Framing a Rake Wall

In a previous post I described how to transfer bottom plate layout to the angled top plates. In this post and video I’d like to show the process for the framing.

My co-worker and I have refined this process over the last 10+ years to be very simple and efficient. We frame these walls as a 2 person team. 1 carpenter is the “cut guy” and the other “install”. Once the layout is done, we measure in each stud and king stud. It only takes a minute and gives us one more chance to spot a mistake. Alternatively we will measure in the middle stud and calculate the rest from there.

The “cut guy” cuts king studs and trimmers first. He can use the scrap for sills and cripples as he goes. While he is doing that, the “install” guy cuts headers and adds plates to them. We use 4x10 headers typically in 2x6 walls so we add 2x6 plates to the 4x to pack them out to the wall depth. Later the 2” gap will get foam insulation. While the “install” guy starts nailing the double kings together, which is a little time consuming, the “cut guy” can start cutting studs.

I like to order material for rake walls equal to the longest stud. So in this case I needed 26’ long material. I decided to order LSL studs to get the length I needed as well as they are dead straight. For the rest of the wall I ordered 20’ 2x6 DF. All the cut offs from studs go into window cripples, sills and blocking.

For more information, here is an article I wrote for The Journal of Light Construction and a time lapse of the wall below.