Replies

1. 
   luvmuskoka | Aug 30, 2002 12:47am | #1

   Balloon framing is simply studs that run the length of the entire wall, from foundation to roof framing. I doubt your 1929 house is ballooned.

   Ditch
2. 
   UncleDunc | Aug 30, 2002 03:17am | #2

   I don't know of any easy way to find out. What it would mean is that you can't just pop in a header and two trimmers to transfer the load from above your new window to the floor.

3. 
   user-178115 | Aug 30, 2002 07:02am | #3

   In "typical" balloon construction the 2nd floor joists will be sitting on a 1" by 6" Ribbon strip nailed to notches in the studs.  Pull an electrical outlet on a second floor sidewall.  A pocket mirror and a flashlight will allow you to see down the stud bay.  If you can see more than four feet, then probably balloon.  See something within two--could still be balloon with fire blocking.  With some practice with the mirror, if balloon you should be able to see the full distance down to the sill.  Learned the hard way about this construction method after cutting the ribbon plate on my 1860's farmhouse...

   Regards,

   Rework

1. 
   MisterT | Aug 30, 2002 01:50pm | #4

   Typical balloon constuction is an oblong spherical shape with a knot at one end containing alot of hot air.

   Dont untie the knot or......

   plpplplplplplpplplplplpplplplplplp....

   TDo not try this at home!

   I am a trained professional!

1. 
   user-178115 | Aug 30, 2002 03:31pm | #5

   My ego has been deflated....

   Regards,

   Rework

2. 
   CloudHidden | Aug 30, 2002 03:54pm | #6

   Hey, that's my house! (Hot air and all.)

1. 
   FrankB89 | Aug 30, 2002 04:03pm | #7

   I was just thinking that, but didn't want to give an impression of casting aspersions on domes....

   BTW, I once had a 1919 vintage house that was balloon framed.  You could drop something into a stud cavity and retrieve it in the crawl space because the studs were just nailed alongside the floor joists.  For rodents, the structure was like an interstate highway.I was circumcised when I was 3 days old;  I was unable to walk for over a year.

2. 
   MisterT | Aug 31, 2002 01:50am | #9

   Cloud,

   Does your house have dimples so it is more aerodynamic?

   Are you insured agaist Giants with really big golf clubs?

    :)

   TDo not try this at home!

   I am a trained professional!

1. 
   CloudHidden | Aug 31, 2002 02:20am | #10

   I _have_ used my driver from the roof! No idea where the ball landed. Just glad I didn't take a divot.

3. 
   MisterT | Aug 31, 2002 03:15pm | #13

   Isn't Balloon framing what you use when the home owners wants you to take out all the load-bearing walls to put in a whole lot of glass and not have any posts blocking his view?

   TDo not try this at home!

   I am a trained professional!

4. 
   luvmuskoka | Aug 31, 2002 01:47am | #8

   Balloon framing wasn't very common by 1929. In my area there aren't many balloons past the very early 1900s.

   Ditch
1. 
   Davo304 | Aug 31, 2002 07:10am | #11

   My house is 1937 vintage. It is a 2 story balloon framed structure. Came complete with galvanized water pipes and knob and tube wiring. Those 2 items have been changed of course, but the ballon framing remains.

   Davo

1. 
   luvmuskoka | Aug 31, 2002 01:10pm | #12

   That's interesting, where are you located?

   Ditch

1. 
   Piffin | Aug 31, 2002 05:32pm | #14

   I've built two using balloon frames in the past decade. For some designs, it is the best way to go. I agree, it is less common since early in this century, but there is no magical cutoff date where somebody suyddenly said, "Let's all change to platform framing."Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   UncleDunc | Aug 31, 2002 06:31pm | #15

   >> For some designs, it is the best way to go.

   For instance, it makes gable end walls a lot less hassle, IMO, by getting rid of the hinge at the top plate. The studs don't have to run all the way down to the foundation, obviously.

2. 
   luvmuskoka | Aug 31, 2002 07:01pm | #16

   I agree. It just seems that in my area they aren't very common past 1900. Maybe long length timber was becoming scarce by then and had become a commodity item. Some of the joinery work I've seen on old balloons almost qualifies as furniture grade fit more than "rough" framing.

   Ditch

3. 
   RobP22 | Aug 31, 2002 09:12pm | #17

   As I recall, balloon framing was used because since you have contiuous studs running from sill to the roof, you would reduce outward movement of the studs so your siding won't split and fall off the house. The 1920's was the big bang for standard western framing though, I'm pretty sure.

4. 
   rickwainman | Sep 01, 2002 03:20am | #18

   I read somewhere that balloon framing was basically the transition period between timbers and stud framing. When they started mass-producing milled lumber, balloon framing was how you done it. Some bright boy figured out stud framing is faster, so balloon framing kind of died out.