Structural Framing Built Straight, Square, and Strong

Materials and Code, Done Right

We frame with the right material for the job. Dimensional SPF lumber for standard walls and platforms, and engineered products where spans and loads call for them: LVL and glulam beams for long headers and open floor plans, I-joists for flat, quiet floor systems, and rim board that ties it all together. Choosing engineered lumber where it belongs prevents the sag, bounce, and callback problems that show up years later.

Wind resistance is not optional on the Gulf Coast. We install a continuous load path from roof to foundation using hurricane ties and hangers, properly nailed structural sheathing for shear walls, and anchor bolts and hold-downs sized to the engineer's plan. Load-bearing and shear walls are framed and connected exactly as drawn, and non-structural partitions are kept clearly separate so nothing carries weight it was never meant to.

Framing Additions Into Existing Homes

Tying new framing into an older Houston home is its own discipline. Decades-old bungalows and mid-century houses settle, so plates rarely start level and existing members are not always where the plans assume. We scribe new work to the structure that is actually there, sister and reinforce original framing where new loads land, and detail the connection so an addition reads as part of the original house instead of bolted onto it. Getting this right up front is what lets an addition pass frame inspection clean and gives the finish trades a square structure to work from.

Lumber, Moisture, and Termites

Framing lumber that arrives at moisture content well above what the finished house will hold shrinks as it dries, and that shrinkage is what cracks drywall and opens trim joints in the first year. We source kiln-dried lumber, keep it off the ground and covered on site, and push to dry in the structure quickly so it stops taking on Gulf Coast humidity. Before drywall we check moisture content rather than guessing, because a frame that is closed in wet is a frame that moves later.

Termite pressure in Houston is among the highest in the country, and the frame is what they eat. Bottom plates on concrete are pressure-treated, framing is kept clear of soil contact and grade, and we coordinate with the termite pretreatment so the slab and perimeter are protected before the walls go up. Borate-treated framing is an option for owners who want additional protection in the wall assemblies themselves.

Commercial and Light-Gauge Steel Framing

Commercial interiors are framed in light-gauge steel, and the rules are different. Studs are sized by gauge and span for the wall height and the finish weight, tracks are anchored to the slab and the structure, and deflection track at the top lets the building move without loading the partition. Fire-rated and sound-rated walls need the studs, blocking, and openings placed exactly to the tested assembly, and header and jamb framing at doors has to carry hardware loads without flex. Our crews frame office, retail, and medical buildouts to those standards, and coordinate with the mechanical and electrical trades so the wall cavities carry what the drawings show.