How to Nail a Main Foundation Beam Together

Nailing Non-spliced Lumber Together to Form a Foundation Beam

• 1

  Measure the span to be supported by the main foundation beam using a tape measure.

• 2

  Mark with a pencil the measurement taken in Step 1 on the face of each 2-by-12 piece of lumber that will forming the beam. Align one leg of a framing square with the pencil mark while the other leg sits tight to one of the lumber's edges. Pull the pencil along the aligned edge of the square to create a cut line. Draw a cut line on the face of each piece of lumber.

• 3

  Cut along each line with a circular saw to cut the lumber to length. Stack the boards. Align the edges of all boards. Make one pencil line 2 inches in from each end of each piece of lumber. Make one line every 12 inches. The last two lines can sit closer than 12 inches to the lines closest to the board's ends.

• 4

  Hold the tip of a 16d nail on a pencil line, 1 inch from the end of the lumber. Drive the nail through the lumber with a hammer. Run a second nail 1 inch in from the other end of the lumber. Center a third nail in between the first two nails. Repeat the nailing pattern at each pencil line.

Nailing Spliced lumber Together to Form a Long Beam

• 5

  Measure the total distance of the span requiring the main beam with a tape measure. Measure the distance from each end to the center support.

• 6

  Mark four boards the distance measured from one end to the center support, one board 16 inches shorter and one board 16 inches longer.

• 7

  Place two boards — cut to the center support distance — flat on the floor. Set the lumber cut 16 inches shorter and 16 inches longer on top of the first two pieces of lumber. Top off the pile with the two pieces of remaining lumber. Align the ends and edges of all lumber pieces.

• 8

  Layout the nailing pattern — described in the first section — on the exposed face of the top board. Secure the boards using the described nailing pattern.