Balloon framing

Have you seen a balloon? Well, a balloon frame is like a lot of balloons tied together in a certain way, but instead of balloons, we use wood to build houses.

When we build a house with the balloon framing technique, we start with a strong and solid board that goes all around the perimeter of the house, from the foundation to the roof. This long board is called a sill plate, and it's the base of our balloon frame.

Next, we attach a bunch of long vertical boards on top of the sill plate, from the foundation to the top of the house. These boards are called studs, and they're like the strings of a bunch of balloons.

Then, we add another board on top of the studs called the top plate, which is just like the knot that ties all the balloons together.

We do this for every wall of the house, and then connect them together with more horizontal boards called joists, like straps between some of the balloons.

Once we have all our walls in place and tied together, we can add the roof on top.

So, just like balloons tied together to make a balloon arch, we use wood and the balloon framing technique to build strong and sturdy houses!