home designer architectural insulation in studs

#Home designer architectural insulation in studs code#

The middle double wall uses 2x4s for both the inner and outer walls with a gap between them to allow for ample insulation between the walls and eliminates thermal bridging. Then, a thick layer of rigid foam and an outer layer of sheathing. It is a 2×6 wall with drywall, insulation, and sheathing. The first example on the left is a single/double wall hybrid construction. Because the studs in the two walls don’t touch, there is no thermal bridging.įigure 3: Examples of Typical BPC double wall Constructionįigure 3 shows some of the different ways BPC builds its walls. Typically the space between the drywall and sheathing for insulation is 9″ to 16″ but can be larger. This gap can be any size required to provide the R-value of insulation needed. There is a gap between the two walls so that a large amount of insulation can be used. In this example, the exterior wall uses 2×6 studs and the inner wall uses 2×4 studs. Because the studs are 2×6 they can be placed 24″ on center leaving even more room for insulation and reducing the number of studs in the wall and so lowers the thermal bridging opportunities.ĭouble construction is considered a best practice for walls that are part of a home’s thermal envelope.įigure 2: Example of Double Wall Constructionįigure 2 shows one of many ways to approach double wall construction.The studs are 2×6 allowing for a thicker layer of insulation in the wall cavity.The third single wall construction on the right is like the first but with 2 differences that improve the insulation value of the wall. This helps reduce thermal bridging through the 2x4s, but there is still little room for insulation within the wall cavity. In the middle wall example, there is a layer of rigid foam board between the sheathing and the studs. To be exact, the center of each 2×4 must be 16″ apart which means less than 16″ of space between each stud for insulation and a large number of studs for thermal bridging. With only 2×4 studs in a wall, they must be placed 16″ apart.In the summer the 2×4 will allow heat from the outside to get into the home causing the air conditioners to work longer to keep the home cool. In this case in the winter, the 2×4’s will allow heat energy in the home to escape. Thermal bridging is an area that allows heat energy to flow from a warm place to a cold place. The 2×4 studs are in contact with the exterior and interior walls and allow for significant thermal bridging.There is too little space for insulation to provide much energy efficiency.There are a few problems with this first example wall construction. In between the sheathing and drywall is batt insulation, typically fiberglass. On the exterior of the sheathing is an air and moisture resistant barrier. The inside of the wall is drywall and the outside has plywood or OSB sheathing, at type of engineered lumber.

#Home designer architectural insulation in studs code#

In figure 1 the first wall on the left has 2×4 stud construction typical of walls built to code between the 1960s and the early 2000s. Green Home Building Certification Programsįigure 1: Typical Building Code Single Wall Construction Approaches.