Wall Framing for a Window

Walls are framed to support a house, as well as windows and doors, and to contain utilities.

Conventional house walls have an inner wooden framework. This framework may or may not support part of the house. But all walls support wallcoverings, windows, and doors. And they provide cavities for electrical wiring, plumbing, ductwork, insulation, and other utilities.

Though most walls are framed with 2-by-4 wall studs, 2 by 6s are used to provide more strength and/or larger cavities. Exterior walls, for example, may be framed with 2 by 6s to allow room for insulation; bathroom walls and interior kitchen walls are often framed with 2 by 6s to allow space for large pipes.

Not all houses are framed with wooden wall studs, however. Some newer homes are built with metal wall studs, a practice adopted from commercial construction methods. How a wall is framed for a window ©Don Vandervort, HomeTips

Windows have a single or double sill across the base, made up of 2 by 4s laid flat. Trimmer studs support each end of a header, and cripple studs fill in the areas above and below the openings. Cripple studs are placed on 16- or 24-inch stud layouts.

Wherever windows, doors, or other openings occur along a wall, the regular studs are eliminated. Instead, a small beam, called a header, spans across the top of the opening, bridging the gap.

A double top plate—two 2 by 4s or 2 by 6s laid flat—caps the top of the studs, locking them in position. This gives the wall rigidity and support and provides a backing for nailing on wallcovering materials. At the wall’s base, studs are nailed to a 2-by-4 or 2-by-6 sole plate.

The wall frame generally consists of 2-by-4 or 2-by-6 wall studs placed vertically every 16 or 24 inches from center to center. Extra studs provide nailing areas and sturdy support wherever walls intersect, such as at corners.

Wall Framing

Generate and manipulate wall framing; set framing member type and size, frame walls with multiple framing layers, add wall blocking in a framing detail.

Number

Title / Description

Door and Window Framing Controls

Framing components for doors and windows can be specified in defaults and modified on an opening by opening basis where needed.

Wall Blocking for Cabinets

Use the wall bridging tool to creating a framing member for kitchen wall cabinets.

Building the Wall Framing

The Wall, Openings, and Headers tabs in the Build Framing dialog are all referenced by the program to determine how walls are framed.

Framing Walls with Different Studs and Variable Stud Spacing

The Framing material type can be used to calculate stick framing quantities when assigned to the Main Layer of a wall type definition.

Multiple Wall Framing Layers

Create multiple framing layers in your walls and stagger or align the framing members on the desired stud spacing layout.

Specifying How to Frame Wall Intersections

Set the default for how all wall corner intersections frame, then modify individual ones as desired.

Editing the Wall Framing Detail

Wall Details are a special type of wall elevation view in which only the studs, plates and headers used to frame a selected wall display.

Framing Labels, Wall Labels, and Wall Details

Use the Specifications to change the wall labels that correspond to the matching wall detail.

Controlling Unwanted Wall Framing

Check Retain Wall Framing to preserve the framing of the selected wall when the wall framing is globally rebuilt.

Balloon Framing Walls

Select Balloon Through Ceiling to have the top of the wall go past the ceiling platform, and if there is a wall directly above, the framing will continue upward to its bottom plate.

Designating Platform or Balloon Framing Conditions

Select Generate Between Platforms in the Wall Specification dialog to fill in the gap between floor or ceiling platforms when the selected railing or invisible wall separates rooms with different floor or ceiling heights.

Wall Framing

Generate and manipulate wall framing; set framing member type and size, frame walls with multiple framing layers, add wall blocking in a framing detail.

Number

Title / Description

Door and Window Framing Controls

Framing components for doors and windows can be specified in defaults and modified on an opening by opening basis where needed.

Wall Blocking for Cabinets

Use the wall bridging tool to creating a framing member for kitchen wall cabinets.

Building the Wall Framing

The Wall, Openings, and Headers tabs in the Build Framing dialog are all referenced by the program to determine how walls are framed.

Framing Walls with Different Studs and Variable Stud Spacing

The Framing material type can be used to calculate stick framing quantities when assigned to the Main Layer of a wall type definition.

Multiple Wall Framing Layers

Create multiple framing layers in your walls and stagger or align the framing members on the desired stud spacing layout.

Specifying How to Frame Wall Intersections

Set the default for how all wall corner intersections frame, then modify individual ones as desired.

Editing the Wall Framing Detail

Wall Details are a special type of wall elevation view in which only the studs, plates and headers used to frame a selected wall display.

Framing Labels, Wall Labels, and Wall Details

Use the Specifications to change the wall labels that correspond to the matching wall detail.

Controlling Unwanted Wall Framing

Check Retain Wall Framing to preserve the framing of the selected wall when the wall framing is globally rebuilt.

Balloon Framing Walls

Select Balloon Through Ceiling to have the top of the wall go past the ceiling platform, and if there is a wall directly above, the framing will continue upward to its bottom plate.

Designating Platform or Balloon Framing Conditions

Select Generate Between Platforms in the Wall Specification dialog to fill in the gap between floor or ceiling platforms when the selected railing or invisible wall separates rooms with different floor or ceiling heights.