How to Sheath a Nine Foot Wall

Sheathing a 9-foot wall is only different from sheathing an 8-foot wall because sheathing is usually sold in panels that measure 4-by-8 feet. This means that while an 8-foot wall could easily be covered in two courses of plywood sheathing, a 9-foot wall requires a partial third course. It's easier to sheath a wall before the frame has been raised, so start your sheathing as the frame is laying on the ground. Once the sheathing has been installed, have a partner help you raise the wall to install it in the appropriate place.

Plywood (enough for 3 courses, see local codes for thickness)
10d Nails
Hammer
Circular saw
Protective eye glasses
Measuring tape

Instructions

- 1
  Position the first piece of sheathing on the wall at the lower left-hand corner of the frame. Use a standard 4-by-8-foot plywood panel, laid horizontally on the wall frame so that it is wider than it is tall. The left edge of the panel should line up flush with the left edge of the frame.
- 2
  Nail the sheathing to the frame stud starting at the left edge. Insert 10d nails along the edge every 6 inches.
- 3
  Nail the sheathing to the next stud in the wall. Hammer in a nail every 12 inches.
- 4
  Proceed from one side of the panel to the other, hammering in galvanized nails to the studs behind the panel. When you reach the right edge of the panel, space the nails 6 inches apart, as they were on the left edge of the panel. Because of the standard layout of studs in a frame, and the standard size of a plywood panel, the right edge of the panel should end directly over the center of a stud. Always hammer the panel from the left to the right, and space the nails 6 inches apart on the outer edges and 12 inches apart in the center of the panel.
- 5
  Position the next panel in place to the right of the first panel. The left edge of the panel should fall over the center of the stud that the first panel ended at. Separate the two panels by 1/8 inch. Nail the panel into place, spacing the nails as described in Step 4.
- 6
  Nail the rest of the panels in the first course, separating the ends of the panels by 1/8 inch. Cut the end piece of sheathing to fit on the wall with a circular saw.
- 7
  Start the second course by slicing the first panel in half with a circular saw, so that the first panel in the second course is a 4-by-4 piece of plywood. This way, the plywood will be staggered over the wall. Install the plywood in the second course using the same techniques you used to install the first course of plywood, but separate the bottom edge of the second course from the top edge of the first course by a 1/4-inch gap. These gaps are important because they allow the plywood to expand and contract with the climate and moisture content.
- 8
  Rip the panels for the top course by cutting the panels lengthwise using a circular saw. The top panel will be 1 foot high instead of the standard 4 feet high. Install the third course in the same way you installed the first course. The first panel of the third course will be 1 foot tall and 8 feet long. Separate the bottom of the third course from the top of the second course by a 1/4-inch gap.

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