Structural Carcassing
Structural carcassing is a carpentry term that encompasses all of the timber based procedures that are involved in the formation of the shell of a building. These tasks are typically carried out towards the beginning of a project, and make up a large portion of the carpentry operations that are undertaken during regular residential construction. Structural carcassing components are generally load bearing, utilising large timbers and structural sheet materials to form important elements within a building.
In the UK, the exterior walls of residential homes are typically assembled from cavity masonry, with the floor joists and roof assembly being the primary structural carcassing tasks being performed by the carpenters. This is in contrast to the method of “stick framing” that many US homes are constructed with, in which the exterior walls of the property are framed with timber. In many areas of the US, stick framing is a more common method of residential construction, though masonry buildings are still relatively common. Though not commonly implemented in UK homes, the formation of these exterior timber walls falls much in line with the regular processes of constructing structural studwork. Whilst there is a distinction to be made here, the general processes are not much different.
All of the tasks encompassed within structural carcassing could also be considered first fix carpentry tasks, as they take place before the plastering stage of a property. That being said, the use of the phrase “structural carcassing” forms a decent distinction between the more structural carpentry elements and the true first fix procedures that take place inside the roofed in property.