With all that said lets begin looking at what we built during last winter.
Mark and I had already built the first section of our bouldering cave a
few years ago, with the intention of someday expanding it. We will discuss
our process and show pictures of our building process. After purchasing
the majority of framing lumber (2X4's), and screws (3" drywall or decking
screws). Making sure to leave enough money for sheathing (3/4" CDX Plywood),
T-Nuts, and Holds.
- We laid out the rough shape of the new wall on the floor, creating a sole plate for our wall.
- We placed the 2X4 studs at 4 ft. on center (O.C.). Using the quick clamps to hold them at approximate angles. Mark the stud locations on both the joists, and floor Plate.
- Once we made sure all corners and special shapes would not occur at the 4 ft. O.C> interval we took the studs down (only clamped at this point), then using masonry screws at 24 inch O.C. fastened the floor plate to the concrete floor.
- Once the floor Plate is located and fastened to the floor, we put the studs back.
- Begin to mark and cut the appropriate angles for the studs to sit flat on the floor plate. A good way of marking the angle is to place a scrap piece of wood at the base flat on the floor plate (See step 5 and 6 images below).
REMEMBER TO KEEP ENOUGH LENGTH ON THE 2X4 SO YOU CAN ATTATCH THE TOP OF IT TO THE JOISTS.
- Once the stud is cut, place a scrap piece of wood to act as a nailer, and screw your stud to this from the side.
- Attach the top of the stud to the joist using 2 or 3 (3" screws) min.
- In some cases you will need to make a special attachment for the joist. I had to create a gusset plate for one of our studs, because it lined up directly underneath a joist. The gusset allowed me to place more screws at the top of the stud, where the majority of weight will be located.
- A third way of connecting to the joists is to create a "Top Plate" that will run the entire length of the wall, like the floor plate does. This is usually more difficult to accomplish with overhanging wall designs.
- The next step is to "TACK" up a sheet of plywood (for straight walls). This will allow you to mark the plywood for T-Nuts, and locate exactly where to place the cross brace (2X4).
- Measure the distance between studs at the location of the plywood seam. If you have placed the studs at 4 ft. O.C. this number should be 46 1/2 inches.
- Locate the Cross brace. The brace should be places flat (with the 2" part in the vertical direction, and the 4" side in the horizontal direction. The center of the 2" side should line up with the edge of the plywood. This will allow you to screw 2 pieces of plywood to one brace (or stud).
- Cut and attach the cross brace to the stud, *NOTICE* one side can usually be screwed directly to the stud. The other side must be attached to a blocker (see steps 12 and 12b below)
- Mark the outline of the studs and cross braces on the backside of the plywood. This is to prepare for drilling and T-nuting the plywood later.
|
