Butt
Through
walls
A properly plated house follows a consistent approach to through walls and butt walls. This makes it much easier to frame and raise walls.
as butt walls, and this may require that other walls be plated log-cabin style, but this is the exception. As a general rule, avoid log-cabin plating.
Scattering plates
For the long walls, it is best to use straight 2x stock at least 1 6 ft. long so that it can run from room to room without a break and help tie the building together structurally. For structural reasons, most codes require that the ends of top plates be at least 4 ft. from intersecting joints. This is much easier
The log-cabin style ignores through and butt walls.
to do if you use long plate stock. It is important to note that this 4-ft. requirement does not apply to bottom plates, which are fastened directly to the floor and are not subject to the same type of stress that may affect the top plates. (Top and bottom plates do not have to break in the same place.) Fur ther, using straight stock now, especially for the top plate, means that it will be easier to ensure that the walls themselves will be straight once all the fram ing is completed.
Scatter all of the plates before cutting them to length and tacking them in place.
Check the plans or look at the layout to deter mine whether the exterior walls are 2x6 or 2x4 (most interior walls are 2x4) and position a top and a bot tom plate next to every line. If you are building on a slab, it will be easier to mark and drill the holes in the bottom plate and drop the plates over the anchor bolts before scattering the rest of the top-plate stock (see p. 78). Many interior walls are short and won't require long pieces of plate. The important point is to carry and position as many plates as possible be fore beginning to cut and nail them in position.
Begin by plating the outside walls.
Positioning and securing plates
With the plates scattered, begin by plating the long outside through walls. Place a piece of stock flat down on the floor, flush with the chalkline on the outside edge of the building. Remember that the ends of through plates must extend beyond any butt walls. Gauge this distance with a short piece of plate stock or a measuring tape. Run both plates continuously, ignoring door and window openings. The bottom plate in doorways will be cut out later when the jambs are set.
In an average house, many feet of plate can usu ally be tacked in place before any have to be cut to length. Saw cuts need to be made at the end of a wall, around pipes and to ensure a 4-ft. lap of the
Plates are aligned with the chalkline and then tacked to the floor temporarily with 8d nails.
top plate at intersecting walls. Tack down as many plates as you can before picking up the saw. Tacking is done by holding the plate on the X side of the chalkline and driving an 8d nail about 1 ft. from each end of the plate and one in the middle. (Re member, these are only temporary nails -you don't have to use 1 6d nails.) Keep nails away from corners and channels where other walls will intersect. Next, put a top plate flat on the bottom plate and tack the two plates together with two or three more nails. These nails will hold the plates secure until they are detailed. Continue plating the full length of the wall, making sure that no gaps are left where one plate butts another.
Sometimes you can't position the bottom plate flush with the chalkline because plumbing pipes are coming up through the floor. When this is the case, you will have to cut notches in the bottom plate, leaving about Yz -in. clearance around each pipe, be-
The bottom plate needs to be cut or notched to fit around plumbing pipes.
fore tacking it to the deck. The top plate doesn't need to be notched, but it will have to be tacked on to the bottom plate differently. On exterior walls it can be held over the edge of the floor and tacked to the side of the bottom plate, or it can be placed on edge on top of the bottom plate and alongside the pipes (see the details in the drawing on p. 7 1 ) . On interior walls the bottom plate is notched around the pipes, tacked to the line, and the top plate is simply laid flat alongside it, allowing both plates to be marked for framing at the same time.
Cutting plates
With a little practice, you should be able to cut plates by eye. All plates need to be cut accurately, but you should take special care to cut the top plate as close to perfect as you can. If this plate is cut precisely, then it will be easy to make sure that the house, and every room within it, is square and straight.
Cutting plates to length can be done by eye. Use the chalkline or plates that have already been tacked down as your visual guide.