Second Floor Walls – Hermit's Woodshed

Second floor walls get built on the first floor deck, which, in this case, is about nine feet above the ground. Three of us need to be able to lift the walls after they are framed. Nailing the exterior sheathing to the walls before standing them will make them super heavy. Nailing sheathing after they are standing will require working 12-18 feet off the ground. We need a way to sheath the walls laying flat on the deck and to be able to raise them with that extra weight. Wall jacks solve that problem.

I wish I had a patent on these.

We had a bit of difficulty with the wall on the right of the photo. The wall is 18′ tall and very heavy. Called balloon framing, in the parlance. We used tow straps and come-alongs to raise it into place.

Framing boards, used as braces, which will be used later, maybe two or three times, hold the walls temporarily.

After a few more gyrations, we will be ready to set trusses, which is a whole other thing.