Parts of a house Flashcards
Sill or sole plate
Pressure-treated two by fours or two by sixes that are bolted to the concrete foundation
Posts
Vertical supports for horizontal pieces. PT. Atop concrete footing typically
Girders and beams
Major horizontal members, supports joists
Joists
Typically 2x8 or 2x10 or 2x12s. Can also be manufactured I-beam. 16 inch or 24 inch on center o.c. Installed parallel to one another to support the subfloor and plumbing. Spanning entire house running from outside sill to outside sill across any girders.
Floor sheathing
5/8 inch or 3/4 inch thick 4 x 8‘ sheets of tongue and groove plywood or oriented strand board OSB.
Wall plates
2 x 4 or 2 x 6‘ horizontal members holding together a wall each wall has three plates one on bottom two on top. Top two are top plate or cap.
Studs
Vertical wall members nailed to the plates. 16 or 24 inch OC standard length 92 1/4 inch. With wall plates and drywall factored in that makes an 8 foot tall ceiling. Some houses have metal studs
Header
Horizontal between studs above window or door openings to transfer weight around the hole down to trimmers and cripples
Trimmers
Extend down from the edges of the header to the floor, sill or bottom plate
Cripples or jack studs
Short vertical, studs, extending from the top of the header to the top plate
Roof trusses
Typically 24 inch OC trusses support, the weight of a roof and its encumbered load such as snow via rafters and chords. A bottom cord, or joist cord and a top cord or the rafter cord. Sometimes additional interior webbing
Fascia and gutter boards
Often confused with one another, but effectively the same thing. Fascia would be the exterior decorative layer and gutter boards would be the more pragmatic interior board nailed directly to the rafter tails. Fascia could then be attached to the exterior of the gutter boards.
Roof and wall sheathing
Half inch or 5/8 inch thick, OSB, oriented, strand board, fixed to the exterior of the framing boards. Seals structure and helps to withstand lateral forces.
Housewrap and felt paper
Water and windproof barrier a fixed underneath siding or shingles to prevent water and wind from entering stud cavities or attic. Rain screen, etc..
Sealant
Essential adhesive, caulk, and other ceilings. Used for bonding different materials together such as floor sheathing to joists and to prevent water, leakage around windows, door frames, siding joints, plumbing, gaps under wall plates around pipe holes gap between baseboards and walls or door casings. Don’t buy the wrong one.
