For questions generally relating to the internal structural members of a home or other structure that form walls, ceilings and roofs, including studs, plates, headers, beams, and joists.
Questions tagged [framing]
1201 questions
42
votes
10 answers
Are gaps above and below framing members a concern?
I recently hired a framing crew to frame a new house. After it was done, I commissioned an independent review. The reviewer described some of the work as "shoddy," and pointed out a lot of gaps, particularly between king and jack studs and the…
Alaska house
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26
votes
6 answers
How do I find studs when stud finders won't work?
I was trying to hang my TV at my new place, on an interior wall (between living room and a bathroom). Using the stud finder on other walls worked fine, but on this wall I got some very strange readings. An area of about 5 feet by 4 feet was setting…
Steve Armstrong
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26
votes
1 answer
Seemingly overbuilt basement wall - load bearing?
I'm doing some prep/exploratory work before I begin finishing my basement. Home was built in 1980 and has a cement block foundation. There is a seemingly random wall framed in the otherwise unfinished basement. I pulled one side of the sheetrock - I…
cxd213
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25
votes
3 answers
Diagonal brace left in the basement by builder. Can I remove it? Replace it?
I have a diagonal brace running across an interior wall in the basement, and it even goes partially into the floor concrete. Is this meant to be permanent, or was it supposed to be removed during construction?
I want to finish the basement and put…
Egor
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24
votes
5 answers
How do you find helpers for larger DIY projects?
Question: In cases where you have the time and skills to do a project yourself, but physically cannot without a second skilled person to help, how do you go about finding and hiring someone that is willing to work with you?
Example: I'm planning to…
Nick
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23
votes
7 answers
What are framing dimensions like in the metric world?
I was always curious about this. In the states we have:
Lumber - Comes most commonly in 2 inch (2x4,6,8,10,12,16) and 4 inch (4x4,4x6) varieties.
Plywood - Almost always 4x8 feet
Drywall/Plasterboard - Various 4 foot varieties (4x8,10,12) and…
Eric Petroelje
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22
votes
6 answers
Is it OK that the frame of my house doesn't line up with the slab?
My new house is being framed. I saw that the frame extends 1-2" from the foundation:
Click photograph for full size
The builder told me it happens often and the city inspector will catch it if this is a problem.
Is this OK? Should I ask a 3rd party…
Derek C.
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22
votes
2 answers
Will removing shelving screws from studs damage the studs?
We live in a newly built home. My husband hung some Ikea shoe bins on the wall and mounted them in to the studs. I am going to paint the hallway and would like to remove the bins and hooks, patch the holes and have an even coat of paint from floor…
Lauren
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18
votes
1 answer
What's the difference between "Framing Lumber" and "Framing Studs"?
The Home Depot website has these two as categories under Dimensional Lumber.
Why would one want to exclude items from one category during a search for wood to use in a project?
What is the difference?
brentonstrine
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16
votes
4 answers
Can I cut the small tab off of these rafters to make drywalling easier
I am finishing my garage and I have come to the point I need to start drywalling. I ran into a roadblock and would like to get opinions on how to proceed. The roof is a pyramid shaped hip roof and each rafter has a small "notch" where it meets the…
Yamaha32088
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14
votes
2 answers
Can I remove a wall stud to install a pet door?
We only have one option for a wall that the pet door would go in. After measuring we found that the door would have to go right in the middle of a stud. Is it safe to cut through the stud?
Mary mcintire
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14
votes
5 answers
What is the purpose of this joint in my wall stud?
I am getting ready to install a new bathtub and shower.
After ripping everything out I noticed all the studs behind the original bathtub wall have cuts. See photo.
If anyone can explain why the studs are pieced together this way I would appreciate…
homegrown
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14
votes
5 answers
How can I fix a framing mistake so I can drywall?
I’m demoing a kitchen and discovered that the top plate sticks into the room a half inch farther than the studs. The current drywall is attached to the studs and therefore is even with this top plate which leaves the problem of how to drywall the…
Rob Sampson
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13
votes
2 answers
When should you use metal studs?
When does it make sense to use metal framing for an interior wall? What are the advantages to traditional wood framing?
Ed.T
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13
votes
3 answers
Did I Make a Major Framing Mistake?
I am an absolute ameteur trying to frame my basement remodeling project by myself and I've learned a lot since the start of this project, but I am worried the parts I didn't know are going to come back to haunt me now. When I first started this…
senfo
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