StudThe 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.
HeaderThe beam over an opening. It carries the load from above round it.
Rough openingThe framed hole a window or door fits into. A little larger than the unit.
SheathingPlywood or OSB panels nailed over the outside of the frame. They brace it and take the siding.
Round the window: 6 4
King studThe 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 studA short stud above a header or below a sill. It keeps the 16-inch spacing.
Rough sillThe flat board across the bottom of a window opening. The window sits on it.
Other 1
BlockingShort 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
A wall frame diagram without labels, on one sheet: studs between the plates, a framed window opening in the middle, panels over one end. Eleven lines lead off the parts, and each ends in empty space.
Read the full guide
Eleven lines and a word bank
Word bank, in the order the numbered copy counts them: stud, top plate, bottom plate, header, king stud, jack stud, cripple stud, rough sill, rough opening, blocking, sheathing. Each line starts at a dot on its part: six dots sit round the window, four on the plain frame to its left, one on the panels at the right.
Lines that get swapped on a blank frame
Two uprights stand together at each edge of the window. The outer one reaches the top plate: king stud. The inner one stops under the header: jack stud. Two flat boards get mixed up: the rough sill under the window hole, the bottom plate along the floor. The rough opening line starts in the hole itself, on no piece of wood.
A class sheet may print lintel for header, and saddle or sill for rough sill.
For a first lesson, ask for six names only: stud, top plate, bottom plate, header, rough opening and sheathing.
The cripple stud line starts above the header. The short studs under the rough sill take the same name and have no line.
Questions and answers
Why does a wall have a double top plate?
Where the framing above bears on a wall, a second top plate goes over the first with its joints offset, so it rests on an unbroken surface. It also laps the first plate at corners and ties the walls together.
What is a rough opening in a wall?
The hole framed into a wall for a window or a door. On this sheet it is the window hole, closed by the header above, the rough sill below and a jack stud at each side.
What is sheathing on a wall frame?
Panels fixed over the outside of the studs. Plywood and oriented strand board are stiff enough to brace the frame and keep it square. Siding usually goes over the sheathing.
Does the wall frame diagram without labels come with an answer key?
Yes. The key is this sheet with a name at the end of each of the eleven lines. Three carry a second name in brackets: double top plate, sole plate and trimmer.