8 ms·

I recently built a largish shed in my back yard and although it's obviously far simpler than an actual house, it has many of the same core elements (including b

I recently built a largish shed in my back yard and although it's obviously far simpler than an actual house, it has many of the same core elements (including balloon framing), and it really struck me that someone like me could go from idea to a reasonably well done shed with only a little past experience plus some Googling. The traditional mortise-and-tenons approach would have far exceeded my time budget and probably been too far beyond my skill level. The most eye opening bit of learning for me was also mentioned in the article: "The skin of the building, which previously only served as a barrier to keep the elements out, now also braces the wood stud walls, increasing their load bearing capacity." Prior to sheathing, the framing is downright rickety!

analog31 4y ago
Oddly enough airplanes are like this too, as I understand it -- the skin is integral to the structure.
- thereddaikon 4y ago
  Yes most if not all modern aircraft are monocoque.
- bewaretheirs 4y ago
  Not odd at all -- when weight is critical, you want to make the most out of every gram of material, ideally getting overall structure, aero skin, and pressure vessel in one. Rockets with balloon tanks (such as the original Atlas) even rely on pressure from the propellant tank contents to strengthen the structure.
  - adolph 4y ago
    Which is the reason for the corrugated sections—the space between tanks that needed extra structure. https://apollo11space.com/why-are-the-interstage-rings-of-the-saturn-v-corrugated/ https://apollo11space.com/why-are-the-interstage-rings-of-th...
- kens 4y ago
  Also automobiles; in the 1960s cars mostly moved from body-on-frame to unibody construction, where the skin is an integral part. The Lincoln Town Car was one of the rare body-on-frame cars, which is why it was often used for stretch limousines; it is much easier to extend the body.
  - twobitshifter 4y ago
    Interestingly electric cars are going back to body on frame. Canoo is a good example of this.
    - 0x457 4y ago
      Well, if you had a giant, heavy slab at the lowest possible point - silly not to use it as a frame. Some EVs are somewhere in-between - not strictly body on frame, but also no unibody.
    - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
      And they have to call it a "skateboard" to get around the biases of a generation of textbook engineers who grew up thinking that body on frame is dumb and old.
- adgjlsfhk1 4y ago
  With newer carbon fiber airplanes, there isn't much structure other than the skin.
simonsarris 4y ago
Funny, I just built a largish (12x16 two story) shed in my back yard, but decided to just learn timber framing because how hard could it really be? The final cost was $5,206.72 (all local pine including boards, no plywood or glue, cedar shingles), and I partly took off about 2 months of work (working on this during the day) to frame it. There are some photos here, though far more on twitter: https://simonsarris.substack.com/p/the-goose-palace https://simonsarris.substack.com/p/the-goose-palace If you can stick frame a shed its certainly not beyond you to timber frame one. You'll need to read a book or two and buy a few hundred $ of chisels. But no part of it is fundamentally difficult. Before this project I've used my circular saw more for cutting down brush than building. Some budget item detail if you want to build something like it: https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1592159452995944449 https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1592159452995944449 And more construction pictures: https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1584169368203956225 https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1584169368203956225
- rsync 4y ago
  "You'll need to read a book or two and buy a few hundred $ of chisels." There is a third way ... timber framing with steel column caps and timber connectors, etc. ... steel plates from Simpson that you connect with lag or through bolts.
  - simonsarris 4y ago
    Yeah, though this would greatly increase the expense over the chisels, I'd think. For my build you need one 1.5" and one 2" chisel (I have Sorby, ~$125 each), though a 2.5" slick is nice to have. And then some sharpening stones.
  - bewaretheirs 4y ago
    But see the recent discussion of the failure of a bridge in Norway which used wood beams connected by steel elements -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33907276 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33907276
    - 4y ago
avgDev 4y ago
I'm getting ready for a shed build in the spring! Love hearing other nerds doing this stuff. I just finished a horizontal cedar fence. Building physical stuff is much more fun than programming, a bit more wear and tear on the body though.
- dbrueck 4y ago
  It is really gratifying to look outside every day and see the finished project, that's for sure. Overall I really enjoyed it, but I found that my ability to estimate the time for each step was way off - everything took far longer than I planned. Probably lack of experience. > bit more wear and tear on the body though So true - it took me a loooooong time to recover from the day I poured the cement pad under the shed. Good luck on your shed in the spring!
