Balloon Frame Attic

Ballon framed two story house with full attic built in 1901.

Balloon frame attic.

You can see air when you look down where a bottom plate would be. Interior of the outside walls are plaster on lath. In balloon framing the studs vertical members extend the full height of the building usually two stories from foundation plate to rafter plate as contrasted with platform framing in which each floor is framed separately. Balloon framing is used primarily in scandinavia and in the united states.

Fyi balloon framing is where the studs go down below the floor joists and sit directly on the sills so that there is no bottom plate. The balloon frame uses a continuous wood stud wall member that stretches from the foundation to the attic. Balloon framed walls are different than platform framed walls. I tried to post a photo but alas.

These long studs extend uninterrupted from the sill on top of the foundation all the way up to the roof. Balloon framing is a style of wood house building that uses long vertical 2 x 4 s for the exterior walls. Not that this is particularly harmful but it s a bit of a waste of cells. Absolutly no insulation in the walls or between floors.

In a balloon frame the 2nd story subfloor is held up on the edges by a ledger board instead of resting on the top plate in a platform frame. These stud walls are usually 16 inches apart and contain no inherent vertical fire stops. Queen anne and shingle style buildings are typical examples of balloon framing. Once up there it usually was able to dissipate out gable vents or through the roofing.

In balloon framed walls the studs are continuous from the mudsill all the way to the top plates on the uppermost floor where the rafters rest. If you look around the edges of the 2nd story subfloor or attic subfloor in a balloon frame house you d be able drop a penny down to the basement in the stud bay. Is anyone aware of any studies science behind this common issue of insulating and old house the proper way. The balloon framing used in houses of that period i lived in one back in cincinnati oh in the 1970 s and 80 s allows water vapor that passes through the plaster and lath to be vented up into the attic of your home.

Exterior walls are orginal wood lap siding covered with some type of asbestoes siding.