Framing the House Wood-frame construction combines repetitive framing elements such as wall studs, floor joists and roof trusses with floor, wall and roof sheathing to produce rigid building assemblies capable of resisting wind, earthquake, snow, occupant and construction loads. For housing applications, the repetitive framing members are spaced no more than 600 mm (24 in.) apart, the span of structural members must not exceed 12.2 m (40 ft.), and the design load due to occupants and contents must not exceed 2.4 kPa (50 psf). The repetitive framing members may be dimension lumber or engineered wood products such as trusses or wood I-joists. The structural shell consists of the foundation, floors, walls and roof (see Appendix B). If a house has load-bearing interior walls, they must be erected at the same time as the exterior walls. The shell must be framed and sheathed to provide rigidity. Temporary bracing and cross-bracing may also be required to allow construction to proceed safely. The framing method and depth and spacing of members affect insulation levels and must be considered carefully. Refer to Chapter 5 for more information. This book shows metric dimensions followed by an approximate imperial equivalent (in brackets). Not all dimensions are exact. Although a 2 × 4 in. framing member is shown in its exact 38 × 89 mm dimensions, the metric dimensions for the spacing between the framing members are soft conversions from 12 in. to 300 mm (rather than 305 mm), 16 in. to 400 mm (rather than 406 mm) and 24 in. to 600 mm (rather than 610 mm), which is consistent with the values in the National Building Code. It is common practice in house construction to install joists, studs, and rafters in increments of 12, 16 and 24 inches, which are whole number fractions of the dimensions of panel products (gypsum board, plywood and OSB) that are supported on the framing. The soft converted metric values are provided for the reader’s convenience. It is