What is balloon form or balloon frame - ligth steel gauge structure building 1

[kingnero]

When building houses and structures using cold formed steel gauge sections ("C" sections),
what exactly does one mean when referring to balloon form or balloon frame?

I am a welding engineer, recently called to assess certain nodes at wideflange columns in a light gauge steel building, and have picked up this name.
I don't know what it means, and the situation didn't allow to ask for much apart for what the subject of the day was.
Google acknowledges the name, but I didn't find a site where they talked about this specific topic.

Anybody care to enlighten me (or point me to a good online explanation)?

Thx!

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[hokie66]

Balloon framing refers to the studs in a multistory structure. The studs are continuous at a floor level. In a two storey house, the studs would go from ground floor to roof in one piece.

 

[JAE]

Balloon framing usually refers to the framing of stud walls where the studs extend vertically up past a floor or roof with the horizontal framing connecting to the sides of the studs.

This is in contrast with traditional framing where the studs stop at each level with the horizontal framing bearing on top of the stud assembly.

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[XR250]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_(construction)

 

[kingnero]

Thx for the replies! Makes sense now..

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[msquared48]

Balloon framing is one technique to reduce vertical shrinkage in the structure by elimitating 4.5" of wood plate.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[kingnero]

@ Mike, where does one eliminate the 4.5" of wood plate? Even conventional metal buildings never have wood inbetween the vertical supporting columns. Vertical shrinking would be the same whether you use continuous columns or with column-to-beam connections at each floor? In both ccases, you have steel from bottom to top?

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[JAE]

What I think Mike is referring to is the use of flat-oriented top plates (2x studs laid flat) where the wood stud walls are interrupted by the floor or roof farming.
Since wood shrinks more, percentage-wise, in the radial and tangential directions (vs. the longitudinal direction) you have sometimes somewhat significant shrinkage in the wall from these flat-oriented members.

By using balloon framing you eliminate these flat members and reduce the total shrinkage.

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[XR250]

By using balloon framing you eliminate these flat members and reduce the total shrinkage.

I wonder if that was the original intent of the old-timers? It may have been that they simply wanted a wall that would easily support a fire :>

 

[hokie66]

Or maybe they just wanted to use the available long pieces of timber without whacking them up? Or were they aware of the advantages of continuity?

 

[atrizzy]

Continuity yes, but you're also applying the floor load eccentrically... Haven't done a comparison myself, but I suspect it may not be a huge advantage either way.

 

[msquared48]

JAE is correct, and I was thinking of wood framing, not steel stud framing regarding the shrinkage.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[Ussuri]

so why is it called 'Balloon' ?

 

[msquared48]

As opposed to standard platform framing with the studs discontinuous at the second floor line, the ballion framed studs are continuous from yhe first floor to the top of the second floor, similar to the sides of a balloon.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[kipfoot]

so why is it called 'Balloon' ?

Experienced builders supposedly derided Taylor’s St. Mary’s Church in Fort Dearborn as “balloon-framed” because it looked like a stiff breeze would blow it away. But many accounts suggest the name came from a similar French Missouri type of construction called maison en boulin.

I'm not a French speaker, but other sources translate 'boulin' to mean 'ledger,' which makes sense to me.