First, you might ask: "Can I live in this building?" Well, yes you can. It is small, 144 square feet on the first level, and if you like, up to about 100 square feet on the second, depending on how you define living space, the chosen roof system etc.
I would like to give you two systems for this building. The first will be a very high pointed roof, that would be well suited for a Gothic style building, and one which will be at a shallower angle. Both will have space on the second floor for a bed, or perhaps two twin beds in separate spaces.
First, we must discuss corners. In any wall system, you have to have nailing space for whatever wall covering you plan to use. If at a corner, you use a single 1x4 or 1x6, the overlap will only allow you to have a nailing surface for one of the two walls at the corner. For this reason, it is necessary to double up the wall studs with spacers in between them for the outermost studs at the intersection. In other words, there will be two walls made of single studs all along the length of the wall frame. There will also be two wall frames made of single studs except for the end studs, which will be doubled with extra pieces in between to total 4 1/2 inches thick for 2x4 construction or up to 7 1/2 inches for 2x6 construction. If you put four studs together that will give you 1/2 inch of nailing space, This would be fine if you cover this wall first on the inside, but it would be even better if you have a total of five studs and/or spacers. That would give you 2 inches of nailing area. This, like the floor, will alter the 16 inch on center arrangement of the studs on each end.
We still want to waste as little as possible of the exterior sheathing because it is so expensive. It is better if we try to keep everything in 4 foot increments, so we do not have to cut off part of a sheet or add another partial sheet. This means that I always try to design in increments of four. 12x12, 16x24, 24x32 or 36.
To start, we must decide how we are to use the space, and where we are building, to determine what materials to use for framing.
If you are going to use the space in the summer, or just a few days of the year in cold weather, you can build the house out of 2x4s. In fact some sheds are made with 2x3s.
If you are going to live in the building, and it is a cold area, or for that matter, a very hot area, you may want to upgrade to 2x6 construction. This will allow you to super insulate against the heat and the cold. Of course you will lose a little room inside, but if you look at the space saving interior walls I recommend, you can make up for that in a house that has dividing walls. You cannot use these walls where they will have to contain electric or plumbing.
You just cannot mill your own studs. You will never find wood dry enough to put up a wall made out of studs cut from wood on your land. Lumber from the lumber yard is kiln dried, and will not twist and warp nearly as much as an air dried piece of wood. That does not mean that they won't warp or twist, but it does mean that kiln dried lumber will be much more stable.
Choose your lumber carefully. With big projects, it may not be practical to choose each piece, but in the scale we are looking at, even a full day choosing the best wood will really pay off in the long run.
Pick up a wood that has not been exposed to the weather too much. Hold the 2x whatever up to your eye with the other end on the ground. Make sure it looks straight if you sight along the edges and corners. Just move on to the next if it does not. If there are a lot of warped and twisted boards, it may be wise to move on to another store. If you put striped wallpaper on a wall built with twisted and warped 2x material, you may get a queasy feeling just looking at the wall. It would be a short visible trip back to the 1960s.
You will assemble each wall on the ground, or on the newly constructed sub floor.
Measure each and every stud for length and trim off or set aside variations.
Walls will be made of three 2x6x12s for the top and bottom plates, You could make these out of six 8 foot studs if you like, but if you can find at least 2 straight 12 footers for each wall, so much the better.
You will need fourteen 2x6x8 studs for each wall with no openings.
For a wall with a single door, buy sixteen.
For a wall with an average window, buy eighteen.
For a wall with an average door or window, buy one 2x10x8 and a half sheet of 1/2 inch thick plywood.
For a wall with an over sized opening, figure out the rough opening size in the window manufacturer's instructions, and buy 2x10s about three inches longer than the rough opening width and enough 1/2 inch plywood to cut two pieces the same size as the 2x10s(9 1/2 inches by the length) out of it.
You may not use all of the regular 2x6s in walls with large openings, but you will use the extra pieces for spacers etc. Also, it is wise to keep a few extra pieces of each to replace damaged members, bad cuts, and for spacers.
