Stud & Framing Calculator
How many studs the wall actually eats — on-center count, corner and opening extras, plates, and the board feet to price it.
Counts only — studs, plates, board feet. Header sizing, load paths, and shear design come from the plans and the engineer, never from this page.
How the math works
Wall studs = the wall length in inches ÷ your spacing, rounded up, plus one to close the end. Corners and openings are not in that math, so they are separate lines: three extra studs per corner and four per opening (king, jack, and cripples) are the working planning defaults — both are inputs, because your framer’s habit wins. Plates are lineal feet: the wall length × (top plates + one bottom plate). Board feet use the nominal size: a 2×4 carries 0.667 BF per lineal foot, a 2×6 carries 1.0.
This counts lumber. It never sizes it — header spans, load paths, and shear requirements come from the plans, not a calculator.
A worked example
A 40 ft wall, 8 ft tall, studs at 16 in on center: 31 wall studs, plus 2 corners × 3 and 2 openings × 4 = 14 extras, 45 exact. At 10% waste, buy 50 studs. Plates at two top + one bottom = 120 lineal ft; total lumber 520 lineal ft = 346.68 board feet of 2×4.
Questions from the field
How many studs do I need for a 40 ft wall? At 16 in on center, 31 in the run — then add corners and openings. With two of each at the planning extras, 45 exact and 50 to buy at 10% waste.
Why do openings need extra studs? Every door and window opening interrupts the layout and needs king and jack studs plus cripples above and below — four extra per opening is the standard planning allowance.
How many board feet is a 2×4 stud? Nominal math: 2 × 4 × length(ft) ÷ 12. An 8 ft 2×4 is 5.33 board feet; per lineal foot it is 0.667.
Does this calculator size my headers? No. It counts studs and plates only. Header and beam sizing is a span and load question for the plans.
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