Wall Framing

Standard house walls have an inner frame of timber. This framework may or may not support part of the house.

But all walls have wall coverings, doors and windows and they provide cavities for electrical wiring, plumbing and heating duct insulation.

While most walls are framed by 2-by-4 studs, 2 by 6 are used to give more strength and more space for insulation in the cavities bathroom walls are framed with 2 by 6s to make way for large pipes.

Not all houses are framed by wooden walls. Some newer homes are built with metal framework, a practice adopted by the methods of commercial construction.

These partitions must be designed must be designed to carry their own weight and any fittings or fixtures that may be attached to them, but they must not in any circumstances be used to carry or assist in the transmission of structural loadings.

They must be designed to provide a suitable division between internal spaces and be able to resist impact loadings on their faces, also any vibrations been set up by doors being closed or slammed.

Bricks or blocks can also be used for the construction of non load bearing partitions.

They may be built directly off a concrete floor with a thickened slab or steel reinforcement to support the walls self weight.

At ceiling level bracketing is provides stability between the joists above.

If the partition is built off a suspended timber floor a larger joist section or two joists side by side must be used to carry the load of the partition to the floor support walls.

Openings are constructed as for load bearing walls; alternatively a storey height frame could be used.

Advanced Wall Framing

Advanced wall framing makes your home more structurally sound, and offers you the opportunity to take advantage of lower material and labors expenses than would be expected for a traditionally framed home.

Not only will you save these costs, but you will save money from less waste clearance, as there is less debris to clear when doing advanced wall framing.

By using advanced framing you can improve your homes energy efficiency by making a simple replacement of lumber for more insulation materials.

When you look at the R-value of the wall, you can use this technique to reduce any thermal bridging and maximize the area of the wall that will be insulated.

You can do these advanced framing techniques as a total package or individually, depending on your contractor and their recommendation.

If you completely implement this advanced wall framing, you can save anywhere from $500 to $1,000 in material costs.

You can also save 3-5% on labor cost and up to 5% on your annual heating and cooling costs. So what techniques are involved in advanced wall framing? Let’s take a closer look.

Stud Spacing

In most cases, it is acceptable in the building code for you to increase the stud spacing from 16 inches to 24 inches when they are on-center.

According to the 1995 International Code Council, it is allowed for stud to be up to 10 feet long and spaced around 24 inches on-center.

In the case of walls that are only supporting a roof or ceiling, then you can use 2x4 studs, which can be put 24 inches on-center, with the exception of Utility grade #3 studs.

If the walls are supporting just one floor, like non-bearing gable endwalls in the first floor of a two story home, 2x4s can be spaced with the 24 inches on-center when these Utility grad studs are not being used.

Economically speaking, the 2x6 wall construction technique is favorable in areas where winter is a major season, and where windows or doors will occupy less than 10% of the wall area.

If you have a wall with more window and door area that may require framing lumber and conventionally-framed walls, then this can add extra studs to the lumber for structural purposes.

If you have added 2 inch wall thickness then you need to use extension jambs at all of the windows unless drywall returns are being used.

Headers

In many cases, structural headers tend to be oversized and installed in unnecessary instances for convenience purposes.

If you ensure that proper sizing of headers is used, then this allows for better insulation and can save wood.

In certain cases, single-ply, like a single 2x6, headers can be used which allow for better insulation around the windows.

With non-bearing walls, headers are not required, and this includes most interior walls or gable endwalls with non-bearing trusses.

It is actually possible for one to insulate the headers by utilizing foam sheathing as a spacer, instead of plywood or OSB on one side, or on both to make doubled headers. This is a great technique to use scrap sheathing to save money and reduce waste.

Jacks

Jacks can actually be eliminated in construction when structural headers not used, or if you use metal hangers when supporting structural headers.

On the other hand, eliminating jacks can reduce the available nailing area, as well as the siding and trim.

If nailable sheathing, like plywood and OSB, is not used, then it may only leave around ½ inches of width next to a window for nailing.

If it’s necessary, creating a modified window opening or installing a 2x2 wood nailer behind your sheathing for siding attachments is possible.

Outside and Inside Corners

Wall Framing Two-stud corners - Image credit to:www.nrel.gov

If you use two-stud corners, you can decrease the lumber used, and also increase insulation levels when you compare this to a typical corner stud.

If nailable sheathing isn’t used, then attachments to the exterior trim or the siding at corners can require an attachment many inches away from a corner.

If foam or non-nailbase sheathing is used for this, then you may need to add a wood nailer behind this sheathing.

If drywall clips are used, then they need to be installed above the interior trim, so the nails will not get in the way.

If a non-coped trim piece is installed first on the drywall that bears on the clip, then the cope trim piece can be nailed to the stud.

Partition Connections to Exterior Walls (T-walls)

Wall Framing T-walls - Image credit to:www.nrel.gov

To make a partition connection to an exterior wall (also referred to a T-wall), studs are affixed to either side of the division in order to provide a surface for attaching drywall.

This type of connection not only wastes wood but also forms an area where insulation is very difficult.

Alternatively, you can use drywall clips, ladder blocks or place a full-length 2 x 6 or 1 x 6 behind the first partition stud to increase insulation in the outer wall.

Intermediate Blocking

As intermediate blocking is not required by major building codes or standards, it is not necessary to place horizontal blocks between studs to gain structural strength with platform framing.

Single Top Plates

Wall Framing Single Top Plates - Image credit to:www.nrel.gov

Single top plates are acceptable structurally and are accepted by many model building codes including that of the Building Officials Code Administrators (BOCA) and International Code Council (ICC) providing that 3x6 inch, 20 gauge galvanised steel plates are used to join the top plate at corners, joints and wall intersections and that they are nailed into place using three 8d nails on each side.

Using single top plates however, alters the wall height therefore sheathing and drywall requirements will be affected.

94¼ inch long studs which are usually used for interior walls are the right length for single top plates but they are sometimes not available so you may have to cut 96 inch ones to length or add a strip of drywall at the bottom of the wall.

You can also get pre-cut 92 and five-eighths inch studs but you will need to ‘rip’ approximately 1 inch from the drywall and sheathing.

This option is better than the previous option with the 96inch lumber (if the 94¼ stud is unavailable of course) as it requires less work and produces less waste.

Advanced Wall Framing Design

Here are a few things to consider when creating an advanced wall framing design:

Use the two-foot module design

when designing the buildings length, width and roof, work in 2-foot increments as this will make the best use out of common sheet sizes (as well as other materials as they tend to come in multiples of 2 feet) and in turn will reduce wastage, material use and labour. With proper planning, you can use entire cut-offs (for example from a centre-cut sheet of plywood) elsewhere in the project therefore reducing scrap, saving on an extra cut, materials and money. If using a ridge vent in the roof, remember to allow space for it in the planning.

Remember in-line wall framing

Try to align all of the wall, floor and roof framing members either directly above or below each other so that loads are transferred directly downwards. Using this method can eliminate the need for double top plates as the load will be evenly distributed via the top plate.

Consider window and door layouts

At least one side of each window or door needs to be supported with an existing stud and the other side should be attached with a metal hanger. Windows that open to approximately 22½ inches should have studs that are spaced 24 inches on-centre and if this is used with in-line framing, a header will not be needed as studs will not need cutting down.

Minor details

It may seem irrelevant and time-consuming but for maximum efficiency, plans need to be detailed and include every piece of wood, cross bracing etc in the house and space needs to be allocated for ducts, pipes and wiring. If these supposedly trivial details are left out, they can lead to disagreements over space, hinder installation or require studs, joists and other materials to be altered or moved later.

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