[ETD66SS]

I'm modeling up my house design in 3D CAD and am at sticking point on something very basic.

I'm building 2X6 exterior walls and wondering what the exact stud placement should be. I know that I want 16" centers however I cannot get them to line up for both the interior drywall and exterior sheathing. Which takes precedence for the 16" OC? The interior drywall or the exterior sheathing? It's impossible to have it for both due to building corners?

I looked for a beginners guide to framing online but can't find one. Probably this is answered in some framing books somewhere...

I guess my thought is drywall takes precedence to minimize seams, and to start the sheathing with an overhang and hope the cutoff can be used elsewhere? See image below:

https://imgur.com/p4ybv7l

 

[Nealtw]

Ignore the inside it is all about the outside because the floor joists use the same layout.
Drywall comes in varying length so they get less seams by using longer sheets.

In a perfect world all the wall studs line up on the same layout front to back and side to side, bearing and no bearing walls.
That makes life easier for all the trade that run mechanicals,

 

[Bud9051]

As you stated you can't get everything to line up and few try.
As Neal said start with floor joists started at one end and keep them 16" oc to the other end.
Then studs above them. Back when rafters were 16" oc they followed on top. With 24" oc trusses you will still hit at 4'.

Optimizing every single board is only done with manufactured or high production housing where each board counts. For a single home it is just an exercise with little to gain. Material costs in a house are a small part of the overall package.

Question, are you going to frame the house? If not or even if you hire a few experienced workers they will be hard to manage if your drawings are different from their old habits and those habits will vary.

Bud

 

[BigJim]

Ignore the inside it is all about the outside because the floor joists use the same layout.
Drywall comes in varying length so they get less seams by using longer sheets.

In a perfect world all the wall studs line up on the same layout front to back and side to side, bearing and no bearing walls.
That makes life easier for all the trade that run mechanicals,

It just takes a little longer on your layout to get every stud, joist and rafter in the house to stack up perfectly. Start from the front and layout from the same side of the house using the outside plate as the starting stud. It sure does make it much easier laying out the rest of the framing members. OK the rafter won't stack dead over a ceiling joist, but you can stand outside and every stud in the house will line up.

Sheet rock cuts easy and is cheaper than the siding and sheathing so I always did as Neal did, worry about the outside being on 4 foot center/line.

 

[ETD66SS]

As you stated you can't get everything to line up and few try.
As Neal said start with floor joists started at one end and keep them 16" oc to the other end.
Then studs above them. Back when rafters were 16" oc they followed on top. With 24" oc trusses you will still hit at 4'.

Optimizing every single board is only done with manufactured or high production housing where each board counts. For a single home it is just an exercise with little to gain. Material costs in a house are a small part of the overall package.

Question, are you going to frame the house? If not or even if you hire a few experienced workers they will be hard to manage if your drawings are different from their old habits and those habits will vary.

Bud

I will not be framing the house. This 3D model is just for my own sake, because I want to learn as much as I can about building before I hire a GC. I will just make AutoCAD views of the floor plans and some elevation views to give to a proper Architect to create "real" drawings. In fact, in New York State I believe stamped drawings are required, so I am not allowed to make my own anyways.

By day I am a design engineer in the Aerospace industry so like to model up everything in CAD before I build personal projects etc. It's an OCD thing lol...

 

[joecaption]

I'll tell you the same thing my boss told me long ago when I was switching from a back ground of working in machine shops, model shops, building precision measuring machines for circuit boards then starting a job building houses.
"Just nail the da** thing, that's close enough, your not building a Swiss Watch"
If it's a single story house I'd be concidering going 24" OC on the walls.
Uses less lumber, less places for thermal bridging.

 

[Nealtw]

I will not be framing the house. This 3D model is just for my own sake, because I want to learn as much as I can about building before I hire a GC. I will just make AutoCAD views of the floor plans and some elevation views to give to a proper Architect to create "real" drawings. In fact, in New York State I believe stamped drawings are required, so I am not allowed to make my own anyways.

By day I am a design engineer in the Aerospace industry so like to model up everything in CAD before I build personal projects etc. It's an OCD thing lol...

You should be looking for some one that has a set of house plans so you can see the detail that is normally there.
2x6 studs are just a notation as are the interior 2x4 walls. Interior walls are measured from the outside to the center of the interior wall, the next room is marked center to center. Windows and door are marked in the same fashion.

 

[ETD66SS]

I'll tell you the same thing my boss told me long ago when I was switching from a back ground of working in machine shops, model shops, building precision measuring machines for circuit boards then starting a job building houses.
"Just nail the da** thing, that's close enough, your not building a Swiss Watch"
If it's a single story house I'd be concidering going 24" OC on the walls.
Uses less lumber, less places for thermal bridging.

I'm a very "picky" mechanical design engineer. I already feel very sorry for the GC that I wind up hiring. It will probably not be a normal build for him.

