bearing wall

« Back to Glossary Index

A wall that supports any vertical load (such as the floor, roof, or ceiling above) in addition to its own weight. A wall that does not support a vertical load is called a nonbearing wall, nonbearing partition, or simply partition. Photo from Edgar Tafel Townhouse, New York City, New York, 2005.(Phillips, 1994)

Synonyms:
load-bearing wall
« Back to Glossary Index