Red Seal Carpenter Practice Exam

What procedure is used to square an exterior framed wall prior to being sheathed?

1. Use the 3-4-5 method to square wall.

2. Use the first sheet of sheathing to square wall.

3. Measure the diagonals to square wall.

4. Line bottom plate and first stud up with floor sheathing to square wall.

The correct answer is: Measure the diagonals to square wall.

Using the 3-4-5 method to square a wall is a common and effective procedure in carpentry, particularly during the framing process. This method is based on the properties of a right triangle, where the lengths of the sides adhere to the Pythagorean theorem. Specifically, if you have one side of a triangle measuring 3 units, and another side measuring 4 units, the hypotenuse will equal 5 units. To square the wall, you start by measuring 3 feet from one corner along the bottom plate and marking that point. From the same corner, you then measure 4 feet along the perpendicular line and mark that point. Finally, you measure the distance between these two marks. If the distance is exactly 5 feet, then the wall is square. This method is efficient and allows for a quick check of squareness, ensuring that the structure is level and plumb before sheathing is applied. Using the first sheet of sheathing, measuring the diagonals, or aligning the bottom plate and first stud with the floor sheathing may provide a degree of squareness, but they do not employ the same reliability or specific geometric principles that guarantee accuracy. The 3-4-5 method is favored in framing