Exterior walls that connects ceiling, roof or upper
floor loads to the foundation are load bearing. Internal
walls that support joists to foundations are also
bearing walls. Bearing walls usually have perpendicular
joists or rafters resting on top of them and foundations
underneath them.
Foundation and Footing
A house always needs a strong foundation. Depending
upon where a house was built, the foundation may be
made of stone, brick, preservative-treated lumber,
concrete block or poured concrete. Most houses have
a raised, perimeter foundation that supports floors
and walls. There are three types of conventional concrete
foundations. They are:
Poured concrete
A poured-concrete foundation may be a raised foundation,
a flat slab or a combination of the two. Houses in
warm climates may have a monolithic slab, where footings,
foundation and slab are a single unit.
Concrete blocks
Concrete blocks are used for standard foundation wall
construction. Here they are supported by a concrete
footing; both are reinforced with steel rods and the
concrete blocks are filled with grout.
Concrete pier
A concrete pier, resting on a footing is used to support
beams at mid-span. Even though some older homes rest
on piers, this method has been phased out in favor
of stronger foundations.
The bottom part of
a foundation is called a footing.
