Parts of a house

Question 1

Sill or sole plate

Answer 1

Pressure-treated two by fours or two by sixes that are bolted to the concrete foundation

Question 2

Posts

Answer 2

Vertical supports for horizontal pieces. PT. Atop concrete footing typically

Question 3

Girders and beams

Answer 3

Major horizontal members, supports joists

Question 4

Joists

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

Floor sheathing

Answer 5

5/8 inch or 3/4 inch thick 4 x 8‘ sheets of tongue and groove plywood or oriented strand board OSB.

Question 6

Wall plates

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Studs

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Header

Answer 8

Horizontal between studs above window or door openings to transfer weight around the hole down to trimmers and cripples

Question 9

Trimmers

Answer 9

Extend down from the edges of the header to the floor, sill or bottom plate

Question 10

Cripples or jack studs

Answer 10

Short vertical, studs, extending from the top of the header to the top plate

Question 11

Roof trusses

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Fascia and gutter boards

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

Roof and wall sheathing

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

Housewrap and felt paper

Answer 14

Water and windproof barrier a fixed underneath siding or shingles to prevent water and wind from entering stud cavities or attic. Rain screen, etc..

Question 15

Sealant

Answer 15

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.