Supported wall
A supported wall is a wall to which lateral support is afforded by a combination of a vertical support structure acting in conjunction with roofing elements or floor joists.
These vertical supports can come in several forms, including:
- Buttressing walls. This type of wall is designed and constructed to provide support from its base to the top of the wall. This affords support to the wall that is perpendicular to it. For more information, see Buttress.
- Piers. These are upright supports for a structure or superstructure, but they can also be the sections of load-bearing structural walls between openings and different types of columns. For more information, see Piers.
- Chimneys. These structures consist of a wall or walls that enclose one or more flues. For more information, see Chimney definition
For some types of supported walls, providing vertical support to the wall from existing floor joists may not always be sufficient. In these instances, it may be necessary to incorporate adequately supported beams, in particular if the supported wall is being used to assist with load bearing.
NB The term ‘supported wall’ is not synonymous with 'supporting wall', which is more commonly referred to as a load-bearing wall. For more information, see Load-bearing wall.
Approved document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments, defines a supported wall as: ‘A wall to which lateral support is afforded by a combination of buttressing walls, piers or chimneys acting in conjunction with floor(s) or roof.’
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