leveling studs for drywall

Do you mean that each stud is out of plane with the ones next to it, or are the studs bowed out in the middle?

Fastest way would be to just replace them.

Do you mean that the studs themselves are bowed? or is the top and bottom plates wavy?

A picture would keep all questions at bay and will get you a very quick and direct answer.

So the string is touching at the ends but not touching in the middle? How far away from the middle studs is the string?

Man you could patchwork that wall with shims and ripped dimensional lumber but I'd just frame a brand new wall and put it front of what is there. Snap a chalk line on the floor, using your string there as a guide, to make sure you are framing on a straight line. then use very straight studs to make your wall. you can brace it back to the exterior wall. you'll have to use some plywood to strengthen that window sill return under your dormer.

Appears to be Balloon framing. First thing is placing firestops in those pockets, before you do anything. As for the direction the bow is facing, keep in mind, that back in the days of Plaster & lathe, they could make the wall level, just like you can do these days with shims.

You are going to have to take a level, and see how much bow there is, and then go from there. That string does nothing, other than letting you know if the wall is bowing out at one section or not.

@ Greg, by any chance are you a firefighter lol? I ask because you picked up on that fast, we were planning to do that but i for sure appreciate you mentioning it

Nope. Grew up around construction, due to my grandfather was one of the largest Contractors in my state back in the day. Plus it is not hard to tell, due to the fact that is a older home.

Okay, so the next question is, you said to use a level to shim it out, how do I use a level to do this? levels do not read level when you turn the sideways if I am looking at this right. It may seem that I am construction dumb but I promise I am not. I have done alot of things and we built the dormer and put it on and such. I have just never had to do this before. So the string doesnt show level and the level wont show me level as I know how to do it anyway so is there a level meant to do this kind of work? Or is there a way to use a regular level to do this and I do not know how to use it lol? Thanks

He may be saying level but meaning plumb. I'll wait for him to get back to figure it out. I too am confused as to why that string if it is touching your end studs but nothing else doesn't accurately represent how far out of plumb your studs are.

You are not look for level horizontal, you are looking for how far out of straight vertical, each stud is. That will allow you to place the Drywall, so that it appears professional, not like some amateur did the job. It is also normal for studs to have a bow in them or Crown.

Since they placed all the Crowns facing inwards, that means the contractor did their job correctly, when they built the house back in the day. You really need to figure out how far out the crown is, as already mentioned. That is where the Straight edge or level comes in handy.

Just want to double check and make sure I understand what you said. So it is okay that the wall has crown in it, just make sure that the up and down on each stud is level correct?

Yes, it is okay to have a crown. Again, you are not using the level to see if it is level, but to see how far the crown is sticking out, when you place the level against it, as a straight edge. Then you can find out how much you have to play with, in the order, of how much the high spot is, compared to the low spots, by using a tape measure.

Helps so that when you go to either cut the shims on a table saw, or just by some from the big box, it will make things look more professional in the end.

Quick thought. You say you added that dormer. Do you think the additional weight is causing the wall to bow?

Mite be best to just build a new waill inside of the one there. Being it is not a structural wall, you could use 2 x 3's if space is a consideration. You could also add more insulation this way.

brockmiera said:

Quick thought. You say you added that dormer. Do you think the additional weight is causing the wall to bow?

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Doubt with that old of wood. Most likely they just never secured the top of the 2x4 lumber.

Never even thought of that, when going into depth how to finish the wall best way.

The weight of the dormer is not causing the bow. It was actually bowed much worse prior to the addition of the dormer. It appears that the outer 5 or 6 feet of the house was added on after the original construction and that the roof has been turned from running north and south to east and west. Anyway when the addition was constructed the only place the outer wall was attatched to the house was at the roof. The second floor was not attached to the outer wall at all. We have used 3/8 lag bolts and went from the bottom of the second floor joist to the studs that is the outer wall. We have pulled this wall in about 2 inches so the bow is much less now.