Title: What is Double Wall Construction?
Headings: What is Double Wall Construction?
What is Double Wall Construction?
Samples of Single Wall Construction for Comparison
Figure 1: Typical Building Code Single Wall Construction Approaches
Sample of Double Wall Construction
Figure 2: Example of Double Wall Construction
Figure 3: Examples of Typical BPC double wall Construction
Note and Update:
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Content: Thermal bridging is an area that allows heat energy to flow from a warm place to a cold place. In this case in the winter, the 2×4’s will allow heat energy in the home to escape. 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. With only 2×4 studs in a wall, they must be placed 16″ apart. 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. In the middle wall example, there is a layer of rigid foam board between the sheathing and the studs. This helps reduce thermal bridging through the 2x4s, but there is still little room for insulation within 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. The studs are 2×6 allowing for a thicker layer of insulation in the wall cavity
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. Sample of Double Wall Construction
Double construction is considered a best practice for walls that are part of a home’s thermal envelope.