Building my garage partitions and hoping someone here is knowledgeable and can help me

[Sally PB]

Post pictures of what you're doing. People here can comment/suggest steps, ideas, etc. There are some very talented builders and fabricators on this forum.

 

[hayley3]

Yes, attach to the joists, but only after you build the wall and walk it upright.

Try this video:

If I don't have a board up there, my wall will only have 2 nails at top and I didn't think that would be strong enough. Haven't finished watching video yet but he's talking about having to go around pipes and stuff so that may also help me, since I have to go around a garage door stile.

 

[hayley3]

Post pictures of what you're doing. People here can comment/suggest steps, ideas, etc. There are some very talented builders and fabricators on this forum.

Here's a gyazo outline of what I'm doing....
https://i.gyazo.com/a3abb2fc09ab80794bbcddce18ca8b5e.png

I am dividing up a 24x24 pole barn garage with a concrete floor. It's a bit skimpy on interior wood compared to the barn I had before.

 

[hayley3]

Here you can see the board on the floor on the left, which is where I am placing the wall. The chicken side is to the right, the ducks don't need as much room so they are on the left. The 8ft in front is for storage space.

 

[NatJ]

You build a nice sturdy wall frame--board on the bottom, boards that run up and down, board on the top.

Then you stand it up and attach it to the joists at the top.

It's strong enough to stand up by itself, so top attachment is mostly to keep it from tipping over and landing on the floor again.

If I don't have a board up there, my wall will only have 2 nails at top and I didn't think that would be strong enough.

You still attach the board up there, but you attach it to the rest of the wall first. While you're building it looks like part of the wall instead of part of the ceiling, but once it's all together it's obviously conneted to both of them.

However you were planning to attach it to the joists, you can attach it the same way. (Just pay a little attention to where the upright boards are as you frame the wall, so they are not in the way of attaching it to the joists.)

 

[hayley3]

You build a nice sturdy wall frame--board on the bottom, boards that run up and down, board on the top.

Then you stand it up and attach it to the joists at the top.

It's strong enough to stand up by itself, so top attachment is mostly to keep it from tipping over and landing on the floor again.



You still attach the board up there, but you attach it to the rest of the wall first. While you're building it looks like part of the wall instead of part of the ceiling, but once it's all together it's obviously conneted to both of them.

However you were planning to attach it to the joists, you can attach it the same way. (Just pay a little attention to where the upright boards are as you frame the wall, so they are not in the way of attaching it to the joists.)

That brings me to another question. I was thinking of making the front walls lower (because of the garage rails) so the front two walls would not be attached to anything at the top, is that bad? They would be attached to the floor and the middle section of wall only.

And great tip about paying attention to where the studs are in relation to the joists...never thought of that!

 

[NatJ]

I was thinking of making the front walls lower (because of the garage rails) so the front two walls would not be attached to anything at the top, is that bad? They would be attached to the floor and the middle section of wall only.

I think that the walls need to be safely attached to something. But the "something" might not have to be the joists overhead.

When a house is built, the walls are all able to stand up before the roof goes on.
When people build a chicken run with no roof, it still stands up.
When I have used a dog kennel made of large panels, a single panel would fall over, but two that meet at a corner would stand up. Two that make a straight line fall over just as much as one does.

So I would expect a wall to stand up just fine if it is attached at both ends to walls that run perpendicular to it. If a wall is attached only at one end, I would expect the free end to be wobbly and insecure.

You might also be able to run something (a board of some sort) from the top of the wall up to a joist, or to a board between joists. A point of connection might help stabilize it, even if most of the wall is lower.

Disclaimer:
I have very little construction experience, but I've messed around with dog kennels and Lego bricks and kids' cardboard projects enough to learn a few things (like what makes it come apart or fall over on my foot). Hopefully someone with actual construction knowledge will come back to help you more.

 

[hayley3]

I have a major issue already , where are the construction pros?
My pressure treated lumber is almost an inch longer than my pine boards
So I am stuck.

 

[hayley3]

I think that the walls need to be safely attached to something. But the "something" might not have to be the joists overhead.

When a house is built, the walls are all able to stand up before the roof goes on.
When people build a chicken run with no roof, it still stands up.
When I have used a dog kennel made of large panels, a single panel would fall over, but two that meet at a corner would stand up. Two that make a straight line fall over just as much as one does.

So I would expect a wall to stand up just fine if it is attached at both ends to walls that run perpendicular to it. If a wall is attached only at one end, I would expect the free end to be wobbly and insecure.

You might also be able to run something (a board of some sort) from the top of the wall up to a joist, or to a board between joists. A point of connection might help stabilize it, even if most of the wall is lower.

Disclaimer:
I have very little construction experience, but I've messed around with dog kennels and Lego bricks and kids' cardboard projects enough to learn a few things (like what makes it come apart or fall over on my foot). Hopefully someone with actual construction knowledge will come back to help you more.

Yeah not sure what I'll do...not even there yet. LOL

 

[DouglasB]

Thanks! I've watched a few videos on youtube on levels, but I couldn't figure out how to get the level to work on the joists and the bad thing is I'm trying to get this done before the weather turns cold.

Edited to add:
I was thinking I had to put the top board up first and level it, but it makes sense to layout bottom board first and use that to mark the joist inch centers board.

Yes,and the existing hoist are where they are, you don't need to level them. Just plumb your bottom plate straight up, Mark your hoist, and nail up your top plate on those marks. Then, fill in the studs.