 In historic buildings the sills were almost always large, solid timbers framed together at the corners, carry the bents, and are set on the stone or brick foundation walls, piers, or piles (wood posts driven or set into the ground).The sill typically carries the wall framing (posts and studs) and floor joists.There are rare examples of historic buildings in the U.S. where the floor joists land on the foundation and a plank sill or timber sill sit on top of the joists.