Alternative Construction Research Guide - GCCDS

Advanced Wood Framing | 4.2Advanced Wood FramingOverview: Advanced wood framing is a technique thatuses a deeper stud (2x6 rather than 2x4) spaced 24” oncenter in order to take advantage of direct load transfer,increase the insulation of walls to reduce energy loss, anddecrease the overall amount of lumber used during framing.INSTALLATIONConstruction Process: Advanced wood framing isinstalled similarly to conventional wood framing butemploys 2x6 studs at 24” on center, rather than 2x4 studsat 16” on center. One way in which it differs from conventionalwood framing is the turning of a corner witha simpler two-stud construction. Additionally, there aretechniques that must be implemented to adjust for theadded depth of the wall and 24” spacing in relation todoors and windows. 2Beside the need to familiarize a crew with the code requirements,advanced wood framing is simpler than 16”spacing. It creates a house-wide 24” module that will alignstud, joist, and rafter in a single line and ideally minimizesinaccuracies or missteps in the integrity of connectionsbetween the three. 3Speed of Construction: Advanced wood framing isnot significantly faster than conventional lumber framing.Delivery Method: Dimensional lumber is widely availableand will typically be delivered to the site in packagesas construction progresses.Required Equipment: Hammers or nail guns, nails,chop saw (or equivalent), any relevant hangers and/orstrapsSpecialized Labor: Other than familiarizing a crewwith the construction techniques, no specialized labor isnecessary for advanced wood framing(Fig. 6) Using advanced framing techniques increases the interval betweenstuds from 16” to 24” O.C.