djaychela 4y ago
I'm currently extending my house in the UK (where this construction is less common for full houses) and the upstairs dormer is built in much the same way. While I wouldn't have described it as rickety before sheathing, it's definitely much more solid once the walls have each side covered in well nailed-on OSB - it gains a lot of stability that's otherwise lacking to a degree as there's no diagonal bracing (other than some temporary elements which are removed as you add strength). I'm not a builder (I'm a musician for the most part), but what I've built is to a pro standard and millimetre-accurate. That wouldn't have been the case had it been post-and-beam!
twobitshifter 4y ago
For barns and barndominiums there’s a the third technique which is a pole barn with set poles and trusses. For the poles today some people use tripled up 2x6s or doubled with 3/4” plywood in between. It’s easier than mortise and tenon, but setting the trusses is where things can get tricky if it’s tall.
- rsync 4y ago
  Nonononnonono. That is, yes on pole structures which can be great. But remember, a pole building is, ipso facto, a temporary structure. The poles are always rotting. Even the 8x8 heartwood columns 30x coated in creosote ... after 30 years of service they had to be chopped and under-joined to prefab concrete columns. And so with that in mind, the idea that you would replace a 6x6 column (with 6x4 = 24 inches of surface exposure to ground and fungi) with a 6x6 exterior exposure and another 24 inches of interior* exposure (between each 2x6) is crazy. I know people are doing it. I know the wood is treated. It is in the ground and wet and if you dig it up in ten years you'll have 3 little 1x5 wedges surrounded by rich, fungus filled dirt. I don't know if a pole structure is the right choice for (you or your project) but do yourself a favor and use actual poles.
  - mikeyouse 4y ago
    Most barns / barndomminiums don't bury the wood - they pour concrete footings like any other normal structure and then use steel stand-off brackets proud of ground level to ensure there's no wood in contact with the earth. Then yeah, tripled up LVLs are common as well; https://permacolumn.com/products/sturdi-wall-brackets.html https://permacolumn.com/products/sturdi-wall-brackets.html
    - rsync 4y ago
      Maybe semantics but I don't really think of that as a pole structure anymore. When I think of a pole structure, I think of continuous poles that extend into the ground. Almost all of your sway strength is dependent on a continuous member going below ground level and most of the economies of a pole structure are realized by not building the footing all the way around. That said, if you are not bound by seismic it is perfectly reasonable and I agree with you - Brettstapel[1] columns, such as sistered 2x6, would be just fine. From your link - here is what I would think of as a pole structure: https://permacolumn.com/products/perma-column-system.html https://permacolumn.com/products/perma-column-system.html ... and we have used that product (Perma-Column) to retrofit one of our barns: 24 reps of jack up, chainsaw off, dig out hole, and insert from below ... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brettstapel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brettstapel
dimitrios1 4y ago
> Learning to cut mortise and tenons took years of training as a carpenter For the same reason you mentioned, namely Googling and YouTube videos, I don't believe this is the case either. When the pandemic first struck, I took an interest in carpentry. I found a guy named Paul Sellers who guided me through constructing not only my first project in a set of durable trestles that I still use most days today, but also my first workbench, which I built the frame using, of course, M&T joinery. Each joint while not exactly the most beautiful work is still functional and holds true. It takes some time, patience, the willingness to be steady and not rush -- traits I think we all possess or can learn to posses. I have also since undertook some more modern carpentry jobs using construction lumber and built garage shelving, a playground for my kids, a back deck, and replaced some rotting facia boards on my home. The takeaway for me was, while I was pleased with being able to produce useful things for my family to enjoy, the act of using a powered circular saw, wrestling with an air hose to run a dangerous nail gun, and fussing about with construction adhesive and caulk was definitely no where near as enjoyable (or therapeutic) as the process of chiseling out those mortices, or sawing wood by hand. And I am proud of all the projects I have done, but the thing I am the most proud in a weird way was the work I was able to be more intimate with. So better here may mean more efficient and economical, which I 100% agree with. But it also comes at a loss in my view. I dream of building a house one day, of modest size. When that time comes, I am almost certain I will attempt to do it the traditional way. (fyi If anyone is interested in learning balloon framing, I cannot recommend Larry Haun's house framing series enough)
