How to Build a Bulkhead

Now that our HVAC rough-in is completed, I wanted to get the lines covered up and ready for drywall.  This turned into a pretty large project in the basement.  I ended up building a bulkhead (fancy word for wood frame that covers something up) to cover all of the exposed heating and cooling ducts. 

The simplest way (I think) is to build your framework on the ground.  Using 2x4's I made a simple frame with upright supports at 16" on center.   I had to build the same framework for each side of the ducts.

 Next, I raised the framework up and screwed it into the floor joists.  

Finally, I added the horizontal 2x4's at 16" on center as well.   It's not very complicated, but it takes a good amount of time to build the framework, make sure it is level, and hold it above your head to screw it in (this can be tricky when you are working by yourself!). 

This is the view of our long run of heating and cooling duct work in the basement.  As you can see, this was a pretty time consuming frame to build.  But, this will allow us to cover everything up with drywall and add a few can lights in the bulkhead.   It was a lot of work, but it should look great once the drywall is done.