Balloon Framing

Balloon framing is a system of framing a building in which all vertical structural elements of the bearing walls and partitions consist of single pieces. The pieces extend from the top of the foundation to the roof and all the floor joists are fastened to them.

Balloon framing is a method of wood construction used primarily in Scandinavia, Canada and the US, up until the 1950s. We don't know who introduced balloon framing in the US. the first building that used the balloon framing was probably a warehouse constructed in the 1832 in Chicago by George Washington Snow.

This kind of framing has been outlawed by building codes in many areas because of the fire danger that it poses.

There are Several Disadvantages of Balloon Framing as a Construction Method

• The creation of a path for fire to readily travel from floor to floor.
• The lack of a working platform for work on upper floors.
• The requirement for long framing members.
• And in certain larger buildings, a noticeable down-slope of floors towards central walls, caused by the differential shrinkage of the wood framing members of the perimeter versus central walls.