- mikeg8 4y ago
  Nice comment. You hit the wood dowel on the head ;) regarding the chisel work being more intimate. I think it comes down to commodity vs craft - and if the goal is to simply produce a house or to produce a house where the process and craftsmanship was good for your soul.
  - dimitrios1 4y ago
    Thanks. The loss of craftsmanship is something I think about and lament on frequently. It's not just about making things. Of course modern methods are more "efficient" in the strictest capitalistic sense. But there is more to the puzzle than that. I fear we aren't considering what we have lost in return, not limited to relationship between master and apprentice, knowledge transfer in the most natural way, and the connection to your work, to name a few. And with the ongoing improvements to AI via things like ChatGPT, and the learning tools and tricks and opportunities they open up, and more of the old craftsman and tradesmen and women of old passing on to the next life, we may soon start to also see the decline of knowledge soon, as we will relegate more and more of that to our models.
swayvil 4y ago
I skinned my freestyle shed with metal roofing stuff. Heck yes it adds to the strength.
hunter2_ 4y ago
> Prior to sheathing, the framing is downright rickety! Some IKEA furniture, such as their cheap bookshelves, are an amazing example of this. Basically it's a rectangle that wants to lean into being a parallelogram, and it readily does, until you tack up the backing piece which is like 1mm cardboard with dozens of nails. Cardboard that would bend, twist, rip, etc. in many directions, but works perfectly at keeping that parallelogram rectangular! Same idea with sheathing/framing.
- otikik 4y ago
  It will be even more solid if you add some carpentry glue and an extra beam. It takes the same time to build and makes them more solid too. https://youtu.be/u_caV1-mj_o https://youtu.be/u_caV1-mj_o
- xattt 4y ago
  Specific examples are the classic BILLY bookcase and the IVAR shelving system. The latter is absolutely unusable without the crossbrace piece.
- Bluestrike2 4y ago
  Traditionally, furniture makers have used different types of backs to increase the rigidity of the carcass, depending on how the carcass was constructed. If it's just an open box, for example, it'll require a more significant back compared to if it has multiple dividers spanning the interior. This excerpt[0] describes a few common types with relevant illustrations. Ikea--and other flat pack furniture--takes this approach to an extreme. Their backs are the absolute bare minimum to keep the carcass sides square under their own weight. Apply a bit of pressure to the corner of one of their bookcases, for example, and you can easily move it out of square. Cheap knockdown joinery that's meant to be easy to assemble make the problem worse. The bookcase won't have a very long lifespan, but that's acceptable for most of their customers. They're cheap and easy to replace for a reason. Other Ikea cabinets, with internal dividers, are a bit stronger because they're no longer relying on just the back to increase rigidity. As for homebuilding, exterior sheathing plays a critical role in racking strength, resisting wind loads, etc. by effectively tying the stud wall assembly together. But as with the Ikea bookcases, for builders looking to save every penny that can be found, there are options. Stuff like Thermo-Ply--basically, aluminum-faced cardboard--is used in lieu of plywood or OSB. It might not immediately disintegrate if it's properly covered with a quality house wrap as a water-resistant barrier, but how common is that with most production builders? And that's completely ignoring serious weather events like hurricanes, which will turn all that cardboard into mush. You can even take it a step further and rely on metal strapping and tension ties instead of structural sheathing.[1] That kind of house should at least use panels of foam insulation on the exterior, but given that it's generally a radical cost-saving measure, you'd be lucky if you even get that. Here's a terrifying video[2] walking through a new spec home that just relies on a cheap and ineffective house wrap. The unlucky buyers are going to have lots of fun with water damage, mold, bug infestation, and more. To say nothing of the house's other problems. 0. https://blog.lostartpress.com/2021/03/09/types-of-cabinet-backs/ https://blog.lostartpress.com/2021/03/09/types-of-cabinet-ba... 1. https://www.continuousinsulation.org/sites/default/files/H309RU.pdf https://www.continuousinsulation.org/sites/default/files/H30... 2. https://youtu.be/zRy1AZYrUE8?t=75 https://youtu.be/zRy1AZYrUE8?t=75
jccooper 4y ago
Framers use a variety of temporary braces and download to make the building work before the sheathing. (In stick framed buildings pre plywood, those diagonals are permanent, and let into the studs.) It's one of the things newbies can miss, and makes a big difference.
baremetal 4y ago
You can 'X' brace the wall and its rigidity is greatly improved. I recently used this technique when building a temporary support wall to cut a 10'x7' hole in the side of a commercial building and had to temporarily brace several of the roof trusses

