The
modern way
wood framed structures are built these days as opposed to
balloon framing. This method came about partly as a result of increasd
fire safety, but also because of the
economy of using "
studs" as the wall
structural members. Balloon framed walls are built the full height from
subfloor to the
plates the
rafters sit on and the intermediate
floor joists rest on a
ledger board let into the studs. This creats a
draft space from the first story stud space to the second story stud space giving fire a path between the floors.
Fire blocking was used to close these spaces, but it was pretty
labor intensive.
Platform framing separates the floors with a top and double plate sealing the stud spaces below the second story joists. Also with the change from
lath and plaster finishes to
sheetrock or
drywall finishes, the nailing surfaces the double plate provides was needed for the top edge of the rock.
As the
forests were depleted, the longer straight lumber needed for the studs was harder to come by, so the modern stud became the primary vetical
structural member. Being only
92 1/4", they were easily handled by the reduced labor force as
wood framed construction became less labor intensive, and more useful lumber could be produced from smaller and lower quality
trees. Whole lumber mills were erected as
stud mills with that being the only product. The
second growth could be cut sooner because a desirable product could be made from
younger trees.