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What Is the Standard Size for Studs for House Building?

Many construction methods use standard material sizes and installation methods to create uniform walls, floors and roof pitch dimensions. Studs are dimensional boards specifically intended for use in constructing walls. Unlike other boards, studs are all pre-cut to an exact length to allow the builder to frame walls quickly and efficiently. Not all walls are the same size, however, so studs come in different sizes. The architect who drew the plans and local building codes will make the final determination on stud size for any given house, but you can count on some general guidelines.

  1. Standard Walls

    • In new construction, most walls feature 8-foot studs spaced 16 inches apart between a floor plate and a ceiling plate. When the homeowner wants higher ceilings, 9-foot and 10-foot studs are available. A stud is always a single board that spans the distance from the bottom wall plate to the top wall plate.

    Mechanical or Exterior Walls

    • To increase the insulation factor, or R-value, in an exterior wall, the builder may frame the wall with 2-by-6 studs. These wider studs allow the installation of thicker batt insulation. These wider studs are also available in pre-cut lengths and are found in mechanical walls -- those that contain plumbing drainpipes or air vents.

    The Real Sizes

    • The first time you frame a wall with 8-foot studs, you might be surprised to find that the studs are only 92 5/8 inches long. While it’s more accurate to request studs to “build” an 8-foot wall, if you ask for 8-foot studs, this is what you’ll get. A 9-foot stud is actually 104 5/8 inches long and a 10-foot stud is 116 5/8 inches long. At first, it can be confusing, but there is a method to the madness. When you install an 8-foot stud between a bottom plate that’s 1.5 inches thick and two top plates of the same thickness, the height of the framed wall is a total of 97 1/8 inches. After subtracting 1/2-inch for ceiling drywall and 5/8-inch for flooring, the remaining wall height is exactly 96 inches, or 8 feet.

    Other Stud Considerations

    • When choosing studs for wall construction, select each stud individually, if possible. Green lumber, delivered from the mill with high moisture content, is more likely to warp or twist as it dries. Hold one end of a stud at eye level with the other end on the ground and sight down the top and sides of the stud to determine how much the stud bends. Slight crowning is acceptable, but studs with noticeable bends or twists will not fit uniformly between the top and bottom plates and may require shimming to even them out before you can install drywall on them.

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