How to Frame Internal Walls
- 1). Lay the top plate board and the bottom plate board, which are regular 2-by-4 boards, side by side with their ends flush. Run a tape measure down the length of the boards.
- 2). Mark the boards at 15 1/4 inch. Since wall studs are placed every 16 inches on center, make the next mark at 31 1/4, then 47 1/4 and so on all the way down the boards. These marks indicate where to place the right-hand edge of the wall studs.
- 3). Place an X on the top and bottom plate boards' right and left edges. Position the framing square's thin side against the first measuring mark at 15 1/4 inch, making sure the mark is on the right-hand side. Draw a straight line down the board on both sides of the framing square. Move the framing down to the next mark, and so on all the way down the plate boards. Put an X inside each set of lines to visually see where each wall stud will go.
- 4). Stack two 12-inch 2-by-4 boards, lying horizontally, at one end of the room. Measure from the top of the two boards up to the ceiling joists. Write this number down so you do not forget it. Take two more measurements along where the wall will be, then a final measurement on what will be the other end of the wall.
- 5). Transfer the shortest of all the measurements to the wall studs. Use a miter saw to cut the studs straight across. Remember to cut one stud for each X along the top and bottom plates.
- 6). Lay the top and bottom plates on edge on the floor. Position them so the marked sides face each other. Lay a wall stud between the plates at the X locations. Hammer 16d nails into the wall studs, angled so they enter the plates. Then hammer another nail through the plates and straight into the wall stud.
- 7). Lift the wall frame up and position it. You may need to place a scrap 2-by-4 on the frame's face and hit it with a hammer to wedge the frame between the ceiling joists and the floor. Hold a 4-ft. level against the wall studs to make sure they are straight up and down.
- 8). Hammer nails through the bottom plate and into the floor joists, if the wall frame is positioned on a main floor in your home. If the wall frame is in your basement on a cement floor, drill pilot holes every 12 inches to 16 inches through the bottom plate and into the floor, with a masonry bit. Then drive masonry screws through each pilot hole and into the floor.
- 9). Hammer 16d nails through the top plate and into the ceiling joists. If there is a gap between the top plate and ceiling joist, fill it with wooden shims before driving a nail through.