FRAMING

A house's skeleton is called the frame. Though some new homes utilize steel framing, most houses are made of wooden beams, floor joists, walls studs, roof rafters and related components.

To insure the structure's strength, these parts are sized and connected in accord with building codes that are based on basic load engineering principles.

It's important to know which parts are critical to a house's structure so that you don't compromise its strength when remodeling or doing work that involves cutting into framing members.

For example, if you remove part or all of a load-bearing wall without reinforcing the structure, floors and roof may sag and windows and doors may stick. Or worse, part of the house may collapse.