External structure

With most traditional buildings, the walls are the major loadbearing element of the structure. The walls might bear:

the combined loads of the building itself including roof, walls, floors;

‘live’ loads, such as people, furniture, equipment;

wind loads.

Large-scale buildings, such as factories or multi-storey offices, usually employ a framed structure, where columns and beams are the major load-carrying elements. Here, the primary function of the walls is to provide weather protection. This chapter is mainly concerned with loadbearing external walls.