Be sure that the wall meets other walls at a 90 degree angle at all four corners. A slight deviation now will lead to a less-secure wall later. Note whether the joists (floor or ceiling girders) at the top of the room run perpendicular or parallel to your new wall.
Use a power-actuated tool, also known as a Hilti or Ramset gun, to join the wood and the concrete. Load the tool with a small bullet and nail and then hit the end so that it engages the bullet and shoots the nail through the wood into the concrete. Once the two outer nails have been put in, follow your guidelines and put a nail in every 16” along the plate, near the center of the board.
For parallel joists, attach short lengths of 2” by 4” blocking board perpendicularly between the two closest joists every 16”, and attach the top plate to these. For perpendicular joists, attach the top plate to the ceiling using the joists. Use a plumb bob (a carefully balanced weight that hangs from a line) to align the plates and double check by measuring to ensure that the top plate is directly above the bottom plate. Then, nail the top plate to the joists or blocking boards at every interval. As an alternative option, you can build the wall first and then stand it up. This may be an easier option, especially for amateurs.
Measure and cut. Each stud board should be cut so that it fits snugly between the top and bottom plates without tilting. Insert the stud. Slide it end-on between the two plates, right over one of the nails in the bottom plate. Use a plumb bob and a corner to make sure the board is straight and squarely placed. Affix and repeat. Use a nail gun to insert 3” nails on both sides of both ends firmly at a 45 degree angle through the stud and into the top and bottom plates. Repeat this process until you have installed studs all the way down the frame.
Cut your blocking boards so that they will fit snugly between each stud, placing them about 4 feet (1. 2 m) up, end-on between each stud. Firmly attach the blocking boards at both ends with 3” nails on both sides, hammered in at an angle of 60 degrees. You can vary the height slightly from block to block to make pushing tacks and nails into the finished wall a bit easier, if you want.
In general, when you’re building a wall for a non-basement room, you will build the entire frame on the floor first, and then lift and move it into place before attaching it to joists and beams accordingly. To do this properly, you must know exactly how long each stud has to be to make the wall the correct height. Buy enough 2 x 4 to fill the space. You’ll need one stud the height of the wall every 16 in. along each frame, which will be the width of the wall. You can divide the width by 16 to quickly determine how many studs you’ll need, and how much to buy.
Each stud needs to have the width of the bottom and top plate subtracted from the total height of the measurement you took, to account for the added space.
Measure your first mark by drawing an “x” 16 inches (40. 6 cm) from the end of the frame, then subtract 3 3/4" from that mark and draw a line (at 15 1/4 in. ). Use the shorter end of the framing square–the exact width of the 2 x 4–to measure from your line to where the other edge of the stud will fall. In other words, the “x” you drew at 16 in. will mark the center point of the stud, and the two lines will mark the sides of the stud. This is necessary to account for the width of the end studs, and that the center of each stud will be equidistant from the next. To make your next mark, measure 16 in. from the first “x” and make another “x” to mark where the center of the next stud will be, subtracting and using the square to mark the end points Repeat this process on both the bottom and top plates, making the marks where every stud will be installed.
Start with an end stud. Lay it on end against the top lip of the bottom plate and nail from underneath the bottom plate into the end stud, using 3” nails, square through the bottom plate. Be very sure that the boards are lined up squarely. Continue attaching all the studs to the bottom plate, centering them using the lines. Using your markings, attach each stud 16” apart all the way to the end with 3” nails. Attach the top plate. Now that all the studs have been attached to the bottom plate, lay the top plate along the free ends of the studs, and nail through the top plate to attach each stud with 3” nails.
Stagger the height of each blocking board so the nails can be used to secure the boards neatly. Line up the top lip of the second blocking board with the bottom lip of the first, then do the opposite with the next, repeating the pattern. This should allow ample space to nail them to each stud.
To check for plumb, check to be sure the current section of wall is perfectly vertical. Use a level to assist you in doing this. Use your hammer to make small adjustments, banging the wall forward or back, if you need to.
Attach the bottom plate. Again, use 3 1/2” nails, driving them through the plate into the floor. Attach the end studs. Hammer 3 1/2” nails all along both end studs to attach them to the framing in the sides of the house. Double check that the studs have been fastened and are level.
