What is king stud in construction?

King studs define and stabilize the sides of a framed opening. Unlike the jack stud, which is cut shorter to sit under the header and carry its load down to the bottom plate, the king stud runs the full wall height uninterrupted, from bottom plate to top plate, on the outboard side of each jack. Its job is lateral: it resists the racking and overturning forces at the opening and gives the jack stud and header assembly something rigid to fasten against. Every opening has at least one king stud on each side, with the jack stud nailed to its inboard face. Wider or heavily loaded openings call for doubled or tripled kings and jacks, as set by the framing plan or header schedule. King studs are full-length studs, so they are counted at the wall's stud length and never get cut down, which is what distinguishes them from cripples and jacks in the takeoff. The estimator picks them up as part of the opening assembly along with jacks, the header, and the cripples above and below.

King studs are counted as full-height pieces, two per simple opening, and converted to linear feet at the wall stud length for pricing. On the drawings, read the framing elevations and the window and door schedules, which show how many kings and jacks each opening requires. Count one king on each side for a standard opening and add kings where the schedule or header note calls for doubles on wide spans. Multiply the king count by the full stud length to get linear feet, then convert to board feet. Because kings are full length, they carry no special waste beyond normal stud waste, unlike the cut cripples and jacks.

Figures on this page are illustrative. Construction estimates depend on project-specific conditions, source documents, market pricing, and professional judgment. Ruh's AI assists the estimator and does not replace professional review: your team reviews, validates, and approves every estimate, bid, and pricing decision.