Figure 1-47.—Squaring a wall.been raised. The topmost plates are nailed so that theyoverlap the plates below at all corners. This helps to tiethe walls together. All ends are fastened with two 16dnails. Between the ends, 16d nails are staggered 16inches OC. The butt joints between the topmost platesshould be at least 4 feet from any butt joint between theplates below them.Squaring Walls and Placing BracesA completely framed wall is often squared while itis still lying on the subfloor. In this way, bracing,plywood, or other exterior wall covering can be nailedbefore the wall is raised. When diagonal measurementsare equal, the wall is square. Figure 1-47 showsexamples of unsquared and squared walls.A let-in diagonal brace maybe placed while the wallis still on the subfloor. Lay out and snap a line on thestuds to show the location of the brace (fig. 1-48). Thestuds are then notched for the brace. Tack the brace tothe studs while the wall is still lying on the subfloor.Tacking instead of nailing allows for some adjustmentafter the wall is raised. After any necessary adjustmentis made, the nails can be securely driven in.RaisingMost walls can be raised by hand if enough help isavailable. It is advisable to have one person for every 10feet of wall for the lifting operation.The order in which walls are framed and raised mayvary from job to job. Generally, the longer exterior wallsare raised first. The shorter exterior walls are then raised,and the comers are nailed together. The order of framinginterior partitions depends on the floor layout.Figure 1-48.—Let-in diagional brace.After a wall has been raised, its bottom plates mustbe nailed securely to the floor. Where the wall rests ona wood subfloor and joists, 16d nails should be driventhrough the bottom plate and into the floor joists belowthe wall.Plumbing and AligningAccurate plumbing of the comers is possible onlyafter all the walls are up. Most framing materials are notperfectly straight; walls should never be plumbed byapplying a hand level directly to an end stud. Alwaysuse a straightedge along with the level, as shown infigure 1-49, view A. The straightedge can be a pieceripped out of plywood or a straight piece of 2 by 4lumber. Blocks 3/4 inch thick are nailed to each end. Theblocks make it possible to accurately plumb the wallfrom the bottom plate to the top plate.Plumbing corners requires two persons workingtogether-one working the bottom area of the brace andthe other watching the level. The bottom end of the braceis renailed when the level shows a plumb wall.The tops of the walls (fig. 1-49, view B) arestraightened (aligned or lined up) after all the cornershave been plumbed. Prior to nailing the floor or ceilingjoists to the tops of the walls, make sure the walls arealigned. Here’s how: Fasten a string from the top plateatone corner of the wall to the top plate at another cornerof the wall. You then cut three small blocks from 1 by 2lumber, Place one block under each end of the string sothat the line is clear of the wall.The third block is used as a gauge to check the wallat 6- or 8-foot intervals. At each checkpoint, a temporarybrace is fastened to a wall stud.When fastening the temporary brace to the wallstud, adjust the wall so that the string is barely touchingthe gauge block. Nail the other end of the brace to a short2 by 4 block fastened to the subfloor. These temporary1-28
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