DIY Framing With Lumber

Most framing can be done with a few simple techniques and patterns.

The structure of modern homes is mostly in the hidden lumber frame underneath the siding, brick or other sheathing that covers the exterior. Since it is unseen it is a mystery to most. In reality there are a few simple patterns that govern most residential lumber framing. The two most common framing tasks for the do-it-yourself carpenter are framing in new walls and adding doors in those walls. The techniques required for these projects will carry over into other wall framing projects.

Things You'll Need

• 2-by-4 lumber
• Tape measure
• 16 d nails
• Hammer
• Concrete
• Circular saw

Instructions

1. Lay out enough horizontal 2-by-4 near where the bottom of your wall will rest to span the width of the wall you intend to build. This will be the sill of your wall. Lay out a double thickness in the same way, parallel to the sill, and spaced as far from it as the wall will be tall. Nail these two together, as they will serve as your top sill.

2. Start from one end and measure and mark the sill and top plate every 16 inches for the center of each stud. Lay enough studs to fit one at each end and centered on each mark along the wall. The studs should be as tall as the wall you intend to build, minus 4½ inches for the sill and top plate.

3. Nail through the top plate and bottom sill into the ends of the studs, with all pieces on their narrow edge and the studs flush with the tops of the sill and top plate. Use two nails in each end of each stud. Nails can be driven with a hammer or a pneumatic framing nailer and compressor.

4. Mark the floor where the inside of the wall should rest. Stand the wall in place and anchor it to the floor with framing nails or concrete nails, depending on the floor construction. Use a level and adjust the wall top in or out until the bubble is centered in the level's indicator. Attach each end of the wall to the surrounding walls by nailing through the last stud into the frame of the other walls.

5. Create door openings with a stud at each side, 4½ inches further apart than the outside of the door jamb. Cut two pieces of 2-by-6 to fit between these studs and a piece of ½-inch plywood, as long as the 2-by-6s and 5½ inches wide. Glue and nail the plywood between the 2-by-6s and nail the completed header between the studs, ½ inch higher than the height of the door jamb.

6. Remove the sill between the king studs in a door opening by cutting it with a circular saw, flush with the king studs. Cut two studs to fit from the bottom of the sill to the bottom of the header and nail one to the face of each stud. These short studs are known as the jack studs, and the door jamb is nailed to them.

References

• Wayne of the Woods: How to Frame a Wall
• Wayne of the Woods: How to Frame a Door
• "Rough Framing Carpentry"; Mark Currie; Craftsman Book, 1993