After a framed wall is upright but before the joists are nailed to the top plate, it needs to be fine-tuned so it’s plumb and straight along its entire length. My favorite way to do that is with a springboard.
To make a springboard for an 8-foot-tall wall, you’ll need:
- 12-foot-long 1×8
- 4-foot-long 1×8 to serve as a brace
- Level or mason line
- Gauge block
- 8d cement-coated nails
- Hammer
- Safety glasses
- Work gloves
You will need a 12-foot 1×8 for each springboard you construct. On long walls, set up springboards this way every 10 feet.
Position Springboards for Straight Walls
Why It Works: As explained in This Old House Magazine, the trick to building plumb, straight walls is to fine-tune the framing after it’s upright but before you nail off the top plate to the ceiling joists and lock the wall in place. The springboard method lets you make those adjustments with precision. For a typical 8-foot-high wall, cut some 1×8 stock into a 12-foot-long springboard and a 4-foot-long brace. Use 8d cement-coated nails — the adhesive coating makes it much harder for the nails to pull out under the spring tension.
Start by using a level or mason line to determine where the wall isn’t straight, then:
- Wherever the wall isn’t straight, drive three 8d cement-coated nails through the end of the 12-foot 1×8nd into the underside of the top plate.
- Sitting or press down on the springboard and secure its other end to the sheathing with three more nails.
- Put the brace against the underside of the springboard, as shown, and nail its lower end to the sheathing.
- On long walls, set up springboards this way every 10 feet.
Pro Tip: Norm Abram, on the This Old House Brookline project, explained his approach to positioning springboards: He buys quarter-inch-thick spruce boards in 16-foot lengths, cuts a 4-foot piece off for the brace, and uses the remaining 12-foot piece as the springboard. He leans the springboard against the wall between the top two framing members, making sure it doesn’t interfere with the straightening line, and then lines it up approximately with a joist at the bottom so that it has a good, solid footing.
Adjust Wall Springboards
To adjust the wall:
- Pivot the brace along the underside of the springboard until the line just touches the gauge block.
- Nail through the springboard and into the top end of the brace.
The springboard will hold the wall in place until the top plate is secured to the joists.
Pro Tip: Tom Silva, This Old House general contractor, advises using proper bracing to keep walls plumb after standing them upright: “What you have to do is brace each wall after you stand it upright to keep it plumb and stop it from falling over.” For a standard 8-foot wall height, he recommends 8- to 10-foot-long 2x4s, scraps of 2×4 blocks at least 12 inches long, and 12d common nails.
Alternative Methods for Wall Straightening
Checking for Straightness: Before attempting any wall straightening method, master carpenter Norm Abram recommends using a simple gauge-block technique: nail a spacer block of equal thickness (2×4 scraps work well) to each end of the wall at the same height, stretch a string tight between them, then use a third block as a “gauge block” to measure the distance between the string and the wall at various points. This quickly reveals exactly where and how much the wall deviates from straight.
While the springboard method is highly effective, there are other techniques you can use to straighten walls.
- The shim method involves using wooden shims between the top plate and ceiling joists to make minor adjustments. This can be effective for slight corrections.
- The turnbuckle technique involves installing turnbuckles along the wall and tightening them to pull the wall into alignment. This method is suitable for more significant adjustments.
- Adding temporary diagonal braces can help hold the wall straight while securing it permanently. This method is often used in conjunction with other techniques.
Pro Tip: Drywall contractor Paul Landry, writing in This Old House Magazine, always checks for errant studs before starting his work, using a long straightedge — such as the factory edge of a drywall scrap — held horizontally against the midpoint of the framing. If he locates a wayward stud on an interior wall that bows in or out more than ½ inch, he brings it back into line with a saw and a shingle. Studs that bow beyond that threshold will create an unsightly hump or hollow in the finished wall surface.
