Louisville Home Owner

Foundation - This is the base on which a house is built. In a modern home the foundation is almost always a concrete footing with a concrete or concrete block wall added to the top of it. Older home foundations (pre WWII) may be concrete blocks, bricks, stone or even wood. From my experience better older homes have stone foundations in most cases. These older homes rarely have a footing and are likely laid directly on the ground or on a base of sand.

Sill Plate - The sill or sometimes called the soil plate is a piece of wood that is attached lying flat on top of the foundation, generally a 2x4 or 2x6 and maybe larger in older homes.

Girder - Are support beams that serve a similar purpose as the foundation and sill plate. Instead of supporting the floor joists on top of the foundation it supports them in the center area of the structure. A pretty typical girder would be a beam built to be 3 or 4 boards wide and supported at about 6 ft intervals by posts or columns set on their own footings.

Floor Joists - Beams that run from foundation to girder or foundation to foundation generally spaced at 16 inch intervals. Most common floor joists sizes are 2x8's and 2x10's but may be smaller or larger.

Sub Floor - Sheathing boards or more commonly plywood that is attached to the floor joists. Not to be confused with underlayment which is thinner sheets of plywood or particle board for the purpose of creating a smoother surface for carpets, tiles et..

Studded walls - The actual walls of the house. Usually built from 2x4's but 2x6's are becoming popular for their extra room for insulation and additional strength. Basic layout of a studded wall is a bottom and top plate with studs at 16 inch intervals.

Ceiling rafters - Basically the same thing as floor joists only they are generally smaller by comparison. If your are in the attic these are what you are walking on.