Over the past 17 years, first as a
builder and then as a representative
of the Western Wood Products
Association, I have traveled
extensively, talking to builders and
code officials to see how framing is
done throughout the country.
While I've found regional differences,
I've also found a few serious
framing problems that tend to crop
up everywhere, again and again.
All of these problems are covered
by the model building codes.
A given problem might occur
because the builder doesn't know
better, or because framers are paying
more attention to other construction
needs. Either way, these
framing defects not only cause
trouble with code officials, but
cause problems big and small down
the line.
Here are some of the most common
framing