DIY Framing a Bearing Wall

Lay out your 96-inch boards on a flat surface. Stand each board on its side. Move the boards so that each one is parallel with the others. Place the boards at 16-inch intervals along the entire length of the wall.

Refer to your engineered building plans. Look for windows in the wall. Cut a set of window jacks and studs with your circular saw. Use the dimensions listed on the plans. Remove wall studs from your layout, and place the window jacks and studs in place. Build a header by nailing a piece of 1/2-inch plywood between two of your 2 inch by 12 inch boards.

Look at your plans again to find doors in the wall. Cut door jacks and header pieces according to the measurements on your plans. Remove the wall studs from the layout, and put your door jacks and header pieces in place.

Assemble corner jacks by nailing three wall studs together. These pieces go wherever your load-bearing wall reaches the outside corner of the house. Build mid-wall corners (where another wall meets the side of this wall) by cutting 12-inch blocks of 2-inch by 4-inch board. Lay these boards flat on the ground. Stand a wall stud on either side of the blocks. Space the blocks at 24-inch intervals. Nail the blocks in place.

Lay a 12-foot board along the bottom of the assembly. Lay another long board along the top of the assembly. Drive two nails through the top and bottom boards at each stud to assemble the wall. Nail the corner studs in place. Stretch out your tape measure between the studs before nailing the next one in order to maintain 16-inch spacing. Remember that studs are spaced 16 inches from center to center. Refer to your plans for window and door spacing measurements.

Lay an unused 12-foot board on the subfloor. Move it into position, and nail it in place by driving two of your 16d nails every 18 inches. Continue nailing long boards onto the subfloor along the entire path of the wall. Take your time to ensure proper placement.

Stand in the center of the wall. Place an assistant every six feet along the entire length of the wall. Lift the assembly, and move it onto the boards nailed to the floor. Tell your assistants to hold the wall steady. Nail the bottom board of the frame to the boards you nailed to the floor. Drive two nails between every other set of studs to secure the assembly to the floor.

Slide another set of long boards on top of the wall. Nail up, through the assembly, to secure it to the top plate.