Working around plumbing, gas lines, and other obstacles can be a challenge when you frame a wall! Be careful! This was the first section of a wall in our basement remodeling project.

>Home >Our progress >Starting construction

Starting construction

Framing around pipes and wires

It's Hammer Time! Finally, it was time to start building! I had a challenge right out of the gate because my first section had to go around some wires, a gas line, and a couple of water pipes.

For the first two obstacles, I notched out the board to make it fit. I had to cut the top plate to get around the copper.

Copper plumbing and a gas line are some of the obstacles I had to work around on my very first section! Framing a wall can be a challenge with obstacles like these in the way!

Since the first wall ran along the joist, I didn't need to snap a chalk line at the top. To make sure my wall was straight, I used a plumb bob at the front of the joist, to make a mark on the floor on each end of the (approximately 12') wall. Then I snapped a chalk line in between.

To determine how tall to make the wall (and how long to cut the studs) I measured from the floor to the joist at a few points along the location of the new wall. Then, I subtracted 3 ½" from the lowest point to determine stud length (1 ½" each for the thickness of the top and bottom plates, and ½" to allow room to raise the wall into place.)

I built the first 8' section of wall in a couple of hours. Next, I cut out the necessary areas of the top plate to create clearance for the pipes. After tipping the wall into place, I secured it to the joist with a couple of 6" quick clamps. Then, I nailed it to the joists using 12D (3 ½") nails, and shims as necessary.

The lesson I learned here is that it's a LOT HARDER to hammer a nail upward into the joists than it is in a 'normal' position.

Finally, I used a hammer drill to drill the holes in the bottom plate and concrete, and secured the bottom plate with cement screws. My first section was up! I built and installed the next (4') section in the same manner. Luckily, I had no obstacles for that one. I added the next small (32" section) using the 3-4-5 method to create a 90 degree corner. Not bad for a weekend's work!

Additional construction resources: