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| Installing the head plate can be a little tricky, so you will require the help of an assistant, and two pairs of stepladders. The first step is to place the two studs onto the sole plate so that they both rest on the wall at an angle with about a 300mm gap between their tops and the ceiling. |
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To help keep them in place, temporarily fix short off-cuts to the sole plate, as shown here on the left. Working simultaneously with your assistant, lift the head plate and place it onto the tops of the two uprights, and while still at this level, carefully raise both the uprights and head plate together until the head plate is up to the ceiling, and the two vertical members are up against the walls as near as possible to the marks that have been drawn. When in position, secure the uprights to the head and sole plate by skew-nailing them |
| together. Now that the four timber members are joined together, adjustments can be made at ceiling height so that the two uprights correspond exactly to the vertical lines before they are permanently fixed to the walls using screws and plugs. Before fixing the head plate to the ceiling joists, check it for being straight by running a string line along its edge as with the sole plate, and fix it at both ends, and at the centre. |
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Fitting the first stud
By measuring from one wall, the sole plate can be marked to the width of one board, and because we are working to 'Centres', this first mark will be the centre of the first main stud. If working from an existing wall that may not be vertical, or has an irregular shape, the position of this mark should be to the widest point from the wall. From this mark, measure the same distance again along the sole plate and mark the centre of the second main stud, and continue doing this until all the available space at this width is used up on the sole plate. Next, using a square, draw a square line from each mark, and return it onto the edge of the timber. |
| Now select a straight length of timber for the first stud, and cut it to the required length, using the method described earlier, ensuring that it's not so tight that it bends when in position. Set it in position on the sole plate so that it's centre corresponds to the centre mark, and adjust until it appears to be vertical before skew nailing it to the sole plate. Before it can be secured to the head, the upright must be re-adjusted so that it is perfectly vertical, which is best done with the aid of a straightedge at about 1900 mm long and a spirit level. Starting at the base, place the straightedge and level against the upright, and check and adjustfor being plumb,then slide the |
straight-edge and level up to the top of the piece to ensure that this is maintained to its full length. When satisfied that this is perfectly straight and vertical, mark the position of the stud onto the head plate, and skew nail it in place. I cannot emphasize too much the importance of this particular piece, as the accurate positioning of the remaining studs that make up the entire partition are taken from it. The next step is to position the second stud with its'centre' position to the second centre mark on
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| the sole plate, (which is the width of the second board exactly), and nail it in position to the sole plate. Now measure across the top of the two uprights, and adjust the second stud until it is the same width at the top as it is at the bottom, and fix this second stud to the head plate. To double check for accuracy, the distance from the outside edge of the first upright, to the inside edge of the second should be exactly the width of the board, top and bottom. Continue this process until all the main studs are in position, and parallel to each other. When this is complete, the intermediate uprights can be fitted in the same way so that they are all at either 600mm or 400mm centres. |
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| 1. To avoid having to mark the centre of each upright, a template can be made using an off-cut of stud with a centre line drawn on to it, as shown in Fig 2. By using this template, marking and position each upright, makes the whole process very much easier. |
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2. Having a gauge cut to the exact distance between the studs, and temporarily fixed to the head and sole plate, helps in the correct positioning of the studs, as shown in this illustration.
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| 3.Because these studs will not be visible when boarded, mark their position onto the floor, so that the position of the uprights can later be transferred to the boards for nailing purposes. |
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