Executive Mansion
Framing the Private Quarters
Behind the Scenes - Executive Mansion
The restoration of the Executive Mansion presents some unique challenges. On a job like this, the framing has to go in a number of stages, rather than building the walls on the ground and standing them up. The unevenness of the ceiling joists and walls demands that the framing be "stick built" with each stud individually measured and cut before nailing it in place. This is accomplished in the following three stages.
The first stage of the framing process, is to put the top plate in place. The design calls for a two member top plate with the second member nailed to the first to complete the top plate. To begin the second stage of the framing process, an old fashion plumb bob is brought out.
The plumb bob is used to determine the exact plumb for the first stud during the second stage. Every stud will be measured individually to ensure accuracy, as each one may have a slightly different measurement. The studs are then measured, cut, put in place at a pre-determined intervals, and nailed to the top and bottom plates.
The walls are all 2x6 construction. The extra thickness was needed for a number of reasons.The height of the wall is such that it needs the extra stability. Also, with everything going into the wall such as conduit, plumbing, and electrical they need to be thicker, and sound attenuation blankets will be used to soundproof the area.
The third and final stage to the framing process is wall blocking. Ryley notes that it's really important that the blocking be flush with the studs. The blocks should placed half way up from the floor, in the center of the stud, in this case about 6 feet off the floor. Because this is a 16 inch layout, all the blocks are pre-cut to 14 1/2 inch lengths which speeds up the framing process.
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