Load-bearing wall
A load-bearing wall (sometimes referred to as a 'bearing wall'), is a wall that supports vertical load in addition to its own weight and is an active structural element of a building. Load-bearing walls typically provide separation between the internal spaces of a building and transfer loads from other parts of the structure to the foundations.
This is as opposed to a partition wall, which provides separation between spaces, but is not load-bearing. See partition for more information.
The use of load-bearing walls date back to the earliest forms of construction. Gothic architecture introduced the flying buttress which allowed much larger interior spaces to be created by transferring the majority of the weight to the buttresses rather than the load-bearing walls. The development of high-rise buildings and particularly skyscrapers, which utilised a skeleton frame construction, removed the limitations placed on building design by load-bearing walls.
The loads that are usually supported by a load-bearing wall include those from the roof, any wall that sits directly above it, and floors, which can sometimes be built into or sit on top of an internal wall.
Load-bearing walls are commonly constructed using concrete, blockwork and/or brick. The thickness of the load-bearing wall is gauged according to the building type, the number of floors requiring support, the materials used to construct the wall, and any other imposed loads.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Bearing capacity.
- Building fabric.
- Curtain wall systems.
- Dead loads.
- Exterior wall.
- Floor loading.
- Flying buttress.
- Live loads.
- Load bearing.
- Loadbearing capacity.
- Partition wall.
- Party wall.
- Shear wall.
- Sleeper wall.
- Supported wall.
- Suspended timber floor.
- Types of structural load.
- Wall types.
- What are walls made of?
Featured articles and news
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.
Plumbing and heating for sustainability in new properties
Technical Engineer runs through changes in regulations, innovations in materials, and product systems.
Awareness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
What CBAM is and what to do about it.
The new towns and strategic environmental assessments
12 locations of the New Towns Taskforce reduced to 7 within the new towns draft programme and open consultation.
Buildings that changed the future of architecture. Book review.
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.