Thread: Trenching Wall Plates

Hopefully I will soon be building a house frame from scratch and would appreciate any advice forthcoming.
To start with, I have 2 problems - I am using 140x45 members for the external walls and there will only be 2 of us building the frame.
Due to the weight of the members, I was proposing to place most of the studs when the frame section is in its finished (upright) position. I was also thinking of trenching the top and bottom plates (3 mm) to facilitate the placement of the studs and hold them in position when fixing.
Any thoughts on this would be most welcome. Thanks.

THE REASON for trenching wallplates dates back to when walls were made from green timber off the saw.

The dimensions of the timber varied by a few mm so the plates were trenched so that with constant length studs all walls would be the same height dimension.

Not only is it a waste of time trenching thickness guaged wall plates it may mean that you will need to use thicker wall plates.

but on the other hand trenching wall plates helps to stop the twist and buckle in the vert members, and if you have the right tool for the job only takes an extra few days for the framing :eek:

can you please tell us what calls for wall studs to be 140 x45
thats a mighty big wall stud. i could expect a rafter of that size or larger but not a wall frame

Cheers Ian

why arnt you using 90x45 MGP10, you wont need to trench then, like echidna said its a waste of time.

As long as you don't laugh!!! Its all to do with the windows. I have gone for an aluminium/timber composite double glazed window that has fantastic ash reveals. The house will be clad with weatherboards and I wanted to preserve the reveal and not have the window frame projecting externally. The only way I could see around it was to increase the structural depth of the frame.

Originally Posted by Metung

As long as you don't laugh!!! Its all to do with the windows. I have gone for an aluminium/timber composite double glazed window that has fantastic ash reveals. The house will be clad with weatherboards and I wanted to preserve the reveal and not have the window frame projecting externally. The only way I could see around it was to increase the structural depth of the frame.

Sorry couldnt help it.
Why not get the window mob to make the reveals smaller??

Al

Or you could cut up an extra set of noggins to go at the base and tops of the studs.

Cheers
Michael

Heres a thought, if you really have to have 140mm frame may be you could use a double frame ie two wall frames made from standard 70 x 35 framing side by side.It may take a bit longer but the frames would be a lot lighter and easier to build. If you offset the studs you could weave fibreglass insulation between them. Double frames are often used to prevent noise transfer.
just a thought.
julian

Use 90x45 frames, build them on the ground or get pre-fab, stand them all up, then attach a batten of say 45mm to the frame then clad the frame in ply (US style) you can then attach the weatherbaord to the plywood.


This system would cost no more than using 140 but give better thermal properites and the ply would provided heaps of bracing.

Window reveals are usually obscured by curtains.