Framing Wall Sections.

[SurfLlama]

Hi Folks,

It's official I have started framing! I have all the plating and layout done and have framed and raised (and braced!) the first wall. Since I'm working in short bursts I am framing and raising each wall individually.

I have one wall that I am concerned about because it is quite long (37 feet) and framed in 2x6, in addition it is on slab foundation with some SSTB holddowns. So you have to raise the wall over the bolts.

How can I frame and raise it in sections to make it easier to handle. The headers in the wall are at the extreme ends of the wall. obviously I make have to add an anchor if the wall is split.

Alternatively, is there some kind of lift of such that would make this easier?

Thanks for the help!

Matt

[giddonah]

I can't find the web page I saw it on. They took a bunch of 2x4's of various lengths and nailed them all together. They then raised the wall 4' and let it sit on the 4' length. then they raised it up until the 6' length was long enough to hold up the wall. I'm explaining it poorly, but maybe you see what I mean:


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Then rest the wall on the different lengths as you go up. As far as actually lifting the wall, the heaviest part is getting it off the floor, and it gets easier as you increase the angle with the floor. Also, this is the point where you call in all the friends you can.

[Joe Carola]

Matt,

Maybe I don't understand what your saying but I'll give it a shot. I frame my walls by nailing the shoe/soleplate down first and then making the the two top plates and tacking them to the shoe and lay them out and pull the top plates back and toenail the studs into the top plate.

With the studs nailed in we push the stud until they hit the shoe and lift the wall up with all the studs up against the shoe and raise the walls in one shot without any problems. I don't sheath my walls first but I don't see why you would nail your studs to the shoe first and then try and raise the wall on top of the bolts.

Make the walls up in sections if you don't have enough man power even leaving the headers out and nail your shoe down and frame your walls and lift them up the way I described above and put the headers in later. This way you don't have to lift anything over any bolts unless there's something with these sstb holddowns that you can't frame the walls the way I do.

I hope you can understand how I do it because I've framed both ways before face nailing the shoes to the studs and face nailing the top plates to the studs and then sheathing them and raising them up but nobody does that around here in NJ but I'm glad I know how to do it both ways becasue I don't worry about lifting heavy walls with headers and sheathing over bolts and framing the way I descibed above I've never lost a wall, believe me it works and you can lift the wall right up with no problems.

Joe Carola

[Thumper]

Perhaps something along the lines of this will help...

http://www.walllift.com/instruct.htm

Or you could fab up your own with a 10' section of U-channel aluminium, a pulley and a small 4x4 quad winch.

failing that perhaps you could rent a crane/lift and operator for a morning.

[VALENT]

You do not have to build the entire 37 ft in one section. Build sections you can handle and leave off the second top plate. Then after you have raised the walls use the second top plate to tie the smaller sections together.

[Cole]

You do not have to build the entire 37 ft in one section. Build sections you can handle and leave off the second top plate. Then after you have raised the walls use the second top plate to tie the smaller sections together.
Exactly :D

[Joe Carola]

Perhaps something along the lines of this will help...

http://www.walllift.com/instruct.htm

Or you could fab up your own with a 10' section of U-channel aluminium, a pulley and a small 4x4 quad winch.

failing that perhaps you could rent a crane/lift and operator for a morning.


Why would you waste money on a crane when you can easily lift the walls up by just nailing the shoe down and nailing the studs to the top plates in small sections like I told him above and raising the walls up?

Have you ever framed a wall like that before?

I'm not being sarcastic but guys who frame walls by face nailing the shoe and top plate to the studs first and then sheathing them and using jacks don't rtealize that you can do it my way and it works so easy. You don't need a crane/lift/u-channel/pully and winch or wall jacks you just need a couple pair of hands.

There's always another way do do things and framing walls without face nailing the studs to the shoe and top plates is one of them especially in a situation like he has.

Lifting the walls against a nailed shoe is done every day with no problems what so ever.

Again I'm not being sarcastic it just bothers me when I read about guys having a problem with these heavy walls with headers and not knowing how to get them up without all these cranes and wall jacks....etc when I say just don't sheath them and nail the shoe in and frame the wall and be done with it.

Joe Carola

[Thumper]

... You don't need a crane/lift/u-channel/pully and winch or wall jacks you just need a couple pair of hands.
Joe Carola

Possibly, but there are those of us who enjoy the challenge of being a one-man crew thus using a sectional lift is a great way to expany one's leverage without the need for others... your way is fine for a full crew but it's not the only way or even safest when working alone.

[SurfLlama]

I hope you can understand how I do it because I've framed both ways before face nailing the shoes to the studs and face nailing the top plates to the studs and then sheathing them and raising them up but nobody does that around here in NJ but I'm glad I know how to do it both ways becasue I don't worry about lifting heavy walls with headers and sheathing over bolts and framing the way I descibed above I've never lost a wall, believe me it works and you can lift the wall right up with no problems.

Joe Carola

Hi Joe,

I understand perfectly, sounds like this would be a pretty good way to deal with not having to raise the framed wall over the SSTB bolts which are almost 9 inches tall. (They're actually SSTB-L's)

Just so I'm clear, I would bolt my soleplate down to the foundation, lay out the wall, nail my wallstuds to the top plate, then push the laid out wall against the soleplae as a pivot point until it's upright. Then I would toenail the wall studs to the soleplate.

This seems like a much easier way to do it rather then dealing with a lift or jack or anything like that.

Do you know for certain if toenailing the studs to the bottom plate meets code for CA? If you don't I'll just call the engineer.

Thanks a million!
Matt

[Cole]

Do you know for certain if toenailing the studs to the bottom plate meets code for CA?
I want to say yes, but not 100% sure.

[SurfLlama]

I want to say yes, but not 100% sure.

No sweat, I'll call the engineer. Who knows.. we do everything bassackwards round these parts.

Thanks Folks.. I LOVE this board. Haven't posted much, but I sure have read tons.
M