Why we stopped ballon framing 👍 #carpentry #framing #codes #building #learn

This is a two-story house with a basement. This wall is balloon framed and this wall is platform framed. The main difference between platform framing and balloon framing, balloon framing required long lumber typically 16 to 20-ft long. Platform framing typically uses 8 to 10-ft studs. Short walls are easy to lift and tall walls are much harder to lift. These long spans were easier with old growth wood and shorter walls work better with sustainable lumber. These nails and this ledger are accounted for all the load that would be on your floor. In this case, when a load is applied, no fasteners are handling the load. Platform framing is done in sections. The joist and subfloor split these two walls. As you get floor load, the weight goes down into your joist, travels across, and will go fully down the stud wall. This does not count on nails or fasteners to hold your floor weight. For balloon framed, it's common that a ledger board would get inset into the stud wall. This ledger being recessed in the stud wall was not always the case. So, as your floor load goes through your joist and comes down your stud wall, it counts on these fasteners and this ledger to handle the floor weight. It's often thought that this is the main issue with balloon framing, but it isn't. Ledgers are still used on decks, pole barns, and other structures. Also, a ledger failure could allow the entire floor to collapse at once. For example, a more common issue is that this would not have fire blocking. So, if a fire starts, this can travel from your basement all the way up very quickly. Let's see what happens if there's a fire in your basement. As you see, the fire travels up these bays and easily makes it upstairs. On this side, the fire doesn't make it up because there's blocking in these areas. This is what makes fire blocking super important and why we don't balloon frame anymore. Thanks for watching.