Introduction: Framing walls is a matter of material layout and nailing the material together. For basement rooms, building a shed or building a house framing the walls is basically a process of laying out the wall stud pattern, measuring and cutting the studs to the desired length.

This task is referred to as construction framing and is well in the capability of most DIY homeowners. Basic tools consist of a saw, square, measuring tape, and a level.

Wall framing begins with an accurate wall framing layout, starting at the end of the sill plate, marking a line 16 on center (o/c). For the first stud measure 15-1/4" and line and place an X to the right of it. Do the same thing for 31-1/4", 47-1/4" and so forth. One might ask, why not mark on the actual 16" on center. The reason is that the thickness of a 2"x 4" or 2"x 6" is 1-1/2", half the thickness of that is (1-1/2" -3/4"=3/4"). The 16 inch spacing minus 3/4" =15-1/4".

The same rule applies to all the stud spacing. If the wall is a non structural wall the stud layout can be 24 inches on center. Sheathing wallboard are 48 inches in width and will coincide with the 16 or 24-inch o/c spacing of the wall studs.

If there is going to be a door in the wall the door rough opening must be 2 inches wider than the door size. For example a 2 X 6 door is actually 30 inches wide so the rough opening will be 32 inches so the door frame will fit into the wall. However, if the wall is a structural wall a header is required over doors or doorways. The opening must accommodate the header (a 2 x 6 header for a 2 x 6 door) on top and a 2 x 4 (called a jack) on each end to hold up the header.

The distance between the two jacks that are holding up the header is the actual rough opening, the 32 inches for a 2 x 6 door. The height from the floor to the bottom of the jack will be two inches taller than the actual door height. If the door height is 6 x 8 (68 inches) the rough opening will be 70 inches.

If you are building more than one wall to form a room, where the walls intersect at 90 degrees, a double stud is placed in the end of the wall to form an inside corner for attaching the sheathing or wallboard to the inside of the room.

The two basement walls illustrated in the pictures represent a standard 2 x 4 studded wall and a 2 x 6 structural studded wall that is framed for a door. Note that the sill plate, the bottom 2 x 4, is doubled to provide for nailing trim after the floor is installed. Whether you are framing basements, a house or shed, the process building stud walls is the same. Accurate measures are required to maintain the 16 or 24 inch o/c layout pattern to accommodate the sheathing that will be placed on the walls.

Wall Framing 1

Wall Framing 2

How to Frame Window and Door Openings

How to Make Door Rough Opening