A frame is the backbone of any home, and to insure the backbone of your house is strong and straight, think about Southern Pine finger-jointed studs. These studs are both strong and environmentally friendly.

In our example Project House we wanted to construct a strong, durable frame so we used Southern Yellow Pine wood. The design values assigned to Southern Pine are among the highest for all softwoods. Grade-marked Southern Pine dimension lumber must be dried to 19% moisture content or less. Southern Pine’s ability to hold fasteners is among the highest of the softwoods and drying enhances nail holding while reducing the tendency for "nail pops" associated with drywall construction.

For the walls of our frame we used 2x4 finger-jointed studs from DelticTimber Corporation. They’re called "finger-jointed" because they’re fabricated from short pieces with notches cut into each end. These pieces are kiln-dried then glued together with a super-strong adhesive to create the stud. Straightness is the most important characteristic for a stud. Because they are manufactured from these shorter pieces of kiln-dried lumber, finger-jointed studs are extremely straight and dimensionally stable. The studs are Precision End Trimmed (P.E.T.) to the exact length needed, saving time and money by reducing job site waste.

For the other framing elements, like the top and bottom plates of the framed walls, the headers above door and window openings, and the cornice work and ceiling joists, we used Southern Pine lumber from Gulf States Paper Corporation. All Southern Pine lumber is graded in accordance with the rules of the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau, Timber Products Inspection, Inc., Renewable Resource Associates, and other organizations. After the lumber passes inspection, it is marked with a stamp that tells the inspection association, lumber grade, mill identification number, lumber species, moisture content, and that it has been heat treated.

To support our media room over the garage we used glue laminated headers provided by Mississippi Laminators, Inc. Glue laminated headers are made by face-laminating dimension lumber with structural adhesives. This process produces beams of great strength that have a high degree of reliability. Additionally, the headers can be manufactured to an almost unlimited depth, meaning the product can be made to whatever size the project calls for.