analog31 4y ago

Oddly enough airplanes are like this too, as I understand it -- the skin is integral to the structure.

thereddaikon 4y ago
Yes most if not all modern aircraft are monocoque.
bewaretheirs 4y ago
Not odd at all -- when weight is critical, you want to make the most out of every gram of material, ideally getting overall structure, aero skin, and pressure vessel in one. Rockets with balloon tanks (such as the original Atlas) even rely on pressure from the propellant tank contents to strengthen the structure.
- adolph 4y ago
  Which is the reason for the corrugated sections—the space between tanks that needed extra structure. https://apollo11space.com/why-are-the-interstage-rings-of-the-saturn-v-corrugated/ https://apollo11space.com/why-are-the-interstage-rings-of-th...
kens 4y ago
Also automobiles; in the 1960s cars mostly moved from body-on-frame to unibody construction, where the skin is an integral part. The Lincoln Town Car was one of the rare body-on-frame cars, which is why it was often used for stretch limousines; it is much easier to extend the body.
- twobitshifter 4y ago
  Interestingly electric cars are going back to body on frame. Canoo is a good example of this.
  - 0x457 4y ago
    Well, if you had a giant, heavy slab at the lowest possible point - silly not to use it as a frame. Some EVs are somewhere in-between - not strictly body on frame, but also no unibody.
  - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
    And they have to call it a "skateboard" to get around the biases of a generation of textbook engineers who grew up thinking that body on frame is dumb and old.
adgjlsfhk1 4y ago
With newer carbon fiber airplanes, there isn't much structure other than the skin.

simonsarris 4y ago

Funny, I just built a largish (12x16 two story) shed in my back yard, but decided to just learn timber framing because how hard could it really be? The final cost was $5,206.72 (all local pine including boards, no plywood or glue, cedar shingles), and I partly took off about 2 months of work (working on this during the day) to frame it. There are some photos here, though far more on twitter: https://simonsarris.substack.com/p/the-goose-palace https://simonsarris.substack.com/p/the-goose-palace If you can stick frame a shed its certainly not beyond you to timber frame one. You'll need to read a book or two and buy a few hundred $ of chisels. But no part of it is fundamentally difficult. Before this project I've used my circular saw more for cutting down brush than building. Some budget item detail if you want to build something like it: https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1592159452995944449 https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1592159452995944449 And more construction pictures: https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1584169368203956225 https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1584169368203956225

rsync 4y ago
"You'll need to read a book or two and buy a few hundred $ of chisels." There is a third way ... timber framing with steel column caps and timber connectors, etc. ... steel plates from Simpson that you connect with lag or through bolts.
- simonsarris 4y ago
  Yeah, though this would greatly increase the expense over the chisels, I'd think. For my build you need one 1.5" and one 2" chisel (I have Sorby, ~$125 each), though a 2.5" slick is nice to have. And then some sharpening stones.
- bewaretheirs 4y ago
  But see the recent discussion of the failure of a bridge in Norway which used wood beams connected by steel elements -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33907276 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33907276
  - 4y ago

avgDev 4y ago

I'm getting ready for a shed build in the spring! Love hearing other nerds doing this stuff. I just finished a horizontal cedar fence. Building physical stuff is much more fun than programming, a bit more wear and tear on the body though.

dbrueck 4y ago
It is really gratifying to look outside every day and see the finished project, that's for sure. Overall I really enjoyed it, but I found that my ability to estimate the time for each step was way off - everything took far longer than I planned. Probably lack of experience. > bit more wear and tear on the body though So true - it took me a loooooong time to recover from the day I poured the cement pad under the shed. Good luck on your shed in the spring!

