What are walls made of?
What walls are made from is largely determined by what basic category they fall into – whether framed wall or solid wall.
Framed walls transfer structural loads to the foundation through columns, studs or posts. In addition to the structural element, they also include insulation and finish elements or surfaces, such as cladding panels.
Solid walls are constructed from a single skin of a solid material, such as masonry, concrete, brick, timber, rammed earth, straw bales, etc. They do not include a cavity between the interior and exterior.
A cavity wall is not framed, but is constructed from two skins of masonry, the outer skin of which can be brickwork, blockwork, or stone, and the inner skin of which is generally of blockwork. These skins (or leaves), are separated by a cavity to prevent the penetration of moisture and to allow for the installation of thermal insulation.
Wall ties span the cavity and tie the internal and external walls of bricks or blockwork together.
For more information, see Cavity wall.
Internal, or partition, walls can be constructed in a number of ways. They are typically constructed from brick or blockwork, or framed, sometimes referred to as stud walls. Stud walls can be constructed from timber, steel or aluminium frames clad with boarding such as plasterboard, timber, metal or fibreboard. They may also be glazed.
For more information, see Partition walls.
Exterior walls can be finished with a wide array of materials and techniques. The term 'cladding' refers to components that are attached to the primary structure of a building to form non-structural, external surfaces. This is as opposed to buildings in which the external surfaces are formed by structural elements, such as masonry walls, or applied surfaces such as render, screed, paint, plaster, natural stone, structural insulated panels (SIPs), and so on.
Cladding materials can include:
- Glazing.
- Aluminium.
- Stainless steel.
- Zinc.
- Composites.
- Timber.
- Tensile fabric coverings.
- Brick slips.
- Tile hanging.
- Shakes and shingle.
- uPVC.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
CIOB photographic competition final images revealed
Art of Building produces stunning images for another year.
Major overhaul of planning committees proposed by government
Planning decisions set to be fast-tracked to tackle the housing crisis.
Strategic restructure to transform industry competence
EBSSA becomes part of a new industry competence structure.
Industry Competence Steering Group restructure
ICSG transitions to the Industry Competence Committee (ICC) under the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Principal Contractor Competency Certification Scheme
CIOB PCCCS competence framework for Principal Contractors.
The CIAT Principal Designer register
Issues explained via a series of FAQs.
Conservation in the age of the fourth (digital) industrial revolution.
Shaping the future of heritage
Embracing the evolution of economic thinking.
Ministers to unleash biggest building boom in half a century
50 major infrastructure projects, 5 billion for housing and 1.5 million homes.
RIBA Principal Designer Practice Note published
With key descriptions, best practice examples and FAQs, with supporting template resources.
Electrical businesses brace for project delays in 2025
BEB survey reveals over half worried about impact of delays.
Accelerating the remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding in England
The government publishes its Remediation Acceleration Plan.
Airtightness in raised access plenum floors
New testing guidance from BSRIA out now.
Picking up the hard hat on site or not
Common factors preventing workers using head protection and how to solve them.
Building trust with customers through endorsed trades
Commitment to quality demonstrated through government endorsed scheme.
New guidance for preparing structural submissions for Gateways 2 and 3
Published by the The Institution of Structural Engineers.
CIOB launches global mental health survey
To address the silent mental health crisis in construction.
New categories in sustainability, health and safety, and emerging talent.
Key takeaways from the BSRIA Briefing 2024
Not just waiting for Net Zero, but driving it.