How to Brace Walls on a Pole

Have a couple of helpers raise the framed wall into position. Place a carpenter’s level along the front of the wall to make certain that it’s plumb. Nail the wall to the floor through the board running along the wall’s base. Space the nails every 4 feet.

Drive two wooden stakes into the ground with a hammer about 4 feet from the wall’s location. Align the stake with the location of a wall stud that's positioned two or three studs inward from the edges of the wall, if you’re bracing an exterior wall.

Place one end of an 8-foot long, 2-by-4-inch plank against the side of the wooden stake above ground, and the other end of the plank against the wall stud in front of the stake’s location, forming an angle between the stake and the wall stud.

Nail the 2-by-4s to the stakes on one end and then to the wall studs using the 8d nails. If placing an interior framed wall, then nail the bottom end of the plank directly to the floor to hold the plank into place. Secure the plank in place using 2-inch nails at both ends.

Place a third plank against a wall stud in the center of the wall, extending in the opposite direction of the first two planks. Nail the plank in the same way you did the first two, bracing the wall from the other side.

Place the carpenter’s level onto the side of one of the wall studs to check that the wall is square. Push the stud slightly to the left or right until it shows level. Place a 2-by-4 diagonally across the wall studs, and then nail the board to the studs where it crosses them. This will keep your wall in the square position as you attach adjacent framed walls.