Now that we know about the foundation and site. lets start building the house!!!

First, lets look at some of the basics (Click to enlarge photo)--->>

For the most part, a homes frame is made from trees. The trees are all cut to uniform (standard) sizes then strategically assembled to control the homes movement. (Remember, dynamic and static loads are what we engineer stride to control.) The home's frame has two basic functions.

• The first purpose is structural. We need a skeleton to hold everything up like the roof, the floors and the walls. An engineer in the earlier stages of planning your home will calculate the load requirements and determined the framing needs to support the homes weight plus add-ons. (You, a sofa, dogs, cats, washer, dryer, etc.)

• The second purpose is so we have a place for our wives to hang pictures. (Just joking!) The exterior and interior components of the home use the frame to keep things in place like doors, windows, walls and exterior siding.

Without going into some serious details, the main components of a homes frame are the sill plates, top plates, joists and studs. There are other components, but I wouldn't want both of us to fall asleep.

As you can see in the above illustrations, the frame of a home looks relatively simple and for the most part, it is.

The key thing to remember is that the frame is the homes structural skeleton. Without a frame, our homes would not stand upright.

Now, one more thing to remember...

The magic word here is 'structure'. Structure implies that we need to cover what that means and review the importance of having a sound structure.

The frame is designed to give the home owner some flexibility. There are two wall (framed) structures to discuss.

• Load bearing walls that are structurally integral in maintaining the homes integrity.

• Non-load bearing walls that are used to separate rooms inside the home.

Load bearing walls should NEVER be moved or re-moved without an engineers review and having a backup plan to replace the structural intent of the wall being moved or removed. Imagine if a doctor removed your femur (Leg bone) and decided to use it to replace you index finger. What would happen if you tried to stand up??? oops!! then crash!!

Non-load bearing walls if removed will only change appearance - like loosing a finger - it looks different, but you can still function.

Now lets continue to the roof...