Building my first wall

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remout

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I'm sectioning off part of a room. My 121 y/o cottage is far from straight or level. The new wall will be 92" long and 9' tall. It's not load bearing and has no windows or doors. Floor is 4" wide 7/8" thick cypress. The existing walls are bead board nailed to barge board. The new wall will be covered in ship lap.

My thoughts are to use 2 x 6s to frame up the new wall. 6" because the wall will have plumbing and electrical in it. I'm new to this and thought the extra room would help.

What should my stud spacing be? How do you account for your stud spacing not working out perfect across the span?

Do I double up the header?

Since my walls are not perfectly perpendicular to the floor, how do I account for this, are my Jack studs straight and I cover the imperfection with my ship lap?

Geeez, so many questions for the simplest of walls, thanks fellas!
 
2x6 for the wet (with plumbing ) wall is the right way to go.) On the ceiling measure out at both ends from an existing wall and snap a line to nail your top plate to and then add another top plate. Find a straight 2x4 to use with a level to level down to mark the floor in the same way with a chaulk in and nail your bottom plate. Your layout should be either 16" on center or 24 OC. Generally we start with a stud against the other wall and come out from that wall 15 1/4, 31 1/4, 47 1/4 and so on or 23 1/4 , 471/4 and so on that puts you nails or joints at 16 or 24 from that wall. Moving studs over to allow for plumbing is fine. Just make sure you do the same layout top and bottom and cut studs to fit, with older houses the studs may all be a little different.
 
Is this correct for 24 OC ?

newwall.png
 
Neal’s directions sound spot on to me. I’m old school and like to use a plumb bob as I never can find a straight 2x4 anymore. I find screws are a lot less destructive when working with existing construction and if you make a mistake they come out as easy as they go in. Old work you need to measure each stud and cut to fit. I cut them just a smidgen long and tap them in. makes screwing them much easier.
 
I better stick with screws as well, I'm too new at this. I've been using coated deck screws, pricey but they seem tough and you can use them more than once.

What length screw would you recommend for framing? Is there a code/standard for how many screws to use when attaching one end of a stud to the top plate?

Thanks!
 
So far so excellent! Now, since you are using screws, this is the chance to use better technology. Your best is an impact driver with a magnetic bit to hold the screws. Sure, you can use a square drive screws or a Phillips bit ... what ever floats your boat. But a standard cordless drill is not as efficient as an impact ... pay the price, you will like the results.

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Hardware-Power-Tools-Impact-Drivers/Makita/N-5yc1vZc29xZyg
 
So far so excellent! Now, since you are using screws, this is the chance to use better technology. Your best is an impact driver with a magnetic bit to hold the screws. Sure, you can use a square drive screws or a Phillips bit ... what ever floats your boat. But a standard cordless drill is not as efficient as an impact ... pay the price, you will like the results.

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Hardware-Power-Tools-Impact-Drivers/Makita/N-5yc1vZc29xZyg

I don’t have any cordless drills and for driving deck screws etc. I find the cordless tools too slow or underpowered or both. I’m sure there are some good ones out there I just normally am not far enough away from an outlet to really find a reason to not plug in.

I am curious though as to how or why an impact is a better way to drive a screw? I would think the impact action would be hard on the driver and screw with the start stop action. Can you explain more on why they work better.

My screw head of choice is the guard dog screw head.
 
I have driven over 6000 3" and 2.5" screws the last week or so with a 18V Millwaukee impact.The only way to go.
 
I have driven over 6000 3" and 2.5" screws the last week or so with a 18V Millwaukee impact.The only way to go.

Again I just want to have a feeling as to what the benefit is in going impact. I did about that many screws in my deck last summer and the drill worked fine but my wrist felt like it was going to come off. Is the benefit in the fact it counter torques and takes the pain out of it or does it somehow make the screws go in faster?
 
No cord to get tangled or unplugged.
Better trigger/torque control with an impact.
Fewer heads snapped off.
Easy battery change out while spent one recharges.

Besides, Mike Holmes uses one, so it must be the best!

Makita-XPT03-Hybrid-Impact-Drill.jpg
 
I'm sectioning off part of a room. My 121 y/o cottage is far from straight or level. The new wall will be 92" long and 9' tall. It's not load bearing and has no windows or doors. Floor is 4" wide 7/8" thick cypress. The existing walls are bead board nailed to barge board. The new wall will be covered in ship lap.

My thoughts are to use 2 x 6s to frame up the new wall. 6" because the wall will have plumbing and electrical in it. I'm new to this and thought the extra room would help.

What should my stud spacing be? How do you account for your stud spacing not working out perfect across the span?

Do I double up the header?

Since my walls are not perfectly perpendicular to the floor, how do I account for this, are my Jack studs straight and I cover the imperfection with my ship lap?

Geeez, so many questions for the simplest of walls, thanks fellas!

Rather than nailing shiplap too 2x6, creating a double sided drum, where everyone on one side knows everything someone on the other side is doing, I would build two walls using 2x3's separated by 1" with R19 unfaced insulation.
 
No cord to get tangled or unplugged.
Better trigger/torque control with an impact.
Fewer heads snapped off.
Easy battery change out while spent one recharges.

Besides, Mike Holmes uses one, so it must be the best!

I feel like this is a cheap answer. I'm not really here to defend drills over impact drivers, but cordless drills don't have power cords either and the battery gets changed the same way in both. So scratch those off the list.
Fewer heads snapped off....really? Sounds like operator error to me.
So it all comes down to torque???
 
I know a few people who have bought the set, drill and impact, everyone of them claim the impact is the tool for screws and they say the driving bits last for ever in them.
 
I don’t doubt they are better and if Big Mike uses one or better yet his daughter I’m all in.

I can’t remember the last time I snapped a head on a deck screw and drywall screws will just take so much torque and they will snap no matter what I have snapped them with a screwdriver even. A power drill most likely is way faster than you need for screws that’s for sure. Whenever I strip out the drive sockets anymore it’s always when I’m at a bad angle and can’t push enough.

I’m guessing it’s a better combination of speeds and torque. I have used my big drill (hammer drill) set to not hammer putting down decking and with long screws. It is slower and much greater torque but is also heavy. The weight helps with the wrist reaction but the weight kills you after a couple hours of screwing.:p
 
I've got a Dewalt 20v impact that is my go to tool. With my lack of nailing skills, this tool and screws are in the running for Project Tool MVP. I've swapped/traded/sold/craigslisted to the point my impact, drill, and sawsall take the same 20v battery. I think I've got 5 batteries, easy to keep several fresh at all times.
 
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