How do you recognize a “carrier” wall of a building?

A wall it is said carrier When it fulfills, in addition to the physical closure of spaces from other exteriors or interiors, also and above all to one structural function going to contribute to the stability of the building. Although this definition is sufficiently clear and objective, distinguish a carrier’s wall by other types of wall It is not an immediate thing, especially for non -employees. Often, when you deal with renovation works In its apartment, the new arrangement of the internal spaces is inconsistent with the structural needs of the building and its bearing walls, usually thickness not less than 20-30 cmwhich requires interventions aimed at compensating these inconsistencies. For this reason, it is often necessary tointervention by a technician To understand which works they can and cannot be done towards a “simple wall”. So how do you deal with the problem?

What is a wall brought

A wall is carrier as it fulfills a clear structural functionthat is, it represents the part of the building to which the burden of supporting loads is responsible for, is vertical coming from any walls above and by the floors that are grafted there, that horizontalthat is, for example, those generated by possible seismic events. The load -bearing walls therefore exist only if the structure is built, in part or totally, masonry: We cannot have load -bearing walls if the structure is made in full in reinforced concrete, steel or wood. This is because, in the latter cases, the structural function of the building is responsible for other elements, such as beams And pillarswhile all the other walls present become only “weight” for the structural part. Nonetheless, it should be noted that in the event that we deal with a mixed building, we could find load -bearing walls even in the presence, for example, of reinforced concrete beams.

The size of a supporting wall It can also be a few metersespecially when dealing with buildings of different floors, but we are unlikely to do with load -bearing walls of less than less than 20-30 cm. The smaller thicknesses are on the highest floors, while we have the low floors major thicknesses.

From the point of view of materials, the load -bearing walls can be made with various types of elements, both brick That stones (historically used), full or even drilled. The latter, although possible, are still less widespread in constructive practice. These elements are superimposed in work through malte To achieve the continuity of the wall.

How to recognize a supporting wall

A first useful distinction to understand if there is the presence of load -bearing walls is, as mentioned, theIdentification of the primary structural system. Once you understand this, then it is possible to go for complete or partial exclusion, depending on whether or not they exist or not masonry areas that replace, for various reasons, the structural shirt of beams and pillars (mixed buildings). In masonry buildings, i.e. where reinforced concrete elements or steel are completely absent, potentially each wall can fulfill a structural function, therefore be load -bearing. Indeed:

• As for the vertical loadsthe load -bearing walls can be identified by understanding how i floors are made and on which walls they go to download their weight (and the weight of what is above them). In many cases, this distinction can also be a direct consequence of the thicknesses of the walls, all the greater the more loaded they must bear.
• In the case of horizontal actionsdistinguishing a masonry bearing from an unsquitant is relatively complex to do “eye“

In fact, therefore, understanding with certainty if – in a masonry building – a wall is load -bearing or not it is not something that can be done in nose! We need the support of a technician who has aware of the static operation of the structural body and can judge the importance of one wall with respect to another.

It should be emphasized that bearing walls can also be made in reinforced concrete or woodhardly in steel. In this case we talk about walls or sects. Their function in the structural organism is mainly associated with obtaining stiffness and resistance against horizontal actions, unlike the walls that instead also and mainly for vertical loads.