Construction Tolerances

Light Frame Construction

• From 1/8" per 8' to 1" per 8' for verticalness - [1], with the tighter value for plaster or gypsum work.
• 1/4" per 8' for horizontal, with tighter tolerance for gypsum wallboard (drywall). Any 2 adjacent framing members can't be more than 1/8" off. If we use panels, then 1/8" per 4' means 1" over 32 feet.

Diagonal for Foundation

• 1/2" flat, or 1/4" every 10 feet. [2]
• 50 foot diagonal of a 3-4-5 triangle should be within 3/8" [3]