How do you build a wall frame?

To build a wall frame, nail studs to header and sill boards, and nail the frame to the floor and another wall. You need 2-inch by 4-inch boards. Use pressure-treated wood for the parts of the frame that touch concrete and number 1 or number 2 grade pine wood elsewhere.

1. Set up the wall on the floor

   Lay the stud boards on their thinnest sides in a row on the floor 16 inches apart. Lay one board on its thinnest side against the tops and bottoms of the studs to create the header board and sill board.

2. Secure the studs to the header and sill

   Place a framing nailer against the header where it meets a stud, and pull the trigger to attach the two boards together. Continue until each stud is attached to the header. Repeat with the sill.

3. Outline the position

   The wall must attach to a stud on another framed wall or at the center of the blocks on a concrete wall. Draw a chalk line on the floor to mark the position, and use a level to do the same vertically.

4. Secure the wall to the floor

   Drill pilot holes through the sill and into the floor with a masonry bit. Hammer masonry nails into each hole.

5. Secure the wall to another wall

   Repeat the previous step to attach the wall to a concrete wall. Nail the wall into a stud with the framing nailer to attach the wall to another framed wall.

6. Secure the wall to the ceiling

   Nail short 2-inch by 4-inch boards between the top of the wall and the bottom of the floor joists with the framing nailer.