Frame Construction

Construction Class 1

Overview

This Construction Brief will give you an overview of Verisk Construction Class 1 – frame construction. When you've completed this course, you'll know what a Verisk report means when it says a building is class1pg2pic1 (1) frame construction. And you'll understand why a particular structure is—or isn't—frame.

Definition

Buildings with exterior walls, floors, and roofs of combustible construction—or buildings with exterior walls of noncombustible or slow-burning construction with combustible floors and roofs. Frame buildings generally have roofs, floors, and supports of combustible materials, usually wood, and combustible interior walls.

Two variations on frame construction don't change the construction class:

Masonry veneer (brick veneer)
Metal clad

Advantages of frame construction

Easy to erect and alter
Economical
Versatile

Disadvantages of frame construction

Fire can spread rapidly
Highly damaging
May become unstable in a fire
May include enclosed spaces where fire can spread undetected

Masonry veneer

Masonry veneer is thin layers of brick, stone, or stucco, used for appearance purposes rather than structural support.

Examples:

Metal clad

frame-construction-original

A building with a metal exterior wall may not look like frame construction, but when the metal

skin is attached to wood studs and joists, Verisk classifies the building as frame.

Reasoning:

The load-bearing portion of the exterior walls and the roof supports are wood.

Other conditions that lead to classification as frame construction

Metal walls or floors sheathed with combustible materials
Metal floors or roofs with combustible insulation or ceiling material attached to the underside or within 18 inches of horizontal supports
Composite assemblies of non-combustible materials with combustible materials