Green Wall Framing Top Plates and Studs Installation in Home Building
The video opens by addressing the use of green treated lumber for the top wall plate. Greg acknowledges that while the usual choice would be untreated lumber, there are a few possible reasons why treated lumber might be used instead:
Design Requirements: Some areas like tropical weather zones migth require treated lumber to prevent wood damage from moisture or insects.
Lumber yard error: The lumber yard might not have had the regular untreated lumber in stock and sent treated lumber as a substitute.
Contract mistake: The contract specifying the lumber materials might have contained an error.
Builder's choice: The builder might have chosen to use treated lumber regardless of the specification or had left over materials from another job.
Greg emphasizes that using treated lumber for the top plate is not necessarily a problem. However, it likely deviates from the structural engineer's original plan, prompting the video to be made.
Then shifts to another aspect of wall framing: shear plates and wall studs. Shear plates are pieces of plywood installed around the perimeter of the room to reinforce the wall against lateral forces like wind or seismic activity. Then highlights that these plates are typically installed along with 3x lumber for added strength.
Compensating for Material Thickness Variations
Greg warns about a critical detail during wall framing: ensuring proper stud length to accommodate variations in top and bottom plate thickness. Studs are vertical framing members, while top plates run horizontally along the top of the wall. It's crucial to cut the studs to the correct length considering the total thickness of the top and bottom plates.
Standard top plates might be around 1 1/2 inches thick.
