Parts of a Wall – 11 Framing Parts, Studs to Header

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 6 main parts 6

Stud The upright boards of the frame. They run between the plates, 16 or 24 inches apart.
Top plate (double top plate) The horizontal boards along the top of the wall. Doubled so what rests on the wall bears evenly.
Bottom plate (sole plate) The horizontal board along the bottom that the studs stand on.
Header The beam over an opening. It carries the load from above round it.
Rough opening The framed hole a window or door fits into. A little larger than the unit.
Sheathing Plywood or OSB panels nailed over the outside of the frame. They brace it and take the siding.

Round the window: 6 4

King stud The full-height stud at each side of an opening. It is beside the jack stud.
Jack stud (trimmer) The shorter stud inside the king stud that holds up the header.
Cripple stud A short stud above a header or below a sill. It keeps the 16-inch spacing.
Rough sill The flat board across the bottom of a window opening. The window sits on it.

Other 1

Blocking Short pieces between studs that stiffen the wall. They stop fire spreading up it and give things to fix to.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) Fine Homebuilding, Anatomy of a load-bearing wood-framed wall, https://www.finehomebuilding.com/project-guides/framing/anatomy-of-a-load-bearing-wood-framed-wall : studs spaced equally between plates, top plate (single or double) and bottom (sole) plate, rough openings for windows and doors, headers carried on jack studs between king studs, the saddle or rough sill, cripples, blocking, sheathing. (2) Wikipedia, Wall stud, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_stud : studs between top and bottom plates; king stud, trimmer or jack, cripple stud, sill, top plate or double top plate. (3) Wikipedia, Framing (construction), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_(construction) : headers, rough openings, blocking and fire blocks, wall sheathing of plywood or OSB that also braces the wall. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a wall frame as a builder names them, on a wood-framed wall seen from inside, with a window opening and sheathing on at one end. Start with the 6 main parts.

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The frame

Studs stand between a bottom plate on the floor and a doubled top plate. Short blocking between them stiffens the wall. Sheathing panels go over the outside and brace it.

Round the window

A header over the rough opening carries the load round it. It rests on a jack stud each side, nailed to a full-height king stud. A rough sill closes the bottom, and cripple studs fill above the header and below the sill.

Studs are spaced 16 or 24 inches apart, measured center to center; they carry the load on the top plate down to the bottom plate.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a king stud and a jack stud?

The king stud runs the full height of the wall, from bottom plate to top plate. The jack stud, or trimmer, is nailed inside it and is shorter: it stops under the header and holds it up.

What is a header in a wall?

A beam across the top of a window or door opening. It carries the weight from above round the opening, down through the jack studs.

What is a cripple stud?

A short stud that stops short of the wall's full height: above a header, or below a window's rough sill. It keeps the stud spacing across the opening.