Wall

STANDARD, STRAIGHT WALL FRAMING RESOURCES:

How to Frame a Wall -- This Old House (This video demonstrates how to frame an internal wall. We will be framing exterior walls -- very similar. However, the front and rear walls will have a slope to them -- an added complication).

Learn how to frame a window -- Building tutorials made easy (This video shows the framing of a window.)

Wall Sheathing Installation Tips from Georgia-Pacific (Generic instructions for installing wall sheathing on a wall.)

Building Better Walls - 5 Sheathing Pro Tips (Shows sheathing walls while the walls are laying down.)

Build Good Walls -- How to Do It (How to avoid three common mistakes when framing walls. This includes how to square a wall while it is laying down BEFORE sheathing and standing it up, including hinging the bottom plate).

Note: The house pictured here was built with the house flipped relative to the printed plans -- the tall wall and short wall are flipped.

Measure where you are going to cut the wood. For the tall wall it is 7' 7.5", while the short wall is 6'7.5"

Mark the measurement with a "V" using a carpenters pencil where you're cutting. Then use a speed square to quickly scribe a line across the entire face of the board.

Do not trust the laser on the chop saw. Instead, line up the blade with your line, making sure you are cutting on the side of the line you do not want to keep.

When repeatedly using the same measurement, install a stop block on the chop saw fence (a block of wood simply clamped to the fence) so you don't have to measure every single stud.

Tall Wall

Cut thirteen 2x4s to 7' 7.5" using the chop saw.

Cut three 2x4s to 15' for the bottom plate and two top plates.

Clamp together the bottom and one of the two top plates then mark where the studs will be with a speed square. Put a giant X on which side of the line the studs will go.

Unclamp and bring the marking to the wider side of the 2x4s with a speed square, to make putting the walls together easier

Layout the studs and top and bottom plates. If the wood is twisted or difficult to line up, try clamping them together with the large bar clamp from the metals shop.

Nail the studs in place with 3 nails per stud per plate. Make sure the edges of the studs are level to the plates. Also, when laying out a wall, if the studs aare bent one way or the other, be sure to orient all bends in the same direction along the wall (for instance, all convex up as the wall is laying on the ground).

Short Wall

Repeat the process from the tall wall only the final dimensions should be 6' 7.5" for wall studs and the same measurments for the top and bottom plates.

Installing the tall and short side walls

Once you have complete the tall and short wall square them the same way as you did with the floor framing -- checking diagonals. Cut and screw in a a first piece of interior wall sheathing plywood to keep the squared wall framing square. Use 1-1/4" screws (T20 star bit). Make sure that when the wall is up, the plywood seams will not line up. Screws should be 6 inches around the perimeter and 12 in the field. As this plywood will serve as the finished surface on the inside of the shelter BE SURE THE "A" SIDE, OR NICER SIDE, OF THE PLYWOOD IS FACING INTO THE SHELTER.

Once the walls are squared carefully lift them up and put them on the flooring. You want the edge of the bottom plate to line up with the edge of the joist. Check this with a speed square. There is going to be space where the wall is not touching anything just above the decking. That is ok for now and will be shimmed solid later.

It will take at least 3 people to stand up the wall and then to level it with the six foot level. Check multiple studs when making it level, make it close to perfect.

Once the walls are aligned with the joists and leveled attach them with a temporary brace. The brace should be installed with 3 inch screws to the wall and the joists. Once the brace is in place and the walls up you can connect the wall to the floor with either 3" screws or nails through the bottom plate of the wall.

Front Wall Installation

Only work on the front wall when the tall and short walls are done, and at least one rafter is in place. On a typical house, all four walls would be build like the side walls here, and then all would be raised and connected together with overlapping top plates. However, the shed roof cause this not to be the easiest way to do this. Instead, the front (and rear) walls are build after the side walls and the rafters are in place.

The spot alignment laser will be used to mark the rafters for the front wall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ0S12In_M4 <-- not the exact model but it has the general idea of how they work.

Install blocking between the two rafters where the front wall will be so the top plate of the front wall has something to attach to. Make sure to mark where the blocking is so you will know where to nail the top plate in.

Now cut the 2 top plates for the front wall. Be careful and take into account what you are measuring. Both ends should be cut at an angle and should be parallel.

Install the first top plate with nails into the blocking installed in the previous step. Make sure this top plate is flush with the rafters and is in the proper location -- its better to catch a mistake earlier rather than later.

The bottom plate for the front wall is unique because you don't need to have a bottom plate under the door. Our house was flipped so the door space would be on the other side if you are following the plans.

So cut two pieces. 1) 4 feet 2) 3 inches and install them with the nail gun. Alternatively, go ahead and install a full bottom plate. The portion in the door can be cut out with either a sawsall or a multitool later -- but if you do this DO NOT PUT NAILS IN THE BOTTOM PLATE IN THE DOORWAY.

Next mark the place for the studs with a pencil, the speed square, and the point laser. Use the drawings for proper wall framing layout. In the picture, note the laser dot on the bottom of the top plate to insure framing alignment.

It's important to label what stud you are marking as well. King studs go all the way from the bottom to the top plate. Jack studs are shorter and support the header above a window or door. Cripple studs go between the sill of a window (or the heat pump) and the bottom plate. So mark K, J, or C on the side of the line that the stud should go on when doing your plate layout.

