Still a Dummy About Framing Walls

framing a wall with a window and door

We've watched with horrified fascination as the cleanup crew at Leaf Group has busied itself with "updating" content at several of the company's many niches. We assume that the purpose is to "freshen" the content and, probably to improve its SERP standing. Based on several we've already featured, it's a fairly safe bet that accuracy isn't the primary goal... which is why Angely Mercado is back with her Hunker.com rewrite, "How to Frame a New Interior Wall and Door Frame."

Mercado, a freelancer who "writes about home repair, decor, and trouble shooting [sic]," snapped up the assignment to freshen content originally written by Anthony Smith. Her rewrite, however, consisted of little more than moving words around and substituting in synonyms. Perhaps that was because Angely went to journalism school instead of being an apprentice carpenter, much like Smith was a "businessman." We're pretty sure neither had ever framed a wall, much less a wall with a door in it.
Mercado's rewrite was, at best simplistic and at worst darned near plagiarism. She opened by gushing that,

"Anyone can build a wall and add a framed door with the right instructions. It's a subtly decorative way to have an opening into another room and isn't the most complicated carpentry task around the home..."

...which is not, we suspect readers will agree, particularly different from Smith's claim that,

"Framing a door opening is not difficult, however, and anyone who can frame a basic wall can do it by following these steps."

The problem? No, you can't build that wall by following Smith's steps, and Mercado's rewrite has exactly the same problems. What are those problems?

• Both authors want you to frame the wall lying down and lift it in place. You can't do that with a new interior wall because the frame won't stand up in that vertical space. You'll have to frame the wall in place.
• Both say to "screw the bottom plate to the floor" and "nail or screw the top plate to the structure above it (Smith)" [or] "to the wall structure (Mercado)." Neither mentions joists at all...
• Both say to place the cripple stud "between the center of the header and the top plate." Wrong: cripples should be placed at the standard locations for studs 16" or 24" OC (see image above).

The biggest, most steaming pile of bull that Smith wrote and Mercado simply reworded? Not ONE word is said about removing the bottom plate within the rough opening for the door (see image above). Anyone stupid enough to look to Hunker for instructions and follow these to the letter is gonna end up with a 1½" threshold... That's what they get for believing that a Dumbass of the Day can be trusted.

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DDIY - FRAMING CARPENTRY