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A wall stud is a vertical repetitive framing member in a building's wall of smaller cross section than a post. It is a fundamental element in frame building.
Stud is an ancient word related to similar words in Old English, Old Norse, Middle High German, and Old Teutonic generally meaning prop or support. [1] Other historical words with similar meaning are quarter [1] and scantling [2] (one sense meaning a smaller timber, not necessarily the same use). Stick is a colloquial term for both framing lumber (timber) and a "timber tree" [3] (a tree trunk good for using as lumber (timber)); thus, the names "stick and platform", "stick and frame", "stick and box", or simply stick framing. The stud height usually determines the ceiling height, thus sayings like: "...These rooms were usually high in stud..." [1]
Studs form walls and may carry vertical structural loads or be non load-bearing, such as in partition walls, which only separate spaces. They hold in place the windows, doors, interior finish, exterior sheathing or siding, insulation and utilities and help give shape to a building. Studs run from sill plate to wall plate. In modern construction, studs are anchored to the plates in a way, such as using fasteners, to prevent the building from being lifted off the foundation by severe wind or earthquake.
Studs are usually slender, so more studs are needed than in post and beam framing. Sometimes studs are long, as in balloon framing, where the studs extend two stories and carry a ledger which carries joists. Balloon framing has been made illegal in new construction in many jurisdictions for fire safety reasons because the open wall cavities allow fire to quickly spread such as from a basement to an attic; the plates and platforms in platform framing provide a passive fire stop inside the walls, and so are deemed much safer by fire safety officials. Being thinner and lighter, stick construction techniques are easier to cut and carry and is speedier than the timber framing.
In the United States and Canada, studs are traditionally made of wood, usually 2×4 or 2×6 by name; however, these historical dimensions have been reduced but still carry the name of "two by four" and "two by six". Typical dimensions of today's "two by four" is 1.5 by 3.5 inches (38 mm × 89 mm) dimensional lumber prior to sanding and are typically placed 16 inches (406 mm) from each other's center, but sometimes also at 12 inches (305 mm) or 24 inches (610 mm). The wood needs to be dry when used, or problems may occur as the studs shrink and twist as they dry out. Steel studs are gaining popularity as a non-combustible alternative, especially for non load-bearing walls, and are required in some firewalls.
In New Zealand, the required lumber size and spacing of wall studs are determined using NZS 3604 Timber-framed buildings table 8.2 for loadbearing walls and table 8.4 for non-loadbearing walls. [4]
Studs are the vertical members of a timber- or metal-framed wall. The studs are spaced equally to suit the dimensions of the covering sheet materials, usually 600 mm (24 inches) between the centers.
Studs are used to frame around window and door openings are given different names, including:
A building technique mostly associated with Lincolnshire, England, and parts of Scotland gets part of its name from the studs: mud and stud (stud and mud). This building method uses studs in a framework which is then totally covered with mud which resembles the building material cob. [5] Another traditional building method is called stud and plaster where the plaster walls are held by lath on the studs. Studs are also the namesake of a type of timber framing called close studding.
Based on the American West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau (WCLIB) grading rules, [6] there is only one grade of stud: STUD. A stud is graded for vertical application and its stress requirements and allowable visual defects reflect that application. A stud is most similar to a #2 grade, which is held to a higher standard during grading. The biggest difference between the two is the frequency, placement and size of knots and overall allowable wane.
Adobe is a building material made from earth and organic materials. Adobe is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of earthen construction, or various architectural styles like Pueblo Revival or Territorial Revival. Most adobe buildings are similar in appearance to cob and rammed earth buildings. Adobe is among the earliest building materials, and is used throughout the world.
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes, including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing. Lumber has many uses beyond home building. Lumber is sometimes referred to as timber as an archaic term and still in England, while in most parts of the world the term timber refers specifically to unprocessed wood fiber, such as cut logs or standing trees that have yet to be cut.
Cordwood construction is a term used for a natural building method in which short logs are piled crosswise to build a wall, using mortar or cob to permanently secure them. This technique can use local materials at minimal cost.
Timber framing and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the structural frame of load-bearing timber is left exposed on the exterior of the building it may be referred to as half-timbered, and in many cases the infill between timbers will be used for decorative effect. The country most known for this kind of architecture is Germany, where timber-framed houses are spread all over the country.
