Shear walls have the necessary bracing and are designed so that they don’t collapse on themselves. They include sheathing, typically plywood or oriented strand board (OSB), to assure that the wall remains rigid even under lateral pressure. This is how they assure that a structure will not be compromised by or suffer damage from wind.

Shear walls must be engineered with the strength to transfer forces from each edge to the opposite edge, requiring calculations performed by a professional windstorm engineer. The forces on all four edges of a shear wall must balance each other.

A shear wall is determined by the location of the hold-downs. Most homes have external shear walls, but interior shear walls are typically found only in larger homes and large buildings located near coastal areas.

Many custom homes have many windows, doors, bays, recesses, and open floor plans. These components and design do not provide adequate stability for the structure to withstand lateral loads as needed. Therefore, interior shear walls are often incorporated into home designs and construction plans to compensate for the many unique features incorporated into custom homes.