In ,
Doug Miller typed:
I'm just finishing the demolition phase of a minor
remodeling project in my basement, removing about 8 feet of
wall installed by a previous homeowner. This project
teaches a lesson:

How NOT to Build a Wall, in Ten Easy Steps

1. Install the studs at random intervals.
2. Don't bother securing the bottom plate to the floor. If
you cut a few of the studs just a bit long, and force-fit
them, friction will keep the bottom plate in place.
3. Don't bother nailing those studs in place. Friction,
remember?
4. Attach remaining studs to plates with six-penny box
nails.
5. Use eight at each end because they're so small.
6. It's OK to use untreated lumber for the bottom plate.
Water seepage won't harm fir, will it?
7. Use regular sheetrock for the entire wall. Water seepage
won't harm that either, will it?
8. The doorpost doesn't need to be attached to the bottom
plate. The sheetrock will keep it from moving.
9. Nail the sheetrock every 3 inches along each vertical
edge.
10. That gives you enough nails that you don't need to nail
it anywhere else.

And don't _even_ get me started on the electrical code
violations I found inside that wall...

Why, oh why, do people with no knowledge or experience of
the building trades imagine that they are competent to do
their own construction?

Not all do; some post here instead.