The Common Construction Framing for Outer Walls

Basic Wall

• A basic exterior wall has three elements: base or sole plate, top plate and vertical studs between the plates. Base plates rest on the foundation and are secured to it with strong fasteners, big framing nails on wood platforms, concrete nails on slab foundations and sometimes bolts embedded in concrete foundation walls.

Stud Spacing

• Studs on exterior walls typically are spaced with the board centers 16 inches apart. This spacing conforms to the dimensions of other construction elements, such as exterior sheathing, wall insulation and interior drywall. Corner studs are nailed together where two walls meet. Double studs are required sometimes at corners and openings. These are made by fastening two studs together with two or more short pieces of 2-by-4 between them.

Typical Height

• Most exterior walls are framed with 8-foot studs, though the exact length may vary slightly. This forms a wall frame to accommodate 4-by-8-foot panels of sheathing or interior wall covering. Some exterior walls use 9- or 10-foot studs to provide higher ceilings inside the house.

Doors and Windows

• Doors, windows and similar openings greater than the space between studs are framed with headers and footers. Headers are installed horizontally at the top of the opening and are typically 2-by-6 lumber or one size larger than the wall studs.

  Headers are nailed to full studs on either side and are supported by partial studs on either side, from the bottom of the header to the bottom of the wall. Footers are similar, placed at the bottom of window openings.

Cripple Studs

• Gaps between headers and top plates, and footers and bottom plates are filled with short studs, called cripples. These run between the plates and the horizontal elements, and are spaced with centers 16 inches apart, from the full studs on either side of the opening.

Cap Plates

• Exterior walls are tied together with cap plates. These are 2-by-4 (or 2-by-6) boards nailed on top of the top plates to extend over the top plate of an adjoining wall. An end wall, for example, will have a cap plate that extends beyond the end of that wall frame and over the top plate on the adjoining side walls. Caps are nailed to top plates of both walls. Exterior walls also are usually tied to interior walls with caps.