Framing Pt. 1 - How To

Feb. 12

Temp: 32°/ rain

Exciting day… we started on the walls! Not so exciting… it rained steadily all day. So, we moved the framing party to the garage.

We started on the easiest wall, the front wall, which is the smallest and with no windows. But, this was good because I had a lot to learn.

To begin, we got our 2 post boards cut to the width of the trailer. This is the 8’ trailer width plus the baseboard we added to the trailer. In the bottom post we cut 2 holes for the rods on that side.

Next, we determined where we would put the studs. We are using Simpson Strong Ties to attach to the steel rods coming up from the trailer. Simpson Strong Ties are often used in hurricane zones, but because the house will be driving on the road, it’s important to use these. We drew our studs on the bottom post, working off 16 on center. Then, we lined up the top post to the bottom and extended the stud lines to that. We found 6 good 2x4x8’s and positioned those between the 2 posts on the stud lines. We put 3 nails into the side of each 2x4.

The zipboard came next. Again, we wanted to use the biggest pieces we could on the wall. We started with 1 – 4x8 piece in the center, extending it off the bottom to cover the edge of the trailer. We ran a line of glue around the frame, laid the piece of zipboard, then used the framing nail gun to nail it in place, about every foot on the studs.

This first one was pretty straightforward, but the remaining 3 walls will have lots of windows to frame out and the angle of the roof to consider.