The entire frame of your garage is its backbone. When you do it right, you reap the benefits of a sturdy vehicle structure. Thus, even framing sounds technical; it pays to be meticulous in its development.
Before framing your garage
The framing of a garage is tiresome and complicated. Nonetheless, you can make it less painful when you do your homework before the actual process.
- DIY or not, don’t hesitate to seek help. You are maybe superior with wall framing but clueless in constructing the roof, window, and door parts. If that’s the case, let a skilled contractor handle these. It fast-tracks and secures the establishment of the frame.
- Get materials from a reliable supplier or manufacturer. Choose the one that can deliver all the materials you require on time. It should provide the exact numbers and quality you order. Also, you may consider ordering garage kits or prefabricated ones from a manufacturer. These are simpler to assemble for DIY builders.
- Prepare the foundation. It is a different aspect but a vital factor. A foundation must be level and firm. Ideally, it is a concrete foundation with appropriate depth.
If you will erect a wooden garage, put treated lumber in-between sill plates and concrete. It is unideal to be on top of a concrete slab directly.
- Ready the anchoring. This process strengthens the entire garage against hurricanes. Apart from this, it is a staple of the local authorities requirements.
Another valuable thing to learn is what your local authority or building codes say about erecting garages. Often than not, it specifies even the type of nails or corner edges to use.
The garage framing
After the prep works and getting materials, you are likely all set to execute the framing. The steps below intend to cover only the basics and chronological order of framing any garage size.
Create guides. Put signs where the garage walls are. Lay down the top and sill plates on the floor, then mark the places of studs on both sides.
Connect and erect. You may opt to nail top and sill plates first and then start with studs. The other way is to put the sill plates on anchor holes on the foundation. Then, form the wall frames separately.
The ideal order for each wall frame is to create, stand, and brace one by one. You may start from the two lengthy parts, then the two shorter sides.
On the part of the door and window opening, begin by working on king studs, header, and trimmer. Then do the lower cripples, door sill, upper cripples, and top plate. About the edges, you can choose either the well-known 3-stud corner or the highly recommended 4-stud corner. The latter offers more benefits, especially for drywall. When you are all done with erecting the wall frames, put lock plates on the top plates. These further straighten and strengthen all the wall frames.
Establish the trusses. When you buy prefabricated trusses, the manufacturer gives detailed instructions on how to assemble them correctly. However, a simple strategy is to put trusses one at a time from the back to the front side. Make sure to secure each truss’ both ends on their designated places on top of the lock plates. Also, don’t forget to put ribbon boards and hurricane ties on trusses.
