Figure 1-49.—Plumbing and aligning corners and walls.
braces are not removed until the framing and sheathing
for the entire building have been completed.
Framing over Concrete Slabs
Often, the ground floor of a wood-framed building
is a concrete slab. In this case, the bottom plates of the
walls must be either bolted to the slab or nailed to the
slab with a powder-actuated driver. If bolts are used,
they must be accurately set into the slab at the time of
the concrete pour. Holes for the bolts are laid out and
drilled in the bottom plate when the wall is framed.
When the wall is raised, it is slipped over the bolts and
secured with washers and nuts.
Occasionally, on small projects, the soleplate is
bolted or fastened down first. The top plate is nailed to
the studs, and the wall is lifted into position. The bottom
ends of the studs are toenailed into the plate. The rest of
the framing procedure is the same as for walls nailed on
top of a subfloor.
SHEATHING THE WALLS
Wall sheathing is the material used for the exterior
covering of the outside walls. In the past, nominal
1-inch-thick boards were nailed to the wall horizontally
or at a 45° angle for sheathing. Today, plywood and other
types of panel products (waferboard, oriented
strandboard, compositeboard) are usually used for
sheathing. Plywood and nonveneered panels can be
applied much quicker than boards. They add
considerable strength to a building and often eliminate
the need for diagonal bracing.
Generally, wall sheathing does not include the
finished surface of a wall, Siding, shingles, stucco, or
brick veneer are placed over the sheathing to finish the
wall. Exterior finish materials are discussed later in this
TRAMAN.
Plywood
Plywood is the most widely used sheathing
material. Plywood panels usually applied to exterior
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