Framing, the 1st Wall on the 1st Floor

On Friday I was able to start framing the walls of the main floor.

I started with the smallest wall. This wall is east facing and has one window in it. In the picture to the right you can see all the components needed to frame a window. Can you place them?

• Header (Clue: it is made of 2)
  
• Sill (Clue: there is 1)
  
• Trimmers (Clue: there are 2)
• Sill Trimmers (clue there are 2)
  
• King Studs (there are 8)
• Jack studs (there are 3)
• Bottom(sole) plate
• Top plate
  

The longest part of the framing process is measuring and cutting the lumber as I use an air nailer to assemble the wall.

Notice the wall was assembled on the floor just in front of were it is to go. To ease the process of lifting it into plate you can see two temporary pieces of 2 x 6 that are sticking up from the floor - right at the end of the floor. These serve as a stopper so the wall doesn't fall over the edge as we raise it.

Prior to raising this wall I also framed the short wall that attaches on the right of this wall.

NEXT POST: raising the wall, making it plumb, and attaching the next wall.

Framing Windows - No need to rush the view

Over the past 2 weekends we have accomplished much. We have:

• Framed the lakeside walls for the basement
• Installed the floor including the beam, joists and decking
• Installed the plumbing in the basement floor

But I haven't shared much about the framing work.

The basement is a walk-out basement, hence, concrete walls were not used on the lakeside of the cottage. I used pressure treated lumber for the framing of the basement walls that were not poured in concrete just to be sure that moisture did not affect the structure.

This picture illustrates the framing used:

• 2" x 6"Pressure treated stud walls
• Sill gasket between the concrete and the wood
• 5/8" Pressure treated plywood
  

Also illustrated is the framing for a window including:

• Laminated 3 by 2" x 10" header
• Trimmer studs supporting the header
• King studs beside each trimmer stud
• Jack studs (also called cripple studs) supporting the window sill
  

Anchor bolts are a key support feature. These are bolts embedded in the concrete which come through holes in the sole plate. These are secured using washers and nuts which really make the prefect bond with the foundation.

Here is a diagram of the elements of building a wall with a window in it.


Why not rush the view? Well the windows are not arriving for several weeks, and cutting out the plywood where the window goes just isn't needed right now. Besides there a number of benefits to leaving the plywood there:

• protects the basement from the weather
• putting on a whole 4' x 8' piece is just easier and it provides greater structural integrity
• and provides some security if you intend to cover all the openings while you are away.