Using Advanced Framing Techniques in Your Home

Advanced framing is a series of techniques to reduce the amount of wood used in building a home. Often referred to as optimum value engineering (OVE), it can reduce the amount of wood in your home by more than half.

What is Advanced Framing?

The 175-year-old tradition of wood platform framing has evolved very little over time. Advanced framing techniques are easy to understand and implement.If the person building your home is familiar with wood framing, then he already has the skills necessary to use advanced framing.

The table below outlines the differences between advanced framing and traditional wood framing. Figure illustrates these advanced framing techniques.

Traditional Wood Framing versus Advanced Framing

*Traditional Wood Framing*	*Advanced Framing Techniques*
2-x-4 wall studs are spaced on center at 16 inches.	2-x-6 wall studs are spaced on center at 24 inches.The larger studs are stronger, so they can be spaced farther apart. The additional thickness of the wall also allows room for additional insulation.
2-x-8 floor joists are spaced on center at 16 inches.	Use engineered wood I-joists at 24 inches on center for the framing of your floors and roof.The studs and joists now have the same spacing and align to one another.
When two walls meet at a corner, extra studs are placed at each end. These studs are only used as a place to attach the drywall, and these hollow corners create uninsulated voids.	Corners are built using two-stud corner framing (where no extra studs are added). Instead of using an entire stud, place a backing strip,called a drywall clip, to use as the spot to connect the drywall.
Additional studs are used to hold the drywall together.	Inexpensive drywall clips or scrap lumber hold the joints of two drywall boards together without using an entire wood stud.
Extra wood, called a header, is placed over openings, such as doors and windows.	On non-load-bearing walls, a single stud is often enough support over a door or opening.
The wall framing does not align to the floor and roof, even when both are spaced at 16 inches on center.	In-line framing (where the floor, wall, and roof framing members are all in line with one another) is used. Because the floor and roof framing now line up with the studs in the walls, the weight is transferred directly from the floor to the wall. By aligning the structure vertically throughout the entire house, it makes the building stronger and more efficient.
The top stud of a wood-framed wall, called the top plate, is doubled up to distribute the structural loads from the roof and floor above.Two studs are used.	A single stud is used for the top plate of each wall. (Check with your local building codes to see if this is allowed; it usually doesn’t present any problems.) Connect the joints of the top plates with a galvanized steel plate. These steel plates should be used on the top plate at all the joints, corners, and intersections
The home is designed to some arbitrary dimension, often requiring additional cutting and materials.	The home is designed on a 2-foot module to reduce waste and take advantage of the standard size of plywood and sheathing materials

If you’ve never heard of these advanced framing techniques,you probably have some concerns.Here are some common myths surrounding the use of advanced framing techniques.

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