My house built in 1962 had such a huge gap between the concrete and the wall assembly. It was about 3/4 of an inch in the center of the wall. Yikes, lots of expansion foam and lumber to prevent cold air leaking in. Thanks. great video. 👍👍👍
My current house is double wall construction at 14''. The outer load bearing 2x6 wall has 1/2'' exterior plywood sheating and is cantilevered 2'' from the concrete. This allows 2'' rigid exterior insulation to wrap the foundation having the wall and basement insulation to be in plane. In my 40 + years of building energy efficient homes I always insulate the foundation on the outside.
Can you cantilever load baring walls like that? I mean, I guess you did, but that passes code? So, really it's 1.5" of the stud over? What do you fill with? If blown insulation, how do you keep that from settling over time? Even if dense pack? What about condensation?
@@nomdeguerre8464 You still have four inches of wood on the concrete foundation. The roof trusses can have the load on that 4''. Dense pack cellulose. The space between the two walls is open and accesable in the attic. If the insulation were to settle it could be packed with the cellulose in the R 80 attic and then the attic toped up in the future. I use poly on the ceiling only. The interior drywall walls have vapor retarder primer and the exterior has black building paper under the siding so the structure breaths.
Hey, nice work. A few things about double walls. The framing for the exterior walls is set for the plywood. The interior walls can be set for perfect sheetrock layout. Off setting the exterior studs from interior i think is useful. interior window walls can be splayed to let light shine in more. We used a 2x12 top and 2x12 PT bottom plate. This allowed us to frame only the exterior walls and get the roof on. Later it was easy to frame the interior walls. Electricians and plumbers will love your job it is easy for them to work. I have done insulated panels set-up on sliding door tracs. The panels slid out from inside the wall to seal the window closed at night. I like 2x4 24"O.C, 5/8 sheetrock for the walls. I think it is a better and different product than 1/2".
Nice details. Can I ask.. Do you think your wall would be significantly stronger than a single 2x8 wall 24"oc? I live in FL(hurricanes) and weighing my options. If I'm understanding you right, your wall is 2x6(24"oc) plus a 2x4(24"oc) with a 2x12 top/bottom plate tying everything together? Of course I have roof uplift in mind also.
( You have a great presenter's voice ........If you were one of those kids that aggravated the 3rd grade teacher because of all the talking....if only she could see you now) Happy New Year everyone !
I grew up in RI working in the Watch Hill/Westerly area and we always used sill seal but that was before everyone started going passive. I’ve since moved to VT and their energy code here says they do not allow sill seal, you must use a flexible caulking between the foundation and sill so this is the best of both worlds.
Awesome helpful info thank you! I would like to ask for this style of double walls between the exterior and interior walls as you showed on this video. Is there any connections between the two wall that greatly affect the thermal bridging? Or are both the walls completely independent from each other with minimal connecting each other not to affect that heat transfer! Also would the esg foam boards Matt and other builders use more/less or same R value in buioding methods?
i like the double wall idea but i have questions about fire blocking....i see there is blocking on the exterior wall but is it needed in the 2x4 interior wall or even in the space between the walls
Fire is really difficult in a "dense packed" cellulose wall. It is difficult for air drafts/smoke to get pulled thru it. Cellulose also "has active fire-resistance materials that provides a Class 1 flame spread rating and is a building code approved fire-blocking product".
So, I’m curious to know why you put all the wall insulation on the inside? I thought the Matt Risinger best practice was to put most of it on the outside of the WRB?
Hi Wade. You didn’t address the need for an interior vapour barrier. In Ontario, Canada we need to install a 6 mil polyethylene vapour barrier on the warm side of the insulation. Where do you install the VB in your wall assembly?
5:25 - seems like it would be whole lot easier to do 2" Zip R sheathing to a thermal break and WRB in one pass around the house. In 2024, labor costs is what eats me alive.
Hi Wade. Are you not concerned with the interior 2x4 wall drying out and studs twisting since it does not have any sheathing? I think this would cause a situation of drywall nail pops in the future.
