How to Frame a Kneewall in the Basement

Place a straightedge onto the floor in the precise location that you wish to place the kneewall in your basement. Draw a line along the edge marking the length of the wall onto the floor with a piece of chalk. You can place the kneewall extending from a single basement wall towards the center of the room or running along the edge of the existing basement wall. Remove the straightedge and then measure the line with a tape measure.

Mark two 2-by-4-inch planks with the measured length using the chalk. Place a carpenter’s square against the edge of each plank so that one leg of the square lies along the length of the plank while the other leg crosses the plank at the marked position. Draw a straight line across the plank at the marked point with the chalk, using the overlapping edge as a guide. Cut the planks along the drawn lines with a circular saw. Mark two more planks with the desired height of the kneewall minus 3 inches using the same process, and then cut those planks with the saw as well.

Place the length planks onto the floor, so that they sit parallel to one another on the 2-inch edges. Take the height planks and set them on their 2-inch edges between the two length planks, with the joints flush to one another to create a squared outer frame for your wall. Nail the four planks together with 16d nails driven through the length planks into the height planks with a framing nailer.

Mark the location of the wall studs along the bottom length plank every 16 inches from the center of the edge planks using a piece of chalk. Cut a piece of 2-by-4 inch plank the same length as your height planks for each wall stud mark made. Position the stud planks between the length planks at each mark with the stud planks also on the 2-inch edges. Nail the wall studs into place through the top and bottom length planks using the 16d nails.

Stand the completed frame upright along the length plank chosen to serve as the bottom of your kneewall. Place the plank against the connecting wall of your basement, centered onto the drawn line on the floor.

Drill pilot holes into the basement floor through the bottom plank using a hammer drill with a masonry bit, about 1-inch in depth every 6 inches along the plank. Hammer 2-1/2 inch masonry nails through the pilot holes and into the basement floor. Do the same for the edge board against the wall to secure the frame completely.