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Framing Calculator

With our framing calculator, you can easily compute the number of studs needed to build a given section of wall.

One bottom plate and two top plates is usual.
Leave at zero to skip the costing.
Clear
Studs3319 in the field at 16 in centres, plus 14 for corners and openings
Field studs1918 bays plus one
Extra for corners2
Extra for openings12a king and a jack stud each side of every opening
Plate material72 ft3 plates the length of the wall
Stud length8 ftless the plates: cut at 7 ft 7.5 in for 3 × 2× plates
Linear feet of stud264 ft
Total lumber336 ftstuds and plates together
Board feet at 2×4224
Wall area192 sq ft

The method

studs = wall length ÷ spacing + 1, plus corners and openings

Why 16 inches

Sixteen inches divides evenly into the 8-foot sheet: a 4-foot-wide panel lands on studs at 0, 16, 32 and 48 inches with no cutting. Twenty-four-inch spacing works too and uses a third less timber, but needs thicker sheathing and shows more movement in the finish.

The field count is only the start. Every corner needs extra studs to give the adjoining wall something to fix to, and each opening needs a king stud running full height plus a jack stud carrying the header on both sides — four extra per opening, before you count the header and cripples.

Studs are cut short of the wall height by the thickness of the plates. Three 2× plates come to 4½ inches, which is why a “8-foot wall” uses 92⅝-inch precut studs.