# Build a stud partition or a joist floor

Lay out a timber stud frame with noggins and openings, or a run of joists with a trimmed opening, as an advisory layout.

> **AI credit.** Some steps use AI credit. Those are the steps that ask the assistant. You can do the other steps without credit. AI help is pay-as-you-go. No compulsory subscription. Drawing by hand is free for personal use. To add credit, open the account menu in the app. Prices: https://kerfcraft.app/pricing

These are setting-out layouts, not structural design: spans, loads, fixings and Building Regulations are not checked. Get structural design for anything load-bearing.

![A stud partition from the front, with a door opening, a doubled head and a row of noggins.](/docs/img/how-to/stud-frame.jpg)

## Lay out a stud frame

1. Click **Library…** in the toolbar.
2. Under **Built from parameters**, click **Stud frame**.
3. In the **Properties** panel, under **Parameters**, type the **width** and **height**, and press Enter.
4. If necessary, change the **spacing** of the studs. The default is 400 mm.

The sample **File ▸ Sample projects ▸ C24 stud partition with door** is a finished example.

## Add a door or window opening

In **openings**, type each opening, with a `;` between two openings:

- A door: `door:x=600,w=826,h=2040`
- A window: `window:x=1500,w=900,h=1050,sill=900`

The value `x` is the distance from the left outer edge of the frame. The values `w` and `h` are the size of the opening. The value `sill` is the height of a window opening above the floor. Leave space each side for a king stud and a jack stud.

The head over an opening is a doubled flat member of the frame timber, not a designed lintel.

## Lay out a joist floor

1. Click **Library…** in the toolbar.
2. Under **Built from parameters**, click **Joists**.
3. In the **Properties** panel, under **Parameters**, type the **span** and the **width**.

For a stairwell or a hatch, type an **opening**, for example `x=800,y=1000,w=900,l=1200`. The value `w` is along the width, and `l` is along the span. The trimmers and trimming joists round it are doubled.

You can also ask the assistant, for example "a 3 m long, 2.4 m high stud partition at 400 centres".