Vertical load-bearing member, the width of which (length) exceeds 4 times the thickness. Isolated vertical load bearing member, the width of which does not exceed 4 times the thickness is called column.
Types of walls
Load-bearing wall:
Designed to carry super-imposed load and self-weight.
Non-load bearing wall:
Designed to carry self-weight only.
Partition wall:
Thin internal wall used to divide the space within building.
Internal wall:
Load bearing partition wall.
Panel wall:
External non-load bearing wall (commonly related to frame structure)
Party wall:
Wall separating the adjoining buildings. May or may not be load bearing.
Separating wall:
Wall separation different occupancies within the same building.
Curtain wall:
Self-supporting wall carrying no other vertical load but subject to lateral loads.
Cross-walls:
Load bearing walls construction in which all the loads are carried by internal walls, running at right angles to the length of building.
Solid masonry walls:
Most commonly used but may have opening.
Cavity walls:
Wall comprising two leaves, each leave being build of masonry units and separated by a cavity and tied together with metal ties or bonding units to ensure that two leaves act as one structural units. Space between two leaves being left continuous or filled with other non-load bearing insulating material.
Faced walls:
Wall in which the facing and backing are of two different materials are bonded together to ensure common action.
Veneered walls:
Wall in which facing is attached to the backing but not so bonded as to result in a common action under load.
