Housing
In housing, load-bearing walls are most common in the light construction method known as "platform framing", and each load-bearing wall sits on a wall sill plate which is mated to the lowest base plate. The sills are bolted to the masonry or concrete foundation.
The top plate or ceiling plate is the top of the wall, which sits just below the platform of the next floor (at the ceiling). The base plate or floor plate is the bottom attachment point for the wall studs. Using a top plate and a bottom plate, a wall can be constructed while it lies on its side, allowing for end-nailing of the studs between two plates, and then the finished wall can be tipped up vertically into place atop the wall sill; this not only improves accuracy and shortens construction time, but also produces a stronger wall.
Read more about this topic: Load-bearing Wall
Famous quotes containing the word housing:
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