Was old framing better than New? 🤔 #framing #history #balloonframe #timberframe

Was old framing better? Strength was not why we quit timber framing. So why do we go from massive timber and wooden pegs to tiny 2 by 4's and OSB? Timber framing depends on joinery. Joints were drilled and pegs were installed. The joinery would lock everything together and it was incredibly strong. But this large timber was heavy and these joints required skilled carpentry. With much fewer structural members, if we remove critical connections, one joint can cause us to collapse. So if timber framing was so strong, then why did we start balloon framing? Balloon framing changed how houses were built. As time went on, lumber has gotten smaller and smaller. Balloon framing relied heavily on machine sawn lumber and mass produced nails. Balloon framing studs ran from the bottom plate continuously up to the top of the structure. And likely called balloon framing because it was much lighter than timber framing. The joists would sit on top of a led in ledger. And the led ins and nails is what held the floor joist. And this allowed for quick connections and made framing easier than older methods. But balloon framing had its own set of problems. Led ins were a critical failure point and the lack of blocking allowed fire to easily run up the stud base. But this isn't why we stopped balloon framing. Long straight studs became harder and more expensive to supply and platform framing gave us something to work on and build one floor at a time. Now instead of our subfloor counting on a one by ledger, our subfloor and our joists count on the continuous strength of a double top plate. So instead of counting on one massive timber, we count on hundreds of studs to handle downward forces. And even this cheap looking OSB keeps the structure from racking. But even with modern nails, connectors, and tools, now we run into of that can be much harder to find. If your house doesn't get properly flashed, mold and rot can hide in your walls for years. So, I wouldn't be worried about what size your lumber is. I would worry about a leak that was never fixed. Thanks for watching.