Balloon Framing! How it started, why it happened, how it matters. 

I could watch this type of show every day.. this is what’s important.. our past.

Brent. Your videos are really interesting. I appreciate the way you join the dots to explain the evolution of design and build. Always fascinating. Thank for taking the time to do this.

Blunt nails tear the wood cross grain fibers. Pointed nails tend to split those fibers. Another great video. Thank you.

Many decades ago I had an "American Urban History" course as an undergraduate, and it was one of the best courses I ever took. Most of the lessons are just vague generalities for me now, but one thing I remember is the innovation of "balloon frame" construction and how much of an improvement it was over traditional methods using mortise and tenon joints. I also recall the bit about the cheaper nails later in the 19th century! My recollection is that I was taught that balloon framing was an ENORMOUS cost savings and construction time saving method and it was a big part of why westward expansion in places like Chicago and St. Louis was so rapid from the 1840s and afterward.

great presentation !

Brent Hull is a fountain of carpentry and building knowledge!"

I like these videos made of live presentations by Mr Hull, his excitement shows compared to many of his videos of himself talking to the camera where IMO he comes off as unwelcoming.

Love this stuff Brent, I have a construction company in KC, I love explaining to my guys how you can date a house from materials used, great stuff

“Balloon framing.” Learn a new term. I found myself wondering what influence rail-car length and loading techniques had/has on lumber sizes. I also wondered why you cut off McMansions in the 1990s - or was that just when they first appeared? We are still afflicted with them. Cheek by jowl in many cases. There are also a growing number of retrofitted 1 story ranch houses with exaggerated 12’ column-wrapped front entries. An attempt at some sort of Mediterranean look? Great video. Keep them coming! (As quickly as possible, please, so I can remember from one to the next.)

Brent I wish you had a video on the old Victorian houses that were built being around and how they designed the bell-shaped roofs and how they curved how is everything made so perfectly done and circles with rugged wood that they had to use

Exuberance and excitement. True, like McMansions. taste goes out the window.

Railroad brought ties, lumber, kerosene, steel, oil , hardware, flour ..etc.. our ancestors in Minnesota built everything we take for granted and could do so much more with better knowledge of their trades ( craft) .. thank you Great grandpa ..and grandpa… you guys were steel but gentle as a lamb .

Very informative.

Good stuff!

I'm trying to learn all that I can about old school building methods and techniques as I build my own homestead/farm. Do you believe that nailed joints and smaller dimensional lumber are always a compromise in quality compared to timber framing? I want to learn how to timber frame myself, but it doesn't seem like timber framing every structure would always be practical.

Augustine Taylor is just credited with building the the first balloon frame structure in Chicago.

I enjoyed that.

I have a balloon framed house from the 1870s that’s a combination of timber framing and balloon framing.

balloon framing also allowed for air circulation in hot climates

I have a balloon frame house and it was built in 1895.

I prefer timber framing.