Non Advanced Framing?
In the November edition of Fine Homebuilding there is an article called “A Slick Approach to Straightening Walls” By Roe A. Osborn. Good enough article on wall straightening technique, but I couldn’t help noticing how much framing lumber is used in the pictured walls. Double 2×6 jack studs and double, or triple, or even quadruple king studs throughout the house. Looks like full thickness headers were used, regardless of whether the walls are load bearing or not. Double sill plates as well. I wonder what the framing factor of these walls are… There is probably enough framing lumber in this house to build two houses using Advanced Framing strategies.
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I could see only the reduced picture on the preview page, but it looks like there is an 8' or so wide opening on a load-bearing wall, which could justify double jacks for sufficient header support. But the rest of it sounds like the kind of overkill that is still all-too-typical of conventional construction.
And I suspect that the trend of using exterior foam board as a thermal break merely encourages the use of excessive framing.
If this is "non-advanced framing", then I suppose it could also be called "retarded framing".
In all fairness, there is an excellent article in the same issue under the "how it works" section by Rob Munach that describes how loads are transferred using advanced framing techniques... Quite the contrast.
It is quite a contrast - two extreme approaches to framing.
I don't think that either end of the spectrum makes sense, and author Munach makes the point that advanced framing lacks the redundancy necessary to withstand unexpected forces.
Well, the examples in the first article go way beyond redundant. I think that living in a litigious society also encourages framers to go way beyond what is necessary. Cheaper to throw in more framing than to fight a lawsuit...