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What is the basic difference between load bearing structure and frame

structure?
13 Answers

Jay Joshi, Civil Engineer , crack the GATE 2016


Written Jun 12, 2016
LOAD BEARING STRUCTURE

The load bearing masonry Structure are constructed with help of brick , concrete bricks etc.

Load bearing Structure transfer the load to Foundation in this way,

Slab -> Wall -> Foundation.

This is the path of transferred load to Foundation.

The Foundation of Load bearing Structure are made with Rubble Masonry or With Stone which bear all
load coming from the Wall.
We can see here the main element is The wall which is Actually load carrying member too.

And Problem is also that When tje wall collapse in any situation then whole structure will collapse.

To make load bearing Structure more stronger then we have to increase the wall thickness but it's reduce the
Room area.

Load Bearing Structure are not perform very well in earthquake but it doesn't mean all Load
Bearing Structure will collapse in future.

Taj Mahal is the best example for load bearing Structure.

But the problem is labour work is increase and Material like brick is also required in Quantity.

In The case of Load Bearing Structure.

FRAME STRUCTURE

The Frame structure are more stable and reliable in Earthquake.

Frame Structure make whole structure Flexible.

Frame Structure transfer the load in this Path.

Slab -> Beam-> Column->Foundation

We can see the load distributon path in Frame Structure.

In the Frame Structure the load carrying Element is The Beam and Column.
Now Beam is supporting to Slab so it take bending and shear of slab.

The beam is designed as flexure member because mainly beam has to bend under slab loading.

After this all load is Transferred to Column which take Compression Force.

Now Cloumn is supporting to beam and take the load of beam and transfer to the Foundation.

This Frame make structure Flexible and they have good results in Earthquake.
The brick don't take any type of load but it is used for cladding.

I HOPE MY ANSWER WILL HELP YOU.

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Sagar Singh Gupta, PG in Construction management and Civil Engineer with 5+ years of work Ex.
Written Feb 10, 2016
The other answers are well explained the facts and figures, here are something addition to those answers:

A load-bearing wall or bearing wall is a wall that bears a load resting upon it by conducting its weight to a
foundation structure. The materials most often used to construct load-bearing walls in large buildings are concrete,
block, or brick.

Frame structures are the structures having the combination of beam, column and slab to resist the lateral and gravity
loads. These structures are usually used to overcome the large moments developing due to the applied loading.

1. Rigid frame structure

Which are further subdivided into:


Pin ended
Fixed ended
2. Braced frame structure

Which is further subdivided into:

Gabled frames
Portal frames
Definition, Types of Frame Structures

See here on the above right is drawing load is transferred through wall which is load structure and on left hand drawing
load has been transferred through frame columns so its a Frame structure.
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Pragyan Kalita, architect


Written Jan 19, 2016
A load-bearing structure is any structure in which walls bear all loads resting upon it by conducting its weight and
ultimately transfer the loads to ground through itsfoundation. Normally used in low height structures which involves less
overall load as a whole resting upon its walls. The materials most often used to construct load-bearing walls brick or
concrete blocks.
Depending on the type of building and the number of floors, thickness of the load-bearing walls are decided. On the other
hand framed structure involves a basic skeleton made of concrete or steel members which transfers all the load resting on
it to the ground. Framed structure is largely used in high rise and complex structures where dead load and live load is
likely to be quite high for a load bearing wall to carry.
Hope this helps.
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Santhosh Sandy, Indian, Civil Engineer, Istanbul guy


Written Nov 22
Load bearing structure : Load distribution - slabs to walls, walls to foundation.

Framed structure : load distribution - slabs to beams, beams to columns, columns to foundation.

Load bearing can be used for a single storied or G+1 storey building where as framed structure has no limit. It can be
designed as per the need. The cost of framed structure is expensive than load bearing structure, since in load bearning the
main component is brickwork but in framed structure is concreting.
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Parth Sarvaiya
Written Nov 24, 2015
The major difference between the two structures is the strength element.
Thus:
in frame structures, the strength elements are the pillars and the girders
in loadbearing masonry structures, the strength elements are the walls, while the tie-columns in the masonry
have the role of absorbing some of the seismic force

More precisely, in the case of loadbearing masonry structures, it is the bricks that carry the loads. This is the reason why
Code P100-1/2006 (the Romanian seismic design regulation) requires that the standardised compressive strength of the
masonry elements for loadbearing walls to be at least 7.5 N/mm2.
The higher the compressive strength of masonry elements, the higher the number of storeys a building can have.
Hope this helps:):)

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Ignacio Rubio-Landaluce, Architect as in buildings, not as in programs.


