Door Framing

• 1). Lay the two-by-four top plate and sill plate together on the concrete slab on their narrow edges. Align the ends of the boards together.
  
  
• 2). Measure from the end of the top plate to the center of the door or window opening and mark the top plate with a penci at that pointl. Refer to the architectural drawings for this dimension.
  
  
• 3). Measure from the center mark out on each side half the width of the rough opening. The rough opening can be found on the architectural plans or the door or window specifications. Mark the top plate using a framing square to put a straight line down on both the plates. Place an "X" on the side of the mark for the trimmer stud's position. The trimmer stud supports the header.
  
  
• 4). Measure over from the trimmer stud's location an additional 1 1/2-inches and mark the inside edge of the king stud. The king stud is a continuous stud that connects the top plate and the bottom plate together. The trimmer stud nails to the king stud for support.
  
  
• 5). Nail the king stud to the top and bottom plate on your marks using three-inch framing nails.
  
  
• 6). Cut the trimmer studs to the height of the door or window opening. Nail these to the king studs on each side of the rough opening and at the bottom plate. Use three-inch framing nails placed about 12 inches apart.
  
  
• 7). Measure the distance between the two king studs and cut a 2-by-12 to fit between them. You will need two of these to make the header. Additionally, cut a 1/2-inch piece of plywood to fit between these. This will cause the total thickness of the header to be 3 1/2-inches, the same as the 2-by-4 stud. Nail the header to the king stud and to the trimmer stud using three-inch framing nails.
  
  
• 8). Cut 2-by-4s to fit between the top of the header and the top plate. These are cripple studs and need to be placed at 16-inches on center. Nail the cripple studs to the header and top plate with three-inch framing nails.
  
  

Window Framing

• 1). Repeat Steps 1 through 5 using the rough opening dimensions for the window.
  
  
• 2). Mark the location for the window's header onto the king stud. Measure down from the header to indicate the location for the window sill on the king stud. You can find these dimensions on the architectural drawings or the window specifications. Place an "X" below the reference mark to illustrate where to nail the window sill.
  
  
• 3). Cut a 2-by-4 to fit between the two king studs for the window sill and nail it in place with three-inch framing nails below the mark you just made. Cut 2-by-4s to fit between the bottom plate and the window sill. Place one against each of the king studs. These are part of the trimmer studs. Cut additional cripple studs to fill in between the trimmer studs at 16-inches on center. Nail these in place with three-inch framing nails.
  
  
• 4). Cut two, 2-by-4s to fit between the top of the sill plate and the bottom of the header. Nail these to the king studs with three-inch finishing nails. These are trimmer studs.
  
  
• 5). Repeat Step 7 to add the window header.