How to Frame a Cinder Block Basement

Finishing a basement allows you to add living or working space to your home. Most unfinished basements have walls made from poured concrete or cinder blocks. To allow the installation of insulation and wiring and to provide a surface for mounting drywall or paneling, the walls must be framed with wood. This is a job that's well within the means of the do-it-yourselfer.

Tape measure
2-by-4-inch boards
Circular saw
10d nails
Hammer
Shims

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the height and width of the cinder block wall you'll be installing the wooden frame wall to.
- 2
  Cut two pieces of 2-by-4-inch lumber to match the width of the wall. These will provide the upper and lower horizontal elements of the wall, referred to as the top plate and the bottom plate. Place them parallel to each other on an open space of floor, resting on the narrow sides.
- 3
  Cut a series of 2-by-4-inch boards to match the height of the wall, minus 4 inches. These are the vertical elements of the frame wall, known as studs. You'll need one of these for each end of the wall, and then another for every 16 inches of space between the ends of the wall. Place these between the top and bottom plates, perpendicular to them, starting at one end, and spacing them 16 inches apart, measuring from the middle of the first stud.
- 4
  Nail the studs to the top and bottom plates where they meet, using two 10d nails at each point.
- 5
  Raise the wall and slide it into position, flush against the cinder block wall. Nail the bottom plate to the subfloor with two 10d nails halfway between each vertical stud. Slide shims in between the top of the top plate and the ceiling joists. Drive nails through the top plate and shims and into the ceiling joists at each of these points.
- 6
  Proceed to the next wall and add a frame wall, using the method described.

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