How to Measure for Framing Walls

Stud walls consist of vertical framing members, called studs, sandwiched between horizontal framing members, called plates. Length, height and thickness are the variable dimensions of conventional stud walls. The distance between a wall's ends is the length, while the distance between the wall's top and bottom is the height. The width of the wall's studs determines the thickness. Stud walls have between two and four plates. If the wall has two plates at its base, the lower plate is called a sill plate and the upper plate is called a bottom plate. If a wall has two plates at its top, the lower of the two is called a top plate and the upper is called a tie plate. As you calculate stud size, take in account the thickness of the wall's plates.

Tape measure
Pencil
Paper or scrap wood

Instructions

- 1
  Stretch the tape measure between the desired end points of the wall. Use a pencil to record the wall's length on a piece of paper or scrap wood. Note that wall coverings affect a wall's finished dimensions. For example, if a wall sits between adjacent walls and forms inside corners at each end, then the thickness of the adjacent walls' finished coverings will reduce the center wall's length. If each surrounding wall is covered with a 1/2 inch sheet of drywall, the center wall's finished length is reduced by roughly 1 inch.
- 2
  Stretch the tape measure between the floor and ceiling for remodels or between the sub-floor and bottom edge of a ceiling joist for new construction. This measurement is the stud wall's overall height. Record the height.
- 3
  Determine the number of plates required for your framing project. Renovations where a wall stretches between a finished floor and finished ceiling generally require a single top plate and a single bottom plate. Framing in new construction on plywood or wooden sub-floors usually requires a single bottom plate, a top plate and a tie plate. Framing in new construction on masonry foundations typically requires a treated sill plate at the wall's base, a bottom plate, top plate and tie plate. Plate material thickness is usually 1 1/2 inches. To build a wall, you will sandwich the studs between the plates. Therefore, the height of the studs equals the desired overall height of the wall minus the thickness of the wall's plates.
- 4
  Multiply the required number of plates by the thickness of the plate material. Subtract the result from the overall height to determine the height of a single stud. Plate thickness is usually 1 1/2 inches. The required number of plates varies according to application. Record the stud height.
- 5
  Divide the length of the wall in inches by the spacing of studs in inches to determine the required number of studs. For example, if your wall is 60 inches long with studs every 16 inches, then the result is 3.75. Round the result up and add 1.0 to accommodate a stud at each of the wall's end. For example, the wall that is 60 inches with studs every 16 inches requires 5 studs.

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