• New framing ideas save money and save energy.first floor framing image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
  
  The "balloon" or "stick framing" used in most modern, low-rise construction originated in the 1830s when mass-produced metal nails became available. Builders today use many of the original principles but many more have been modified to make way for new materials, and new forms of old materials. Today's construction framing ideas are no different in that regard, but they are different in that they now are considering energy and the environment.
  
  

Use Engineered Lumber

• Typical wooden beams require more supprt than laminated beams of the same size.Post and Beam in Adobe image by John Sfondilias from Fotolia.com
  
  Engineered lumber is widely used today for floor joists, called I-joists. Professional Builder reported nearly 50 percent of new homes in 2004 had I-joists. Laminate beams carry the heavy loads of buildings and they step in to handle spans that would not be possible with conventional lumber of a similar size. Engineered lumber does not change over time like dimensional lumber. Dimensional lumber is seldom perfectly seasoned, so as it ages-in-place it can twist, crack and warp. Engineered lumber stays the same as when it was installed.
  
  

Use Optimum Value Engineering

• Optimum value engineering describes a group of framing techniques that reduce the lumber, costs and natural resources invested in a building. To start, you design the building in 2-foot increments so you reduce waste when using common building materials that are sold in 2-foot increments. Apply this principle to the building's exterior dimensions since it won't work all the time for interior dimensions that have to accommodate materials that may not be in those increments. Install all studs, joists and rafters 2 feet on center and use just one top plate instead of two. Place second-floor joists, or rafters or trusses, directly over studs to transfer the loads through them instead of loading the top plate. Use steel plates or straps at corners to maintain the continuity of the single top plate.
  
  Size all headers for their particular loads and spans instead of making one-size-fits-all headers.
  
  

Frame for Energy Efficiency

• If you use OVE principles you can also create building frames that are more energy efficient. Framing walls with the studs 2 feet on center to each other reduces the amount of lumber in the walls and leaves more space for insulation. Build exterior wall corners with just two studs so insulation can be installed in the corners. Use drywall clips at the corners to replace the fastener locations previously provided by framing. Build insulated headers for exterior openings by reducing the lumber in the header to two main members separated by blocking at either end. The resulting cavity is then filled with insulation.
  
  Where interior walls connect to exterior walls build a ladder between two studs of the exterior wall. Attach the interior wall's end stud to that ladder. You can then insulate the exterior wall cavity where the walls meet.