It's a 1.5 story house.

 

[ETD66SS]

You should be looking for some one that has a set of house plans so you can see the detail that is normally there.
2x6 studs are just a notation as are the interior 2x4 walls. Interior walls are measured from the outside to the center of the interior wall, the next room is marked center to center. Windows and door are marked in the same fashion.

I've been trying to do just that, actually trying to find AutoCAD Architecture files of someone's house plans to learn the correct format. No luck yet.

 

[Bud9051]

Joe's swiss watch comment is similar to the explanation I often give. You wouldn't want someone from a framing crew to be building your swiss watch. Nor would you want a swiss watch technician framing your house.

There is another level above the OCD step you are on, that is being wealthy enough to NOT be concerned about the details. When you are ready to build, turn the project over to a GC and take a long vacation. When you return any areas that would have bothered you are no longer visible and no longer a problem. Makes for fewer ulcers.

Bud

 

[Davejss]

I'm modeling up my house design in 3D CAD and am at sticking point on something very basic.

I'm building 2X6 exterior walls and wondering what the exact stud placement should be. I know that I want 16" centers however I cannot get them to line up for both the interior drywall and exterior sheathing. Which takes precedence for the 16" OC? The interior drywall or the exterior sheathing? It's impossible to have it for both due to building corners?

I looked for a beginners guide to framing online but can't find one. Probably this is answered in some framing books somewhere...

I guess my thought is drywall takes precedence to minimize seams, and to start the sheathing with an overhang and hope the cutoff can be used elsewhere? See image below:

https://imgur.com/p4ybv7l

Go on YouTube and look for some videos of Larry Haun. He wrote a book called "The Very Efficient Carpenter" and the video series kind of follows the book. It's old school west coast framing.

 

[ETD66SS]

Go on YouTube and look for some videos of Larry Haun. He wrote a book called "The Very Efficient Carpenter" and the video series kind of follows the book. It's old school west coast framing.

Would that be apples to apples for Buffalo NY framing? lol

 

[123pugsy]

I've been trying to do just that, actually trying to find AutoCAD Architecture files of someone's house plans to learn the correct format. No luck yet.

One picky to another, send me a PM with your email and I'll email something anal to look at in CAD format.


I wasted a lot of time, but you're free to have it.


I was drawing in every stud, etc...wow....

 

[Nealtw]

I have had people here send me plans to read. So their are people who have them on the computer.
I had lots before my computer quit and i can't get them.

 

[123pugsy]

I just emailed the CAD file. I didn't show the framers every stud, but I did insist on them placing all the important ones exactly as laid out. I gave elevation drawings of all 4 walls.


When I installed my kitchen cabinets, there was less than 1/16" difference between the cabinet and the window jambs in the kitchen, ha....ya, I'm as anal as the OP.


Click photos for a clearer view.

 

[Nealtw]

I just emailed the CAD file. I didn't show the framers every stud, but I did insist on them placing all the important ones exactly as laid out. I gave elevation drawings of all 4 walls.


When I installed my kitchen cabinets, there was less than 1/16" difference between the cabinet and the window jambs in the kitchen, ha....ya, I'm as anal as the OP.


Click photos for a clearer view.

You would not have happy framers with that, How many sheets of paper did you have for that whole floor

When we have the floor sheeted it looks like this. yellow rectangle

The first thing we need to know is where every wall go, two men start with the tape measure and chalk line and mark out all the wall

Another person is tacking top and bottom plates together and cutting them to fit the lay out on the floor and setting them in place.
When that is done, one man just marks out the 16" on center for all the walls while another marks out windows and door all on the matching plate.
All our headers are 2x10 unless otherwise marked.

The only thing we look at the elevation for is the height of the top of the window, so all the jack, cripples and blocks can be cut as well as all sills.

Our information all goes on the plates so all information is on the flat layout.

 

[Nealtw]

this what a designer would do for the home owner, ours would not have cupboards or furniture.

 

[Nealtw]

We get this.

 

[ETD66SS]

So, when windows and doors interfere with the 16" OC of the studs on an exterior wall such that they move +/- ~1/4", is it normal practice to leave 1/4" space between a king/jack stud and a wall stud, or should multiple studs be stacked up, which is not good for R value, but how great is a 1/4" gap jammed with fiberglass insulation anyways?

Second scenario is instead of a gap, a king stud pushes the 16" OC exterior wall stud 1/4" off center, and if that happens to be a sheathing seam, there won't be much stud to nail to for one of the sheets of plywood.

Right now I am stacking and it seems overkill: https://imgur.com/8ht1ynE

 

[ETD66SS]

Here is a pdf file of the exterior wall if anyone wants it to zoom in on the cross section: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OShj_uPlCOXKyqR8TJcawW60lZWEs1yB/view?usp=sharing