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Sixteen-Inch Spacing
Source: TOOLS OF THE TRADE Magazine
Publication date: September 18, 2006
By Andy Engel
Construction Q&A
Answers to some basic Framing questions.
We do a lot of things in construction that can be confusing if you're just learning how things work. Here are answers to some of the questions a lot of new carpenters have.
Why Is Framing Spaced 16, 24, or 19.2 Inches On-Center?
Sixteen inches seems like a strange number to choose for stud, joist, or rafter spacing. It's not an easy number to add. In fact, to save carpenters from having to add 16-inch spacings together, most tape measures highlight the numbers that fall on 16-inch centers in red. The reason for spacing framing 16 or 24 inches on-center is so that an 8-foot-long sheet of plywood or OSB sheathing will land (or "break") in the middle of a stud, joist, rafter, or truss–leaving room for the next sheet to start from the same piece of framing.
Sixteen-inch spacing is common, and most of the time it's close enough to provide strength without using more materials than necessary. Twenty-four inches on-center spacing is also common and can save framing materials in walls, floors, and roofs, but only if the house is designed to work with the wider spacing.
Another spacing that is sometimes specified, for use with I-joists, is 19.2 inches. How do you measure 19.2 inches using a tape measure that's marked in 1/16-inch increments? Most contractor-grade tape measures have black diamonds at each of t...