your jack stud to support the header. You will probably need to cut your garage door header 12" longer to all for 4 jack studs on each end.
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Step 10
Nail your corners and headers to the bottom plate so that they are place on the marks that you have layed out. Next take your top plate one piece at a time and nail it to the corners and headers. If there is no header at the end of the top plate nail a stud to the bottom plate first and then to the top plate. Continue this process until you have all of the top plate in the air and secured with nails . You may have to install some temporary bracing on the walls as you assemble them to keep them from falling down. Do not be afraid to over brace. Once you have all the top plate up and all of the openings framed up go back around and put all your studs in. Brace of the corners of you walls and make sure that they are plumb.
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Step 11
Attach what you will be using for sheathing to the walls making sure that the walls are plumb and straight. Again brace your walls before nailing the sheathing on. Once the sheathing is nailed on per building code you are ready to install your roof trusses. Roof trusses will come with a layout and bracing details and should be installed according to the manufactures recommendation.
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Step 12
During the process of building your garage walls be careful not to get in a hurry and overlook something because it is always eaiser to build it right the first time.
