What's a stub wall?

A low wall, monolithically placed with a concrete floor (or other members) so as to provide for the control and attachment of wall forms.

What is the purpose of a pony wall?

A pony wall creates a visual and functional barrier between two areas of a large room or open floor plan, without closing them off from one another and leaving either segment feeling cramped. Because it doesn't extend all the way to the ceiling, the newly created spaces retain an open look and feel.

What is half wall called?

Also known as half walls, pony walls only come up—you guessed it—halfway or partway to partially divide a space. Pony walls differ from knee walls, which are generally intended to support something such as a countertop, handrail, or rafter.

What is the top of a pony wall called?

A pony wall is nothing more than a short wall, and the term is often used interchangeably with “knee wall” or “cripple wall.” Pony walls, like regular walls, have top and bottom plates, that is, the horizontal members that the vertical studs fasten to.

Are half walls outdated?

Pony walls were famous back in the 1960s, so some people may think they've gone out of style by now. But believe it or not, these short, usually non-weight-bearing walls may have lots of useful and aesthetic purposes around your house. Pony walls are actually coming back in style in some home designs.

Jargon Buster - What is a Stud Wall?

What is a cripple wall?

As shown in the figure, a cripple wall is a short wall that rests on the foundation and supports the floor and exterior walls. If the cripple wall is not braced, it can shift during an earthquake.

Why is it called a knee wall?

The term is derived from the association with a human knee, partly bent. Knee walls are common in houses in which the ceiling on the top floor is an attic, i.e. the ceiling is the underside of the roof and slopes down on one or more sides.

What is the half wall in a loft called?

A pony wall is also known as a half wall, stem wall, short wall, or cripple wall. Pony walls are about interior design as they are not full-height walls and are often used as room dividers. However, a knee wall is often used for attic structural support, as one example.

What is a pony wall shower?

A pony wall is a half wall that extends partway from floor to ceiling, and doesn't provide any support. A pony wall provides the function of a wall, yet enables an open design and clear ceiling line.

What is a hip wall?

Gable Roof In a Nutshell. A hip roof (or hipped roof) is a type of roof design where all roof sides slope downward toward the walls – where the walls of the house sit under the eaves on each side of the roof.

What do you call a wall that divides a room?

A room divider is a screen or piece of furniture placed in a way that divides a room into separate areas. Room dividers are used by interior designers and architects as means to divide space into separate distinct areas.

Is a pony wall load-bearing?

The term pony wall is used to refer to a load-bearing wall that rests on the sill plate of a foundation and supports the joists of the floor above it. These walls are sometimes called cripple walls, and they carry the load of the entire structure and transmit it to the foundation.

How thick should a pony wall be?

If framed with 2x4s, the framing itself will be 3-1/2" wide. Half-inch drywall on each side of the framing will balloon it to 4-1/2" wide.

What is a knee wall basement?

An engineered knee wall (sometimes called a pony wall) is a poured concrete wall that is installed on the interior side of a foundation in a basement or cellar, in effect making the wall of the foundation twice as thick.

What is a sub wall?

A sub wall is a wall below grade usually on the back of a basement or regular monoslab where the lot drops off in the back or on one side. Sub walls are used to get foundations up to grade with the rest of the house due to sloping lots or sometimes, soft soils.

What is a cheek wall in construction?

A cheek wall is the side wall of an object.

Are knee walls ever load-bearing?

These low walls help define the living space by creating vertical surfaces between the sloping rafters and the finished floor. They're typically framed with 2x4s and built 4-feet-high so they can easily be covered with full sheets of drywall. In most cases a knee wall is not a load-bearing partition.

Do all homes have cripple walls?

Almost all Bay Area houses built before 1940 (and many built more recently) have cripple walls. Cripple walls are the short wood stud walls that enclose a crawl space under the first floor. Non-retrofitted or "unbraced" cripple walls are known to be vulnerable to damage and even collapse in earthquakes.

How do I know if I have a cripple wall?

Go under the house through the crawl space, to see if there are any cripple walls. If there are cripple walls, check to see if they are braced. If you have neither of these, the cripple walls are probably insufficiently braced or unbraced. Horizontal or vertical wood siding is not strong enough to brace cripple walls.

Why do they call it a cripple wall?

It's called a cripple wall because that section of the home is considered a “cripple zone” - in seismic events it was thought that homes should have an area that cripples/gives out so that the rest of the home would go undamaged.

Can you build a wall without studs?

Can a wall not have studs? The answer is no—a wall must have studs to ensure structural support. However, there are some variations in how a wall can be framed and where you will locate studs.