Using 16d nails(common nails are stronger than box nails) assemble the wall with the multiple end studs on the new sub floor, with the bottom(plate) parallel to the wall where it will be erected. See the nailing pattern in the illustration. You could assemble all four walls on the floor one at a time, and move them aside when you work on the next. Move them back to the floor one by one as you raise the walls. See illustration B
When the wall is assembled, nail on a very long scrap board to the outside stud on each end with a single nail about six inches from the end of the scrap piece and about a foot down from the top plate. The scrap board should pivot freely on the nail. See illustration C
Push the bottom plate against the pieces nailed to the rim joist, and raise the wall into place with help. Illustration A
When the wall is close to vertical and the bottom of the wall is flush with the edge of the floor, nail the other end of the scrap wood to the perpendicular rim joist of the floor, but only drive the nail half way in. see illustration D
Use a level to determine if the wall is vertical. If not, remove the bottom nail from the scrap piece and move the wall to vertical and nail the scrap back in place so the wall won't move. Do the same on the other end of the wall.
Measure the diagonals(bottom left corner to top right corner and then bottom right corner to top left corner) of the wall and make sure they are equal. Push the top of the wall right or left till they are equal. Hold in place and have someone nail a scrap board at a diagonal from the bottom corner to the top plate at a 45 degree angle. Put a nail half way into each stud the diagonal passes to secure it. This will keep the wall square till all is assembled. See illustration E
You will still be able to adjust the walls for vertical as you work, but try to be close.
Nail the bottom plate with 16d nails to the sub floor in sort of a zig-zag pattern, about 6 inches apart. Be careful to catch many of the nails into the top of the rim joist.
Move on to the next(shorter)wall. Make sure the second wall is butted closely to the first.
Tack the second wall to the first with just one nail, partly driven in.
Nail the bottom plate to the floor.
Measure the diagonals of the second wall, and make sure they are the same in both directions.
Pull the tacking nail out and adjust if necessary. Nail a diagonal scrap on this wall as well.
When the two walls are vertical and square, nail the second wall to the first at the corner. Make sure they are flush from top to bottom.
When the four walls are assembled, get on a step ladder, and measure the diagonals of the entire wall system. When they are coaxed into square, nail diagonals to the under side of the top plates to keep it square.
Below is wall one, or the longer wall. Notice that the end studs are tripled, with short scraps nailed between them as spacers. Studs are nailed through the top and bottom plates with two nails for 2x4 construction and three nails for 2x6 construction. The bunched up end studs are nailed to each other with four nails through each and into each of the short spacers. The corners have plenty of nailing space for the interior wall finishes. With 2x4 construction, you would only group two studs together with one spacer.. The stud positions would remain the same.
Illustration number two below is the narrower wall for either 2x4 or 2x6 construction.
Above are the basic designs for a door and a window. These may appear anywhere on the wall. Keep the same 16 inch on center construction, cutting off the studs that are in the way of the window or door. Add on studs to one side or the other to fill in and move the opening one side or the other. I have shown the window opening fitting into the regular space of the studs just for convenience of the drawing. Notice that an extra stud was added to the right side of the door, but the rest of the wall retains its 16 inch on center spacing. Cut out the bottom of the door with a crosscut saw, when it is time to continue construction.
An alternative to raising the walls and squaring things up with a diagonal temporary brace is to sheath the outside of the walls with OSB (Oriented Strand Board), plywood or Texture 111 or some similar exterior sheathing. This is a very good idea as it keeps the wall absolutely square as you are handling it. There are a couple of issues I have in our context.
1. Once you have put it on, it is devilish to undo. As you know, we are working with people who might never have built before, who may have made a mistake along the way, who might not have brought in all the materials or even have decided what they want to do for siding or sheathing at this point.
2. It is damned heavy. Sheet goods in general are very heavy, but when you have three sheets on a wall, and perhaps you and one other person to raise the wall, hold it in place etc, it can be a lot to try to handle. Leverage is on your side. You do not have to literally pick the wall up, but still it can be a bit of a strain, especially when putting a diagonal board onto the wall with do a pretty good job and allow for readjustment as you work.
What if you are walking around inside your new skeletal space, and measure out where your desk and counters will go. and decide you need the windows to be two feet over from where you framed them? It is an awful job to rip the sheathing off the wall, reconfigure the studs and put it back together again with nail holes where you didn't want them or god forbid, you have to buy new materials because you already cut the openings. If you did not pre-cut the openings, you cannot tell what views you will have or how much light will come in. I think it is best to sheath later, even though you will spend a bit more time on the ladder or staging.
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