djaychela 4y ago

I'm currently extending my house in the UK (where this construction is less common for full houses) and the upstairs dormer is built in much the same way. While I wouldn't have described it as rickety before sheathing, it's definitely much more solid once the walls have each side covered in well nailed-on OSB - it gains a lot of stability that's otherwise lacking to a degree as there's no diagonal bracing (other than some temporary elements which are removed as you add strength). I'm not a builder (I'm a musician for the most part), but what I've built is to a pro standard and millimetre-accurate. That wouldn't have been the case had it been post-and-beam!

twobitshifter 4y ago

For barns and barndominiums there’s a the third technique which is a pole barn with set poles and trusses. For the poles today some people use tripled up 2x6s or doubled with 3/4” plywood in between. It’s easier than mortise and tenon, but setting the trusses is where things can get tricky if it’s tall.

rsync 4y ago
Nonononnonono. That is, yes on pole structures which can be great. But remember, a pole building is, ipso facto, a temporary structure. The poles are always rotting. Even the 8x8 heartwood columns 30x coated in creosote ... after 30 years of service they had to be chopped and under-joined to prefab concrete columns. And so with that in mind, the idea that you would replace a 6x6 column (with 6x4 = 24 inches of surface exposure to ground and fungi) with a 6x6 exterior exposure and another 24 inches of interior* exposure (between each 2x6) is crazy. I know people are doing it. I know the wood is treated. It is in the ground and wet and if you dig it up in ten years you'll have 3 little 1x5 wedges surrounded by rich, fungus filled dirt. I don't know if a pole structure is the right choice for (you or your project) but do yourself a favor and use actual poles.
- mikeyouse 4y ago
  Most barns / barndomminiums don't bury the wood - they pour concrete footings like any other normal structure and then use steel stand-off brackets proud of ground level to ensure there's no wood in contact with the earth. Then yeah, tripled up LVLs are common as well; https://permacolumn.com/products/sturdi-wall-brackets.html https://permacolumn.com/products/sturdi-wall-brackets.html
  - rsync 4y ago
    Maybe semantics but I don't really think of that as a pole structure anymore. When I think of a pole structure, I think of continuous poles that extend into the ground. Almost all of your sway strength is dependent on a continuous member going below ground level and most of the economies of a pole structure are realized by not building the footing all the way around. That said, if you are not bound by seismic it is perfectly reasonable and I agree with you - Brettstapel[1] columns, such as sistered 2x6, would be just fine. From your link - here is what I would think of as a pole structure: https://permacolumn.com/products/perma-column-system.html https://permacolumn.com/products/perma-column-system.html ... and we have used that product (Perma-Column) to retrofit one of our barns: 24 reps of jack up, chainsaw off, dig out hole, and insert from below ... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brettstapel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brettstapel

dimitrios1 4y ago

> Learning to cut mortise and tenons took years of training as a carpenter For the same reason you mentioned, namely Googling and YouTube videos, I don't believe this is the case either. When the pandemic first struck, I took an interest in carpentry. I found a guy named Paul Sellers who guided me through constructing not only my first project in a set of durable trestles that I still use most days today, but also my first workbench, which I built the frame using, of course, M&T joinery. Each joint while not exactly the most beautiful work is still functional and holds true. It takes some time, patience, the willingness to be steady and not rush -- traits I think we all possess or can learn to posses. I have also since undertook some more modern carpentry jobs using construction lumber and built garage shelving, a playground for my kids, a back deck, and replaced some rotting facia boards on my home. The takeaway for me was, while I was pleased with being able to produce useful things for my family to enjoy, the act of using a powered circular saw, wrestling with an air hose to run a dangerous nail gun, and fussing about with construction adhesive and caulk was definitely no where near as enjoyable (or therapeutic) as the process of chiseling out those mortices, or sawing wood by hand. And I am proud of all the projects I have done, but the thing I am the most proud in a weird way was the work I was able to be more intimate with. So better here may mean more efficient and economical, which I 100% agree with. But it also comes at a loss in my view. I dream of building a house one day, of modest size. When that time comes, I am almost certain I will attempt to do it the traditional way. (fyi If anyone is interested in learning balloon framing, I cannot recommend Larry Haun's house framing series enough)

mikeg8 4y ago
Nice comment. You hit the wood dowel on the head ;) regarding the chisel work being more intimate. I think it comes down to commodity vs craft - and if the goal is to simply produce a house or to produce a house where the process and craftsmanship was good for your soul.
- dimitrios1 4y ago
  Thanks. The loss of craftsmanship is something I think about and lament on frequently. It's not just about making things. Of course modern methods are more "efficient" in the strictest capitalistic sense. But there is more to the puzzle than that. I fear we aren't considering what we have lost in return, not limited to relationship between master and apprentice, knowledge transfer in the most natural way, and the connection to your work, to name a few. And with the ongoing improvements to AI via things like ChatGPT, and the learning tools and tricks and opportunities they open up, and more of the old craftsman and tradesmen and women of old passing on to the next life, we may soon start to also see the decline of knowledge soon, as we will relegate more and more of that to our models.

