telefunken

wall construction/framing

im a first time sheetrocker/framer/wall builder. i have decent hammer and nail skills and i understand how walls are built.

i have a few questions. i did some testing on a few scrape pieces of 2x4s. according to my home depot wall building book, it says to hammer the nails into the wood at a 45 degree angle. this never seems to work for me, and it often splits the wood slightly. the frame still holds together but its rather wobbly. its just a basic "T" if that makes sense. 2 2x4's connected in the shape of a T. is this common for it to be wobbly? id imagine the additional 2x4s on the top, connected to the ceiling would secure it quite well. am i wrong?

any tips would be appreciated.

brickeyee

The T joint has a relativel low lateral stiffness. If you are building an interior wall, it will become solid when you secure the top and bottom plates to the joists. If you are building exterior walls, diagonal bracing or shear membranes made from plywood add the lateral stiffness.

coops28

Just nail straight in.

telefunken

another question. i have my wall layed out on my floor, and im almost done hammering it all together. some of the 2x4s are noticeable warped, so as a resullt they are crooked. its not from my nailing, its just the wood bows somewhat.

does it matter if some 2x4's are somewhat bowed/warped? it seems inevitable to me, but ive never really dont this before. should i replace ones that are really bad?

coops28

Are they crowned really bad or just bent?

coops28

I'm not sure how to explain a crown but... if you look at the board on edge, it shouldn't be bent from top to bottom. Side to side is ok. Hope you can picture what I'm saying

telefunken

somewhat bent id say. sorry but i dont know what crowned means. can you explain?

telefunken

ok, where i hammered the nails in, the wood is fine, but it gets more bent as it goes up, to point where its somewhat curved at the top where it would need to be connected to the ceiling 2x4

coops28

Ok maybe this visual can help. if you lay the 2x on its edge on the floor there shouldn't be much of a gap in the middle. If there is then replace. You will have a wavy wall when you sheet rock. A large gape is more than 1/2 inch.