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, designed only to keep the weather out and the people in. Because the curtain wall façade carries no structural load beyond its own dead load weight, it can be made of lightweight materials. The wall transfers lateral wind loads upon it to the main building structure through connections at floors or columns of the building.
The steel square is a tool used in carpentry. Carpenters use various tools to lay out structures that are square, many of which are made of steel, but the name steel square refers to a specific long-armed square that has additional uses for measurement, especially of various angles. It consists of a long, wider arm and a shorter, narrower arm, which meet at an angle of 90 degrees. Today the steel square is more commonly referred to as the framing square or carpenter's square, and such squares are no longer invariably made of steel ; they can also be made of aluminum or polymers, which are light and resistant to rust.
The architecture of the California missions was influenced by several factors, those being the limitations in the construction materials that were on hand, an overall lack of skilled labor, and a desire on the part of the founding priests to emulate notable structures in their Spanish homeland. While no two mission complexes are identical, they all employed the same basic building style.
Framing, in construction, is the fitting together of pieces to give a structure support and shape. Framing materials are usually wood, engineered wood, or structural steel. The alternative to framed construction is generally called mass wall construction, where horizontal layers of stacked materials such as log building, masonry, rammed earth, adobe, etc. are used without framing.
Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The development of this technique made the construction of the skyscraper possible.
A plate or wall plate is a horizontal, structural, load-bearing member in wooden building framing.
Shoring is the process of temporarily supporting a building, vessel, structure, or trench with shores (props) when in danger of collapse or during repairs or alterations. Shoring comes from shore, a timber or metal prop. Shoring may be vertical, angled, or horizontal.
Domestic roof construction is the framing and roof covering which is found on most detached houses in cold and temperate climates. Such roofs are built with mostly timber, take a number of different shapes, and are covered with a variety of materials.
A storey pole is a length of narrow board usually cut to the height of one storey. It is used as a layout tool for any kind of repeated work in carpentry including stair-building, framing, timber framing, siding, brickwork, and setting tiles. The pole is marked for the heights from (usually) the floor platform of a building for dimensions such as window sill heights, window top heights, exterior door heights, interior door heights, wall gas jet heights and the level of the next storey joists. It makes for quick, repeatable measurements without the need of otherwise calibrated measuring devices or workers skilled in using them.
This glossary of woodworking lists a number of specialized terms and concepts used in woodworking, carpentry, and related disciplines.
A sill plate or sole plate in construction and architecture is the bottom horizontal member of a wall or building to which vertical members are attached. The word "plate" is typically omitted in America and carpenters speak simply of the "sill". Other names are ground plate, ground sill, groundsel, night plate, and midnight sill.
Pole framing or post-frame construction is a simplified building technique that is an alternative to the labor-intensive traditional timber framing technique. It uses large poles or posts buried in the ground or on a foundation to provide the vertical structural support, along with girts to provide horizontal support. The method was developed and matured during the 1930s as agricultural practices changed, including the shift toward engine-powered farm equipment and the demand for cheaper, larger barns and storage areas.
Cold-formed steel (CFS) is the common term for steel products shaped by cold-working processes carried out near room temperature, such as rolling, pressing, stamping, bending, etc. Stock bars and sheets of cold-rolled steel (CRS) are commonly used in all areas of manufacturing. The terms are opposed to hot-formed steel and hot-rolled steel.
Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw. Wattle and daub has been used for at least 6,000 years and is still an important construction method in many parts of the world. Many historic buildings include wattle and daub construction.
American historic carpentry is the historic methods with which wooden buildings were built in what is now the United States since European settlement. A number of methods were used to form the wooden walls and the types of structural carpentry are often defined by the wall, floor, and roof construction such as log, timber framed, balloon framed, or stacked plank. Some types of historic houses are called plank houses but plank house has several meanings which are discussed below. Roofs were almost always framed with wood, sometimes with timber roof trusses. Stone and brick buildings also have some wood framing for floors, interior walls and roofs.
NZS 3604 Timber-framed buildings is a New Zealand technical standard which sets out specifications and methods for designing and constructing light timber-framed houses and other low-rise buildings. When read together with the amendments in Building Code acceptable solution B1/AS1, it allows the construction of code-compliant buildings up to three storeys high on good ground without the need for specific structural engineering. The standard is maintained by Standards New Zealand.
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