Wall types — full, railing, and open

In this guide

1. 1

   Full wall — the default

   Definition. A solid wall extending from floor to ceiling. Standard residential construction. Function. - Visual separation between rooms. - Acoustic separation (sound dampening between rooms). - Thermal separation (different temperatures on either side if needed). - Structural support (for load-bearing walls). - Privacy (people on one side can't see people on the other). Where used. Almost every wall in a typical house. Exterior walls (always full). Interior walls between rooms (usually full). Walls around bathrooms, bedrooms, offices — anywhere privacy or sound matters. Standard construction. 2×4 or 2×6 stud framing with drywall on both sides. 4–5 inches thick interior; 6–8 inches thick exterior. See wall thickness conventions. Visual reading. Solid, opaque, complete separation. The default architectural element. In Room Sketch 3D: All walls default to Full. Inspector → Wall Type → Full (or selected automatically).

2. 2

   Railing wall — the half-wall safety barrier

   Definition. A wall extending from floor to approximately 36–42 inches above the floor. Open above. Provides physical safety (preventing falls) without visual barrier. Function. - Safety barrier preventing falls from one space to another. - Partial visual separation while preserving sightlines above. - Code-required at any change in floor elevation greater than 30 inches. - Definition of space without enclosure. Common names. - Railing wall: When the wall is largely solid with a railing on top. - Knee wall: Common term for short interior walls at floor or window height. Usually 36 inches or less. - Pony wall: Synonymous with knee wall in some regions. A short partial-height wall. - Guard rail: Specifically a safety barrier at a fall hazard (balcony edge, stair opening). - Half wall: General term for a wall that doesn't reach the ceiling. Where used. - Balcony edges: Required where the balcony has a fall hazard. - Stair landings and openings: Required around floor openings where stairs come up to a higher level (loft openings, stair shafts). - Mezzanines: Half-wall along the edge of a mezzanine overlooking a lower space. - Lofts: Open edge of a loft above living space. - Open-plan dividers: Half-walls separating living from dining or kitchen without full closure. - Stair partial separations: Between a stair and an adjacent room. Heights: - 30 inches: minimum for a railing wall to provide any safety function. - 36 inches: typical residential code minimum for guard rails. - 42 inches: typical multi-family residential or balconies above 30 feet from grade. - 48 inches: counter-height; sometimes used in open-plan kitchens. Railing style options (see [[railing-styles-spindle-glass-cable-fence]]): - Spindle (traditional balusters). - Glass panel (modern view-preserving). - Cable (modern industrial). - Wood fence (rustic). - Brick wall (heritage masonry). - Solid panel (modern partial wall). In Room Sketch 3D: Inspector → Wall Type → Railing. Choose a railing style (spindle, glass-panel, cable, wood-fence, brick-wall). The 3D view renders the chosen style.

3. 3

   Open wall — logical only, no physical barrier

   Definition. A wall that exists only in the floor plan logic — no physical wall is built. The line marks a boundary for room detection, area calculation, or layout reference but has no 3D rendering. Function. - Logical separation between rooms in open-plan layouts. - Area calculation boundaries (when Room Sketch 3D calculates per-room floor areas, an open wall defines where one room ends and another begins). - Room detection (auto-detection of rooms by Room Sketch 3D uses these boundaries). - Visual planning reference (sketching layouts without committing to actual walls). Where used. - Open-plan transitions: Between living and dining in open-concept houses; between kitchen and living; etc. - Conceptual boundaries: When you want to plan separate zones without building walls between them. - Floor area reporting: Per-room area calculations when there are no walls between functionally-distinct zones. Important: An 'open wall' is NOT a doorless opening. A doorless opening has a header above and jambs at the sides — it's a real wall section that's just open. An open wall has nothing — no header, no jambs, no physical wall at all. Use 'open wall' for logical-only boundaries; use openings and passageways for actual finished openings. Visual reading. Nothing — no wall is visible from inside the room. The 3D view shows open space. In Room Sketch 3D: Inspector → Wall Type → Open. The line in the 2D plan shows as a dashed or thin line for reference; nothing renders in 3D.

4. 4

   When to use each

   Use Full when: - Building exterior walls (always Full). - Bedrooms, bathrooms, offices — anywhere privacy is needed. - Walls between functional rooms with different uses (kitchen vs living, etc.). - Walls between climate-controlled zones with different setpoints (e.g., HVAC zoning). - The default — when in doubt, use Full. Use Railing when: - Stair openings and landings where falls are possible. - Balconies and mezzanines. - Lofts open to lower spaces. - Open-plan partial dividers between visually-distinct zones. - Where a sightline is wanted but a physical safety barrier is required. - Where partial visual separation matches the design intent but full closure does not. Use Open when: - Open-plan houses where you want to logically divide rooms but not actually build walls. - Floor area reporting boundaries. - Sketching layout concepts before committing to wall construction. - Visual planning where the line is just a reference and nothing is actually built. When in doubt: Use a doorless opening instead of an 'open wall' if you want a real architectural opening with a header and jambs. Open walls are for logical-only boundaries, not for actual openings.

5. 5

   Code and safety considerations

   Guard rail code (railing walls): - Required at any change in floor elevation greater than 30 inches. - Minimum height 36 inches residential; 42 inches multi-family. - Baluster spacing maximum 4 inches (4-inch sphere test). - Top rail must support 200 lbs concentrated force at any point. Egress and access: - Wall types don't directly affect egress requirements. - Doors in walls (any type) provide egress; railing walls don't have egress doors. Structural considerations: - Full walls can be load-bearing or non-load-bearing. - Railing walls are not typically load-bearing. - Open walls have no structure (none built). Privacy: - Full walls provide complete privacy. - Railing walls provide partial visual privacy (above the railing). - Open walls provide no privacy. Sound transmission: - Full walls: STC 30–55 depending on construction. - Railing walls: STC 10–20 (the open area above the rail leaks sound). - Open walls: no sound separation.

6. 6

   In Room Sketch 3D

   Select any wall in the 2D plan to open the Inspector for that wall. The interior-wall Style chip group maps onto the conceptual buckets above: Full ≈ Full, Pony / Glass / Railing ≈ Railing-with-style, Partition ≈ Open. Pick the chip that matches the architectural behavior you want. - Style: Full / Pony / Glass / Railing / Partition. - Thickness: Defaults to 4 inches; override for plumbing walls, sound walls, or thin glass partitions. - Color / Material: Wall or railing finish. Different walls in the same room can have different styles. The 3D view renders each per its style. For the complete how-to (cross-hair + pull-handle drawing workflow, chaining segments, and adding doors / windows INTO interior walls), see drawing interior walls.

Common confusions

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