Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Mar 29, 2011 05:27pm | #1

   With framing lumber, the crown is on the edge. Typically, a carpenter picks up the piece on one end and sights down the edge, if it humps up, that is considered the crown. On rafters and floor joists, the crown is placed up, figuring it will sag and somewhat straighten out over time. Crowned wall studs are set aside and cut up for shorter pieces since you don't want a hump or dish in a wall. This is true for any pieces that are crowned quite a bit, a little crown isn't a problem but a really bent piece shouldn't be used as a whole piece.

1. 
   acornw | Mar 30, 2011 03:17pm | #2

   That Reminds Me
   I once worked in a shop that had office walls built by cement truck drivers for winter work (long story). They were inexperienced and unsupervised, but knew you were supposed to crown the studs, but could not agree which way to place the crown. They were framing on the floor, then tipping up into place. Since they could not agree, they mitigated their losses democratically and ran one with the crown up, the next with the crown down, all the way along about 200 l/f of wall.

   For the 5 years I worked there, the walls were a source of embarrassment and entertainment.

   Dave S