Wall Framing Stud Tips - Contractor Secrets
One of the biggest problems with framing studs today is
that they are cut from the center or near the center of small trees. I
don't know if it's true, but a friend of mine was telling me that the
average tree cut down today is no bigger than 6 inches in diameter.
If you look close enough at your average 92 1/4 inch 2 x 4 wall framing
stud, you will see some pretty tight tree growth circles on almost every
one. This should give you a pretty good idea, how small the trees
actually are.
If you can avoid using wall framing studs that were cut directly from
the center of the tree, you're going to eliminate a lot of problems with
your walls later on. These are the wall studs that usually twist and bow
the most.
The next time that you see a twisted or bowed piece of lumber, check to
see if it was cut from the center of the tree. The center cut lumber, as
is often referred to by contractors and lumber yards, can create big
problems for contractors and home builders.
Another contractor secret that I would like to share with you is that
you could save yourself a lot of time after the house is framed and you
want to straighten the walls, simply by building your walls with the
crowns of the lumber facing the same direction.
In other words, if you were to look down the entire length of a wall
framing stud and it was perfectly straight, you could simply lay this
one in any direction. However, if you look down the entire length of the
wall framing stud and you notice that it's bowed in one direction. You
should make sure that you frame the entire wall with each stud bowed in
the same direction.
This will prevent irregularities in the finished wall. If you have one
wall framing stud bowing in one direction and the next one bowing in the
opposite direction, you can just imagine what the finished walls are
going to look like.
I don't reveal my framing and construction secrets too often, but when I
do you need to pay attention. The biggest difference between an
excellent contractors and your average contractors are the secrets that
they hold in their head.