Written Apr 25, 2016
As their name tell, a load bearing structure bears loads and a frame structure serves as a frame for other non-load bearing
structures to attach to.

A typical load bearing structure would be the beam and pillar system, onto which a frame structure (the stud system) can
be attached to form a wall and a frame to open a door in it. Neither the sheets of the wall nor the door bear any loads. The
pillars and beam system bear all loads.

Hope this clarifies the question, thanks for the A2A!


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Gopalkrishna Vishwanath, Graduated in 1972, Hold a master's degree. Experience 37 years.


Written Mar 3, 2016
You have 7 excellent answers already.

So I will not repeat anything.

In 1973-1974, at the request of one my professors at University of Roorkee, I worked on a project that he gave me as part of
my curriculum.
He wanted to settle the often asked question: How tall can you make a load bearing brick wall structure? One to two
stories is very common, with a 9" thick brick wall some venture up to three stories too, using 13" thick brick walls for the
lowermost storey when they are confident of the soil bearing capacity.

High strength "Engineering Bricks" with precise and consistent dimensions and with better compressive strength than the
bricks of "bazaar quality" were being aggressively advertised and the companies sales representatives came over to make a
presentation.

Not wanting to believe their claims blindly, my professor gave me all their technical brochures and asked me to work on
the project of verifying their claims.

I worked on it for a few months and my conclusion, purely from academic considerations was that you could theoretically
build up to to 8 storeys but practical construction difficulties will limit this to 6 storeys.

But the cost of these bricks was too high. (I don't remember the comparative costs between these so called "Engineering
Bricks" and the ordinary bricks commonly in use.

For this cost, a framed structure was stronger, and offered flexible floor plans which these new bricks could never offer.

Their plans did not take off. To the best of my knowledge load bearing brick walls are being used even today for buildings
at most two to three storeys tall and for greater heights RCC columns inter-connected at all floor levels with load bearing
beams and slabs are being used with non load bearing walls of brick or concrete masonry blocks.

These walls are removable, offering architects the convenience of varying floor plans using internal partition walls.

Disclaimer:

I have been out of touch with the Industry for a long time,

Therefore my conclusion may not be fully correct today.

GV
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Kamal Sharma, seekamal.wordpress.com


Updated Jan 23, 2015
In simple terms, a load bearing structure transfers its load to the foundations through the masonry walls while framed
structure transfer its load to the foundation through columns and beams. The masonry wall isn't subjected to any load. As
a result, the interior layout can flexible, can be changed any time. Walls can be thinner too increasing substantial carpet
area.
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Imran Ansari, works at Studying


Written Jan 21, 2015
Load bearing structure means that the load is supported by the wall, there is no column/beam to
support the load. These walls must be strong enough for the purpose. Load-bearing walls are one of the earliest
forms of construction. Usually the thickness of these walls is 9 inches or more.
In frame structures, there is a combination of beam and column to support the load. The load rests on
the beam, the beam transfers the load to the column, which in turn transfer the load to the foundation. Frame
structures are the modern and safe way of designing large structures.
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Ashish Choudhary, worked at Architecture


Written Jan 22, 2015
Load Bearing : the whole structure ( apparently thick walls in ancient times) bears the load and transfer the load to
foudation running along with the walls.
Framed: only the frame (columns and beams) bear the load and transfer it to separated foundations of various types.walls
may or may not be that thick instead more functional if filled with insulating materials.
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Sunil Lilani, studied at Civil Engineering


Written Sep 20
The basic difference between the load bearing structure and the frame structure is the load distribution patteren.

In load bearing structures load is transffered to the earth by walls.

While in frame structure load transfer through beams & columns


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Gil Villamor
Written Dec 6, 2015
The basic difference between a load bearing structure and a frame structure :

1.) A load bearing structure is any structure that can bear loads with a specific bearing capacity. ex. load bearing
concrete wall.

2.) A frame structure is any load bearing or non-load bearing structure. ex. load bearing wall or non-load
bearing wall
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Matthew Lohden, I've spent more than 25 years making buildings.


Written Jun 12, 2016
Thanks for the A2A but it seems that others understand your question better than I and can think of nothing to add.
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