Framing - Page 56 of 57 - Fine Homebuilding FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Main Menu
Subscribe

In every issue you'll find...

  • Expert insights on techniques and principles
  • Unbiased tool reviews
  • Step-by-step details to master the job
  • Field-tested advice and know-how
Subscribe Now!
Subscribe
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
  • Join
  • Log In
Main Menu Subscribe

Framing - Page 56 of 57

Is there anything more important to building a house that lasts than framing it correctly? Ask any framer and they will tell you that, no, nothing sets the tone for a new house or an addition more emphatically than the quality of the frame. The guys that do the foundation might have grounds to disagree, but the reality is that no well-built house ever springs from a poorly executed frame. Just building a backyard garden shed? Same rules still apply.

Frames in residential construction are almost always made from wood. Whether the house is panelized, modular, or site-built, the frame is likely to be fabricated from softwood. And most houses are built on site, assembled one stud, joist and rafter at a time. The list of skills a framer needs to accomplish this isn’t short, and by the time the framers get to the roof and begin cutting compound angles in pieces of dimensional stock the ante has gone up considerably. House plans and floor plans will be drawn up by others, but the quality of the finished house is a function of the hundreds of individual connections and thousands of fasteners under the purview of the framing crew.

New materials, and more sophisticated tools, are creeping in. Engineered lumber is becoming an increasingly important component in many new homes, not only in the I-joists that many builders already use for floor joists, but also in engineered studs, headers and beams. Framers are finding more uses for light-gauge steel. Green builders are mastering techniques that make houses more energy efficient — better ways of framing corners and headers, for example, or building houses with double stud walls.

So if the craft of framing houses in many ways looks just like it did a century ago, it’s not. Want to keep up? Hang out with the pro framers who write for Fine Homebuilding.

  • A Strapping Idea

    The easiest way to keep the bottom plate of a framed wall from walking when it is being raised is to toenail it into the subfloor. The nails bend easily…

  • Raising Heavy Timber

    Tools and tips for maneuvering big beams.

  • The Scribed Ellipse

    An easy way to lay out elliptical coves.

  • Walls with Braces

    When plumbing and lining a frame, I use this trick if I encounter a stubborn exterior wall, bristling with headers and bowed outward. Nail a 2x4 scrap flat to the…

  • Stepping Up

    I recently added three dormers on a 12:12 roof, using a toe-board and roof-stair system that saved me a lot of time, risk and effort. As shown in the drawing,…

  • Scissor Framing

    The scissor-like tool illustrated here can be useful in plumbing and aligning stud walls during framing. With it, a worker can exert and maintain great pressure against a wall while…

  • Solo Framing

    A carpenter working alone can hold a header, blocking or similar framing member in place for final nailing with a few bent nails. I use 8d nails, driven about a…

  • Window box

    In the course of remodeling older homes, I've developed the window box/greenhouse shown in the drawing. Its deep recess gives the same comfortable feeling of a window in a thick…

  • Tub drops in

    Using materials and fixtures in a way that wasn't originally intended is a mainstay of remodeling work. This can even be true of bathtubs. My project last summer was a…

  • Framing Under a Peak

    Framing Under a Peak

    Putting studs into the wall beneath the end rafters of a peaked roof can be time-consuming, but two simple jigs make it easy. Using a carpenter's square (or a calculator),…

Page 56 of 57 Previous
  • 1
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
Next

Most Popular

  1. 1

    Straight-Hole Jig

  2. 2

    Radiant Heating and Cooling

  3. 3

    Podcast 311: Fresh-Air Seeker, Grow-House Rehab, and Getting off Gas

  4. 4

    Podcast 313: Pony Studs, Cold Floors, and Hiding Foundation Insulation

  5. 5

    Readers' Letters: 9 Ways To Build Sawhorses

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 297 - February/March 2021

    • Foundations for Success
    • Staircase Renovation
    • Ditch the Hose
  • Issue 296 - Dec 2020/Jan 2021

    • Insulating Glass Keeps Getting Better
    • Simple Way to Make Old Walls Straight and Plumb
    • Making Sense of Minisplits
  • Issue 295 - Kitchens & Baths

    • Condo Kitchen Reimagined
    • Row-House Remodel
    • Rise of the IAQ Monitor
  • Issue 294 - Oct/Nov 2020

    • Schoolhouse Reimagined
    • Tool Test: Folding Sawhorses
    • A Better Way to Build Tall Walls
  • Issue 293 - Aug/Sept 2020

    • A Practical Guide to Fall Protection
    • Installing Frameless Cabinets
    • Make Any Tablesaw Safer

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Manage Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility

© 2021 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk
  • Account

  • Log In
  • Join

    Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk
  • Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

    Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

    All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

    Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

    More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • Customer Support

    Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Follow

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 52%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in