swayvil 4y ago

I skinned my freestyle shed with metal roofing stuff. Heck yes it adds to the strength.

hunter2_ 4y ago

> Prior to sheathing, the framing is downright rickety! Some IKEA furniture, such as their cheap bookshelves, are an amazing example of this. Basically it's a rectangle that wants to lean into being a parallelogram, and it readily does, until you tack up the backing piece which is like 1mm cardboard with dozens of nails. Cardboard that would bend, twist, rip, etc. in many directions, but works perfectly at keeping that parallelogram rectangular! Same idea with sheathing/framing.

otikik 4y ago
It will be even more solid if you add some carpentry glue and an extra beam. It takes the same time to build and makes them more solid too. https://youtu.be/u_caV1-mj_o https://youtu.be/u_caV1-mj_o
xattt 4y ago
Specific examples are the classic BILLY bookcase and the IVAR shelving system. The latter is absolutely unusable without the crossbrace piece.
Bluestrike2 4y ago
Traditionally, furniture makers have used different types of backs to increase the rigidity of the carcass, depending on how the carcass was constructed. If it's just an open box, for example, it'll require a more significant back compared to if it has multiple dividers spanning the interior. This excerpt[0] describes a few common types with relevant illustrations. Ikea--and other flat pack furniture--takes this approach to an extreme. Their backs are the absolute bare minimum to keep the carcass sides square under their own weight. Apply a bit of pressure to the corner of one of their bookcases, for example, and you can easily move it out of square. Cheap knockdown joinery that's meant to be easy to assemble make the problem worse. The bookcase won't have a very long lifespan, but that's acceptable for most of their customers. They're cheap and easy to replace for a reason. Other Ikea cabinets, with internal dividers, are a bit stronger because they're no longer relying on just the back to increase rigidity. As for homebuilding, exterior sheathing plays a critical role in racking strength, resisting wind loads, etc. by effectively tying the stud wall assembly together. But as with the Ikea bookcases, for builders looking to save every penny that can be found, there are options. Stuff like Thermo-Ply--basically, aluminum-faced cardboard--is used in lieu of plywood or OSB. It might not immediately disintegrate if it's properly covered with a quality house wrap as a water-resistant barrier, but how common is that with most production builders? And that's completely ignoring serious weather events like hurricanes, which will turn all that cardboard into mush. You can even take it a step further and rely on metal strapping and tension ties instead of structural sheathing.[1] That kind of house should at least use panels of foam insulation on the exterior, but given that it's generally a radical cost-saving measure, you'd be lucky if you even get that. Here's a terrifying video[2] walking through a new spec home that just relies on a cheap and ineffective house wrap. The unlucky buyers are going to have lots of fun with water damage, mold, bug infestation, and more. To say nothing of the house's other problems. 0. https://blog.lostartpress.com/2021/03/09/types-of-cabinet-backs/ https://blog.lostartpress.com/2021/03/09/types-of-cabinet-ba... 1. https://www.continuousinsulation.org/sites/default/files/H309RU.pdf https://www.continuousinsulation.org/sites/default/files/H30... 2. https://youtu.be/zRy1AZYrUE8?t=75 https://youtu.be/zRy1AZYrUE8?t=75

jccooper 4y ago

Framers use a variety of temporary braces and download to make the building work before the sheathing. (In stick framed buildings pre plywood, those diagonals are permanent, and let into the studs.) It's one of the things newbies can miss, and makes a big difference.

baremetal 4y ago

You can 'X' brace the wall and its rigidity is greatly improved. I recently used this technique when building a temporary support wall to cut a 10'x7' hole in the side of a commercial building and had to temporarily brace several of the roof trusses