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Light
framing is the use of closely spaced members of dimension lumber size combined with sheathing to form structural elements
of a building. The structural elements provide rigidity, support for interior finish and exterior cladding, and a cavity for
the installation of insulation.
Light framing is
the most common method of residential construction in North America. It is also a form of construction that can be used on
a larger scale for commercial and public buildings. For example, the Forintek Canada Corp. forest products research facility
in Vancouver, Canada, a 100,000 sq. ft. building, uses light frame construction on a large scale to house offices and laboratories.
Where a typical wall in a residence might be a 2"
x 4" nom. extending 8', the walls in the Forintek building are built of 2" x 10" nom.studs which extend
16' from floor to ceiling. The result is a solid building meeting the exacting requirements for a research facility.
Light framing makes use of dimension lumber (generally sawn
lumber 2" nom. wide and up to 12" nom. deep) and manufactured wood products of comparable size to build structural
frameworks. These main structural members are used in concert with sheathing elements to provide rigidity for walls, floors,
and roofs. Typically, light frame members are spaced no further apart than 2'.
For some loading configurations, engineered wood products such as light frame trusses, prefabricated
wood I'joists, or other structural products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), parallel strand lumber (PSL) and glulam
may be used as framing elements. Where large or clear spans are a requirement, light framing members may be used in combination
with heavy beams or columns to transfer loads directly to foundations.
Frame
construction, by using small repetitive members and fasteners, develops a redundancy of design. This means that alternate
paths of load transmittal become available when the primary path fails. For this reason, frame construction is not prone to
sudden failure and is recognized as a good construction technique for resisting, for example seismic and wind forces.
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