How to Frame an Architechural Type Window

Preparation

• 1

  Consult the manufacturer’s instructions for the size of the rough opening for the window. If no instructions are provided, measure the window’s width and height at its longest points and add 2 1/2 inches to each dimension.

• 2

  Sketch an outline of the planned framing on graph paper. For the most efficient framing, see if one or two of your planned wall studs falling on 16-inch or 24-inch centers can serve as part of the window framing as well. Sketch the length and height of the entire wall, as well as the wall stud locations and approximate location of the window. With any luck, one or two of the wall studs can act as “king studs” that run from ceiling to floor as part of the window framing. Draw a double top plate, 3 inches deep, composed of sandwiched 2-by-4s at the ceiling, and a sole plate, 1 1/2 inches deep, on the subfloor.

• 3

  Sketch the top of the rough opening, which typically aligns with the top of any door frame in the room. Sketch a nominal 2-by-6 header to extend above the rough opening 5 1/2 inches. Indicate jack studs to run on the inside of the king studs, between the sole plate on the floor and the header. These jack studs narrow the space between the king studs by 3 inches. Check that the distance between the jack studs matches the needed width for the rough opening. If it doesn’t, add to your sketch a king stud and a jack stud to create the exact width required for your rough opening.

• 4

  Sketch a sill, a horizontal framing member, at the bottom of the rough opening. Draw cripple studs -- short studs that don’t run floor to ceiling -- to run from the sole plate to the sill and from the ceiling’s top plates to the header.

Framing

• 5

  Cut your two top plates and the sole plate, which should all be the same length, out of 2-by-4 lumber on a chop saw. Clamp the top plates and sill plate together and mark your regular stud, king stud, jack stud and cripple stud locations with a speed square, a carpenter’s pencil and a measuring tape, following your sketch. Unclamp the lumber and spread it out. Lay the narrow edges of the cut 2-by-4s on a floor or large work area, where you will assemble the wall and window framing and later raise it into place.

• 6

  Cut your regular and king studs, which should all be the same length, which is the floor-to-ceiling height minus 4 1/2 inches to account for the depth of the sole plate and top plates. Lay the studs between the sole plate and top plates on the floor. End-nail them in place.

• 7

  Cut two pieces of 2-by-6 lumber to create a header, as well as a piece of 1/2-inch plywood to sandwich between the 2-by-6s and act as a spacer. Clamp the pieces together and face-nail them. Lay the header between the king studs and the jack studs between the header and sole plate and nail all into place. Lay the sill plate between the jack studs and the cripple studs between the header and top plates, and nail all into place.

• 8

  Add braces at 45 degrees to the top corners of the rough opening if called for in your architectural window’s instructions or opening template, particularly if you are installing a window with a half-round top. Cut 2-by-4 lumber on a miter saw to the length indicated on the template to create the 45-degree angle and nail the braces into place on the header and jack studs.