It is evident that if the girts in two adjoining walls were framed into the corner post at the same level, the tenons on the two girts would conflict with each other. For this reason the girts A which run parallel with the floor joists are raised above the girts B on which these joints rest, and are called "raised girts" to distinguish them from the others which are called "dropped girts." The floor joists arc carried by the dropped girts, and the raised girts are so placed that they are just flush on top with the joists which are parallel to them.
Ledger Board. The heavy girts are used only in the braced frame. In the balloon frame, light pieces called "ledger boards" or "ribbons" are substituted for them. These are usually made about s inch thick and 6 or 7 inches deep, and arc notched into the posts and intermediate studs instead of being framed into them as in the braced frame. This notching is shown in Fig. 104, on which A is the ledger board and B the stud. The ledger boards themselves are not cut at all, but the floor joists which they carry are notched over them, as shown in Fig. 105, and spiked to them and to the studding. In Fig. 105, A is the joist, B the ledger board, and C the stud. Even in the braced frame a ledger board is usually employed to support the joists of the attic floor, which carry little or no weight. The disadvantage of the ledger board is that, as a tie between the corner posts, it is less effective than the girt, and consequently a wall in which it has been substituted for the girt is not as stiff as one in which the girt is used.
Plate. The plate serves two purposes: First, to tie the studding together at the top and form a finish for the wall; and second, to furnish a support for the lower ends of the rafters. Sec Fig. 106. It is thus a connect ing link between the wall and the roof, just as the sill and the girts are connecting links between the floors and the wall. Some times the plate is also made to support the attic floor joists, as shown in Fig. 107, in which A is a rafter, B the joist spiked to the rafter, C the plate built up from 2 X 4-inch pieces, and D the wall stud. It acts in this case like a girt, but this arrangement is not very common, the attic floor joists usually being supported on a ledger board, as shown in Fig. 105. The plate is merely spiked to the corner posts and to the top of the studding; but at the corner where the plates in two adjacent walls come together, they should be connected by a framed joint, usually halved together in the same way as the sill. In the braced frame, a fairly heavy piece, usually a 4X6 inch is used, although a 4 X 4 inch is probably sufficiently strong.
In a balloon frame the usual practice is to use two 2 X 4-inch pieces placed one on top of the other and breaking joints, as shown at A in Fig. 10S, in order to form a continuous piece. The corner joint is then formed, as shown at B. No cutting is done on the plate except at the corners, the rafters and the attic floor joists being cut over it, as shown in Figs. 107 and 109.
Braces. Braces are used as permanent parts of the structure only in braced frames, and serve to stiffen the wall, to keep the cor ners square and true, and to prevent the frame from being distorted by lateral forces, such as wind. In a full-braced frame, a brace is placed wherever a sill, girt, or plate makes an angle with a corner post, as shown at E in Fig. 90. Braces are placed so as to make an angle of forty-five degrees with the post, and should be long enough to frame into the corner post at a height of from one-third to one-half the height of the story. This construction is often modified in practice, and the braces are placed as shown at A in Fig. 109. Such a frame is not quite so stiff and strong as the regular braced frame, but it is sufficiently strong in most cases.
The braces are made the same width as the posts and girts, usually 4 inches, to be flush with these pieces both outside and inside, and are made of 3X 4-inch or 4X 4-inch stuff. They are framed into the posts and girders or sills, by means of a tenon cut in the end of the brace, and a mortise cut in the post or girt, and are secured by a hardwood pin.
The pin should be or inch in diameter. The connection is shown in Fig. 102.
In a balloon frame there are no permanent braces, but light strips are nailed across the corners while the framework is being erected, and before the boarding has been put on, to keep the frame in place. As soon as the outside boarding is in place these are removed. This practice is also modified, and sometimes light braces are used as permanent parts of even a balloon frame. They are not framed into the other members, however, but arc merely notched into them and spiked, as shown in Fig. 110. A is the brace, B the sill, C the corner post, and DD are studs. In such a case every stud must be notched to receive the brace, which is really the same as the temporary brace mentioned above, except that it is notched into the studs instead of being merely nailed to them, and is not removed when the boarding is put on. These braces are usually made of 1X3-inch stuff.