An exterior wall is used as what type of wall for a building?

Exterior walls serve as critical structural components in a building, often functioning as bearing walls. Bearing walls support the weight of the roof and floors above, transferring loads down to the foundation. In many commercial buildings, exterior walls are specifically designed to bear loads, making them fundamental to the overall stability of the structure.

While some buildings may use nonbearing exterior walls, which do not carry any loads from above, the predominant use of exterior walls in traditional construction is to support vertical loads. Therefore, assuming that an exterior wall is neither bearing nor nonbearing does not align with standard building practices.

In traditional construction, it is essential to accurately categorize exterior walls based on their structural function to ensure appropriate design and construction techniques are employed, which underscores the importance of understanding this concept in building inspections.