The Construction of Walls

On top of the foundation, and sometimes the floor, sit walls. These are used to hold the roof up, keep the weather out, provide security, and internally divide up the space creating rooms. Some walls are structural and others are not. Those that are not will be refered to as partitions.

All walls help brace a building, and that is a major factor an interior designer should be aware of as they are primarily involved in the reshaping and construction of interiors. Walls are made in a number of ways and from many different materials and finishes.

Depending on where it is to be constructed, it may have to withstand minor forces or major forces such as hurricanes and earthquakes due to its location. A typical timber framed wall that sits on the foundation or the floor would be made up of the following members.

Bottom plate. This is the horizontal member between floor and foundation that the studs sit on.

Top plate. This is the horizontal member between the roof and where the studs finish.

Studs. These are the main vertical members that you see. They are usually spaced between 400 and 600 millimetres for the particular strength and to suit common sheet sizes. You will note how the floor and roof framing spacings are similar. This is generally throughout a building with the sizes of members increasing for greater spans and loads. Timber has a specific strength that has been determined by engineers and the spacing and sizing of timbers in a building are calibrated to this.

Jack studs. These are studs that do not run the full height of the floor to ceiling e.g. under a window.

Trimmer studs. These are the studs or vertical members that may frame up an opening. Note that around doorways and windows, which have movement and vibration, or where there is an opening in walls, the opening will be trimmed and often have studs side by side for added strength.

Dwangs. These are the small horizontal members that are fixed between the studs. They stiffen the frame and give support for linings and fixings.

Diagram of timber wall framing Lintels. These are the horizontal members that go across the top of an opening such as a doorway or window. They are heavier than a top plate as they are supporting all construction above the opening. Trimmers These are the non-load bearing horizontal members used to frame the opening.

Bracing. This helps keep the frame square. It does so by forming triangular modules within the square frame. The triangle stops any lateral movement. Note that sometimes sheet bracing is used. It may be in the form of plywood or similar. It does the same job as the angled bracing but obviously increases the overall strength of the wall by having the additional ply skin.

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