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Frame a door rough opening - Fine Homebuilding Article
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Frame a door rough opening
A pro teaches you his three simple rules for framing rough openings
efficiently
by Scott Grice
If you can cut a 2x4 and drive a nail, then you have all the skills you need to frame a rough opening
for a door. As with most homebuilding tasks, however, there's a fine line between getting it done
and doing it efficiently, without causing headaches down the line.
Whether framing a rough opening in a new home or on a remodeling project, I follow the same
sequence. I always frame rough openings before I install the surrounding studs. This gives me
plenty of room to nail the trimmers to the king studs and the king studs to the header. If the wall is
load-bearing, I refer to the plans for the proper header size. If not, a 2x4 on the flat replaces the
header. In this case, the plans called for a double 2x8 header. I added a 1/2-in. piece of plywood
between the 2x8s so that the header width matches the 2x4 stud thickness.
Most new doors are 6 ft. 8 in. tall. Add 3/4 in. for the jamb, 3/4 in. for finish flooring, 3/8 in. for
underlayment, and 3/4 in. for wiggle room at the top of the door, and the top of the trimmer (the
bottom of the header) needs to be 82 5/8 in. above the subfloor. This height can vary slightly in a
remodeling project depending on what's happening with the existing floors. Door widths vary, but an
easy way to size the rough opening is to use the door width plus 5 in. as the distance between the
king studs.
There are three simple rules to framing rough openings efficiently: Minimize layout marks; maintain
a simple, consistent nailing pattern; and avoid toenailing when possible.
Mark all the plates at once

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Measure the distance between the king studs (door
width plus 5 in.). For efficiency, I mark only the inside
edge of the king studs on the bottom and top plates. To
the inside of the marks, I write T for trimmer. To the
outside, I mark an X to indicate the king stud.
TIP: Mark and measure at the same time. The
rectangular shape of a carpenter’s pencil makes it easy
to hold against the end of the tape.
Mark the cripple locations. I save myself a little time
and the potential confusion of too many lines by marking
the cripple locations only on the top plate. The crow’s
foot indicates the layout mark, and the X tells me which
side of the line to locate the cripple. Later, I transfer
these marks to the header.
Assemble the parts, then transfer the layout

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Keep edges flush. When assembling the king studs, the
trimmers, and the header, I use my fingers, my eyes, and
a Speed Square to keep all the edges flush. I alternate
pairs of nails with single nails (like the #5 pattern on a
domino) when nailing along the length of the trimmer or
header. I separate nails by 16 in. for studs and by 8 in.
for headers.
Transfer the layout marks to the header. Before
nailing the header in place, I align it with the king-stud
marks I made on the top plate and transfer the cripple
locations to the header.
Just a hammer, please
Sequence assembly to avoid toenailing
First, fasten the header to the king stud. Before
installing any adjacent studs or the top plate, I connect
the header to the king stud. Again, I use the #5 domino
nailing pattern. To stay friends with the finish carpenter
and to avoid creating bumps in the wall, I keep the edges
flush
Add the cripples before the double top plate.
Through-nailing is faster, stronger, and tidier than
toenailing. Before adding the double top plate, I can
through-nail into the king studs and the cripples. I nail the
king studs on each side of the door before adding the
cripples.

Frame a door rough opening - Fine Homebuilding Article
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4 of 4 2/3/2009 7:55 AM
Nail the plate
next to the
studs. To
save the
plumbers and
the
electricians
from ruining
their drill bits, I
keep nails
close to the
studs when
fastening the
bottom plate to
the floor.
Magazine
extra: Watch
a video of Scott framing this rough opening and hear why he uses a rigger's hatchet instead of a
regular hammer.
Photos by: John Ross, except where noted; drawing by: Dan Thornton
From Fine Homebuilding 201, pp. 98-100
January 14, 2009
Related Topics: Framing | Doors | Interior Doors | New Construction | Remodeling
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