In order to mark the top plate so you can insure the studs are straight (it wouldn't hurt to use the 6ft level to help), use the laser level. Again mark K, J, and C respectively and make sure the markings are clear.

Time to cut the studs. For the king studs you will have to use an angle and I highly recommend visualizing it somehow before making any cut. For instance, sketch it on a paper or scrap piece of wood so you know which way the angle has to be cut. Use the chop saw for this.

When installing the studs it is important to 1) make sure they are level and in line with the markings. 2) insure the studs do not move when screwing them in (See the technique in rafters) 3) use the 3 inch screws.

Once the studs are installed, mark where they are on the outside of the house. You will need to know these locations later for siding attachment.

Rear Wall

The rear wall is very simailer to the front wall, only the top plates are slightly different and the window and heat pump affect the studs.

For the back wall, the top plates go on the last rafter. Use the laser level again to mark the studs.

At this point we have already marked all the studs and have started to install them. You will have to work around the bracing until the straps are in. Use the toe nail method from rafters on the studs so they don't move with installation.

Focus on the rear wall, a piece of plywood is installed. It covers the window but that is ok because a handheld router with a flush-trim bit will be used to cut the opening for the window out later.

This is a view of the rear wall with plywood installed. Notice the heat pump and window opening and the different types of studs. Follow the plans for the dimensions of the rough openings.

Corner Strap Installation

In a normal house, the upper top plate is lapped at the corners to connect perpendicular and intersecting walls together. The shed roof prevents this. To increase the strength of the wall-to-wall connection at the corners, metal straps are installed on all corners. These can be installed either inside or outside. Wherever you install them, make a note of their location so you don't try to attach siding or interior sheathing in these locations. The L strap must be installed before the bracing is removed from the walls. There should be one for each corner. The metals shop should be used to bend the straps at the correct angle for the corners. These should be installed using the palm nailer and Teco nails.

Use a scrap piece of metal to find the angle of the bend so the metal can be flush with the corner.

We did this by holding the metal against one top plate and then just flipping it on the corner to the other top plate and adjusted from there. Once the angle was found you can bend it in the shop (ask a teacher for help unless you are taking metals)

Test your angle with a piece of scrap metal to make sure it fits on the weird angles. Once the correct angle and orientation are confirmed, brake (the metalworking term for bending) the Simpson straps as needed.
Double check your markings and that you are bending the right way.

Install the straps starting closest to the corner (unlike what we did). It might be helpful to have one person hold and another nail the straps in.

The front wall angles were harder to find. We used a piece of paper to find the angle and tested it multiple times on scrap metal.

Plywood Interior Sheathing

Notice how the seams in adjacent courses of the plywood are staggered so that joints on adjacent courses DO NOT LAND ON THE SAME FRAMING MEMBER. Also every seam lands halfway in between a stud. 1-1/4" screws are used to attach the plywood to the walls. Measure twice cut once. Do not trust any dimensions in the plans -- AT THIS POINT FIELD MEASURE TO INSURE GOOD FIT. Also, make sure the good side of the plywood is facing the interior. This plywood will be the finished surface on the inside so make sure it looks good. We messed this up and needed to use wood filler to fix it. When installing plywood, use screws on 6" centers on all sheet edges, and 12" centers in the field. Use the track saw to cut the plywood and the 6 foot level or chalk line to screw the plywood in.

At this point you should have the walls up with one piece of plywood each as well as the floor finished. Continue the lower level of plywood with a piece that should be half the length of the plywood. For the next level be sure to use a long piece first so the seams are staggered like the picture.

This is what one finished side should look like. Unfortunately, the top left piece of plywood has been installed with the "C" side (the bad side) facing inward. Notice the knots in this panel and the lack of knots in the others.

Once the sides are done and the back top plates are installed the plywood on the roof can be started. The width shouldn't be cut but the length will need to be adjusted to land on a stud. It will take 3 - 4 people to install ceiling sheathing pieces -- two to hold it up in place, and at least one to attach it with the 1-1/4" screws using the impact drill (two screw installers is of course better).

Rear Wall

Notice in the back of the picture there are two pieces of siding for the back wall. The bottom piece was installed and then the hole was cut using the hand-held router. Then the next piece was installed horizontally again.

Rear Wall

The top part of the window was cut with the router. The heat pump had a hole drilled and then it was cut with the router.

Front Wall

Install the first piece vertically to the side of the door. Double check the measurement for the angle and mark stud locations somewhere before the piece is put up, ensuring the screws all land on a stud.

The top piece above the door can likely be cut out of a scrap piece of plywood.

Blocking Between Rafters

The blocking over the side walls between each rafter has two purposes. It first will contain the ceiling insulation. Secondly, it will provide a nailing surface for the material inclosing the underside of the roof eaves. Measure the length between the rafters then mark it on a 2x6. Sometimes you need to compensate for hurricane ties or mis-cut birds mouths -- be on the lookout for these things. Cut the 2x6 to length and put it in between the rafters. It is more important that this blocking be flush with the bottom of the rafters rather than the top of the rafters because there will be insulation on top. Put one screw in each corner at an angle so it goes into the rafter. You can use a clamp if you want to hold it in place.

Blocking For Soffit

For the rear wall, soffit blocking will need to be installed on the inside faces of the rafters and lookouts so the hardi soffit material has something to attach to. For the front wall it needs to be installed on the facia as well. 2x4s should be sufficient with a couple of screws. Measurements do not need to be exact, this is only for nailing the soffit in.

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