You will need to be experienced in carpentry to carry out wall framing projects and in particular exterior wall framing is a skilled job that requires patience and plenty of practice. The majority of wall frames are load bearing which means they are an integral part of the structure of the building and so will have to be done correctly and accurate measurements are essential to ensure perfectly square frames are put in place.

Gravity
Gravity is an important force to consider when installing wall frames, and you should always construct frames on the ground on a flat clear surface and then only raise them up when they are finished.  If you try and construct wall frames in the air then it can be almost impossible to create perfectly square frames, as you will have to use all kinds of clamps and fixings to hold everything in place which will warp your measurements.  It can be difficult setting up wall frames on the ground and this is where precise measurement come in, and some highly skilled carpenters will also fit the exterior finish trim and siding in place on the flat before they tilt the walls up.

Square
In construction the term ‘square’ means that a four sided shape has opposite sides that are exactly the same length and this can be applied to both actually square shapes and rectangles (but other four sided shapes such as a rhombus are no good for building wall frames), and this will ensure that the next storey or roof will go on soundly.  You can confirm the ‘square’ of your wall frame by checking that not only the opposite sides are the same, but also that the diagonal measurements from corner to corner are the same also.

Layout
Once your frames are prepared you can create a layout on the ground of where you want the walls of the building to go and this too must be square. You will need to use some basic math skills to ensure your measurements are precise and if you want to check your calculations then you can buy special construction calculators quite cheaply.

Construction
When you start framing your walls you will need to ensure the main studs are all the same height, so it is a good idea to sort through your supply and check they are all the same size, as mill-cut studs can sometimes vary even in the same batch and this will make a significant difference when it comes to constructing your wall frame.