Bearing Wall Wood

Other Materials

 

Wood is not the only material that load bearing walls are made out of. As time goes on, more and more people are using steel and concrete materials to create their load bearing walls as they can handle bigger loads. The benefit to using wood is that it is cheaper than most steal and concrete products, but it is not as strong and may not last as long. Most of the time, buildings are created using many different types of materials, such as a concrete foundation supporting a steel or wood load bearing structure. 

 

Steel

• Much stronger in compressive and tensile strength than wood

• Can span greater distances than wood

• More expensive than wood

• More difficult to install than wood

 

Concrete/ CMUs

• Much stronger compressive strength than wood

• Weaker tensile strength than wood

• Usually used as foundations and footings to support wooden or steel structures

 

Hay bales

• Uncommonly used mainly throughout the Mid-West

• Cheaper than wood

• Easier to construct than wood

• Not as reliable/ fire resistant as conventional materials