Precut Bottom Plates in Doorways
Avoid damaging the floor by cutting part of the rough opening before standing and securing the wall.
Like most framers, when I’m building a wall with a doorway in it, I leave the bottom plate in place and cut it out of the door opening after the wall has been stood up and secured. Before I do that, however, I like to make two 3⁄4-in.-deep cuts in the bottom of the plate that align with the rough opening of the door. That way, when it comes time to cut out that section of plate, I don’t need to cut all the way through and gouge up the subfloor or dull the blade of my reciprocating saw on a concrete floor in the process.
— Aron Jones; Grand Manan Island, N.B., Canada
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