Stud position for on-center

i have a couple of dynamic framing components for walls, doors, windows - you enter parameters, use the scale tool to stretch, etc. the usual goodies. --but-- on the wall components, if i have a nailer to match up to a corner with another wall - does the on-center position of the studs start at the end stud of the wall? or the nailer?


another variation - if i center the studs across the wall span on-center. so each stud inside of the wall space is (e.g .16" o.c.) inset from the ends @ 13 3/4" but all “inside” studs are 14 1/2" apart (16" o.c.) - this is symmetrical across the wall - but is this something folks use for actual framing?

and without nailers, a simple spacing

I showed something like this a while back. Perhaps this thread will shed some light.

Your middle example is used in some cases, like under a hip roof where the center common rafter would line up over a center stud in the wall.

Shep

Dec '17

With a hip roof I like to stack the rafters over the studs. In the case of a “true hip” there is a common or regular rafter centered with the ridge. Therefore the studs and rafters are laid out from the center of the building. In the case below the three blue common rafters would dictate the stud layout below.

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yes this would be a good case for center alignment and making sure the rafters and studs offer the best support. i tend to do something similar.

as a note, i’m really looking for how people who do framing determine their o.c. placement. for me i tend to go with o.c. based on the nailer since the other stud(s) forming the corner aren’t necessarily relevant to the drywallers etc. so matching inside stud spacing would seem more friendly, and similarly, simple partitions can use o.c. spacing from the ends. just my experience and 2¢. but always wanting to learn more…

i also like the ruler/grid sheet you’re using! :star_struck:

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The exterior wall is laid out so that sheathing goes on in full sheets. This means using the 15.25" method above. I would even start the gable wall the same way (from the corner of the building), starting the sheathing on the first regular stud. Then after that wall is stood up the narrow ripping is applied tying the corner together.

The interior partitions are most always started 15.25 set ahead so it’s easier to find them for attaching wallboard, mouldings and such. For me, it’s from the exterior in.

Shep

edit: a pic is worth a few dozen words.

Yes, that! What @Shep drew is the simplest way of thinking about it. The framing is all laid out to back up the joints in the (typically 4’x8’) sheathing. In fact, you want to superimpose a 16" grid of lines that aligns every level together for continuous load path from one level to the next both for gravity load and uplift. There’s a bunch of Simpson hardware for uplift that requires everything to align from one floor to the next.

excellent examples. agree totally on the exterior walls. i do a lot of mass-air-mass type room-within-a-room recording studio design so the differences are the exterior sheathing and the drywalling. examples:

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Oh, I see, acoustic isolation. That does make for a lot of studs. I take it you’re using 5/8" Type X just for mass and acoustic properties, not fire code issues? Ever look at or use a product called QuietRock?

yes, the type-x (or even type-c, etc) are primarily used for their mass properties, fire safety is important so there is usually fire breaks which need to be included in the plans so the exterior to inner shell doesn’t readily support flashover etc.

yeah quiet rock is nice, it has some visco-elastic damping agent added, but generally, using 2x type-x + green glue (or a similar visco-elasto-polymer), pound for pound, is less costly, although labor for application of the compound should be taken into account.

stud count can get high quickly with enough rooms. if there is enough space, usually adding isolation-mounted hat channel, resilient (z) channel, or even just plywood sheeting or 1x3 strapping can reduce the stud count by creating a matrix to attach drywall.

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