

Each connector uses more nails than an “old-fashioned” joint because every hole in the connector needs to be filled.īut with the right nail gun there’s almost no reduction in installation speed. There are hundreds of different types of galvanized-steel fittings, from joist hangers to hurricane straps, with new ones coming on the market almost every month. Photo by Brian Wilder Metal Hangers and TiesĬoncern about the weakness of nailed joints, particularly in earthquake and hurricane prone regions, has made metal straps and ties a fixture in codebooks and on today’s job sites, even where such natural disasters seldom occur. Each story is framed atop the previous one until it’s time to put on the roof. But Tom Silva typically frames in one-story “platforms” consisting of 8-or-9-foot-high stud walls resting on a plywood-sheathed subfloor. House frames can be made out of thick posts and beams (the oldest framing method) or extra-long studs (the balloon frames of the Victorian era). “They’ll build it right the first time,” Tom says, “so you won’t be sorry later on.” To see how Tom frames a house, read on.
House framer how to#
They need to be in the hands of a skilled carpentry crew who know how to use them. Pneumatic nail guns, which were novelties until the mid 1970s, have speeded up the assembly process engineered lumber is steadily supplanting sawn boards, and metal connectors are now routinely used to enhance stiffness and sturdiness.īut Tom warns that tools and materials by themselves don’t guarantee a strong house frame. While the basics of modern stud-wall framing haven’t changed much in the past 25 years, the tools and materials certainly have. “Shortcuts in framing are the biggest mistake you can make,” says Tom Silva, This Old House general contractor, “although it may take four or five years before the sagging, the bouncing, and the movement start to show up.”
House framer crack#
But if it’s weak, no amount of expensive finishes will hide the flaws: Those perfectly plastered walls will begin to crack every time a door slams, the granite countertops will gradually fall out of level, and the quartersawn oak floors will bounce and squeak like a rusty spring. If the frame is strong, it provides the necessary support for everything that follows.
