“11.15 Estimating Materials To estimate wall and ceiling framing materials, first determine the total lineal feet of the walls. Add the length of each wall and partition. The plans include the dimensions of outside walls. These can be added together. Very short partitions may not be dimensioned. In this case, use a scale on the drawing. It is a good idea to place a colored pencil check mark on each wall and partition as its length is added to the list. For plates, multiply the total figure by three (one sole plate plus two top plates) if you are using a double top plate or by two if you are using a single top plate. Add about 10% for waste. Order this number of linear feet of lumber in random lengths or convert to the number of pieces of a specific length. Each lineal foot of 2×4 equals 2/3 bd ft. Each lineal foot of 2×6 equals 1 bd ft. Thus, the total lineal feet of walls and partitions can be quickly converted to board measure, if required. For example: Wall and partition length = 240 Total plate material = length × 3 + 10%     = 240 × 3 + 10%     = 792 lineal ft     = or 57 pcs     = 2″ × 4″ × 14′-0″ 11.15.1 Estimating Studs The total length of all walls and partitions is also used to estimate the number of studs required. When studs are spaced 16″ OC, multiply the total length (in feet) by 3/4. If the framing is 24″ OC, divide the total length by 2. Next, add two more studs for each corner, intersection, and opening. Using 240′ for the wall length, assume there are 12 corners, 10 intersections, 20 openings, and the framing is 16″ OC. Find the number of studs needed, including outside walls and partitions:”