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Concept
Wall
Summary
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the superstructure or separate interior rooms, sometimes for fire safety
Glass walls (a wall in which the primary structure is made of glass; does not include openings within walls that have glass coverings: these are windows)
Border barriers between countries
Brick walls
Defensive walls in fortifications
Permanent, solid fences
Retaining walls, which hold back dirt, stone, water, or noise sound
Stone walls
Walls that protect from oceans (seawalls) or rivers (levees)
The term wall comes from Latin vallum meaning "...an earthen wall or rampart set with palisades, a row or line of stakes, a wall, a rampart, fortification..." while the Latin word murus means a defensive stone wall.
English uses the same word to mean an external wall and the internal sides of a room, but this is not universal. Many languages distinguish between the two. In German, some of this distinction can be seen between Wand and Mauer, in Spanish between pared and muro.
Defensive wall
The word wall originally referred to defensive walls and ramparts.
American historic carpentry
The purposes of walls in buildings are to support roofs, floors and ceilings; to enclose a space as part of the building envelope along with a roof to give buildings form; and to provide shelter and security. In addition, the wall may house various types of utilities such as electrical wiring or plumbing. Wall construction falls into two basic categories: framed walls or mass-walls. In framed walls the load is transferred to the foundation through posts, columns or studs. Framed walls most often have three or more separate components: the structural elements (such as 2×4 studs in a house wall), insulation, and finish elements or surfaces (such as drywall or panelling).
Official source
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