"can allow thermal transfer" it WILL allow thermal transfer and drops a walls R value immensely. (3 studs each side of window and door + Header) Sides of my doors/windows in -20c are freezing to the touch being as a 2x6 R value is only about R7. Not to mention -35c Temps I face in Calgary Alberta. I am a huge fan of Sealant Between Jack/King/Criples. to get rid of any airflow on the outside of the framing that might migrate towards the inside of the home as well as the top and bottom double plates. That little Effort goes a LONG way. Rigid Foam Below Grade against Concrete walls FTW.
This is kind of a loaded question imo. It all depends on the house and heating methods really, but 5-700 is pretty average monthly cost of heat/cooling on 2000ish sqft.home. Also depends on what the home owner is going for, Some people can't get gas, They are going solar ect ect ect. Generally the ROI is 6-8years without tax write-offs, If you include them it is sometimes (depending on state) cheaper to build this way believe it or not. my dad learned the hard way lol. But The biggest downside to homes like this, Is the time it takes to build at the end of the day. My dad and I built pretty much identical houses the past (started the same time) 5years, Both 30x100 ranch "kit" homes just two lots from one another. He went normal 2x6 advance framing but with R3.3 zip sheathing, about R25 walls 60 attic. He pays about 260 average a month for electric. I went staggered double wall, with R9.9 zip sheathing on the outside and in for vapor barriers with 1/2" closed cell foam on the outer sheathing and packed rockwool in the middle about R67-69 total for the walls that also runs up the roof, with another R40 in the celling to the attic cavity, triple pane windows, R22 doors and a 1.8 blower door score, I was able to put in a 4stage 2 ton geothermal cool/heating system while he had to get a 2 stage 5 plus another 2ton geo. I also put 86Kw's of solar 165Kws of batteries, 20Kw generator and 1000gallon propane tank he did not. I went with a well and septic he went city service and we both don't have gas lines. Because of all this I got Passive home, Net zero and Energy star Certified. My dad paid 240K for everything turn key, He got 25K back in grants and taxes at the end of the year but that's it , I paid 290K but got 90K in Federal grants an taxes at the end of the year plus 25K in state rebates, So right away it was hella cheaper for the wife an I, PLUS we get 1K for energy star 3.1 a year for 10yrs and 2500 per year for 10yrs in tax rebates as long as I'm "net zero" even with 2 electric cars with around 10K miles a year put on them, only charging at home (we use the gas car for road trips) the electric company still pays us 30 a month or %40 the value of what we feed back, Instead of paying $260 Like my dad for the same (ours is about 250sqft less tho) home or the $5-700 the average home here pays. We both also got (Menards) in store credit, Him 20K me 27K. IDK about him but I also got a lil more then 12K cash back from the cards used. So if we compare cost just over 10yrs with my dad. He paid 195K while still paying about 400 a month for ALL utilities or another 48k over 10yrs. We will have paid 101K, with no utilities bills (maybe 800 total in two septic cleaning) while getting paid around 3K from the electric company over the 10yrs, Nor are we paying $3-400 a month in gas for car's. Compared to a normal home my home is basically (not really) paying me after 10years
Maybe a silly question, but why have the load bearing 2x6 wall be on the outside instead of having it and its fragile osb sheathing as the inner wall ? Inside, it would still carry all the roof and ceiling and second floor loads, and would still maintain the thermal break between it and the outer 2x4 wall, but the unsheathed 2x4 wall would not have any osb to rot in the event of any leak in its wrb. That half of the wall would still have dense pack cellulose but be vapor open with nothing to rot and mold like the osb eventually will. The result would be more like the Larsen truss retrofits, except with the full thermal break advantage of the double stud wall.
@@nomdeguerre8464 Yes, where structural sheathing is still necessary to prevent wracking of the wall, but keeping it away from the weather and dewpoint by burying it in the middle of the insulation layer. Then you have no substrate under siding just wrb over open studs on the outer wall.
@@nomdeguerre8464Start exactly like a single-wall 2x6 home, but ceiling joists separate from truss or rafter roof, with osb sheathing over this flat box and wrap it all in self-adhered membrane like Grace Select up walls and over attic floor before setting rafters, for a full vapor tight living space. Windows mounted and flashed as "innie" windows in this 2x6 wall. Then build a second 2x4 studwall without osb, hung from roof rafter tails at the top and the foundation at the bottom, either with a lipped foundation wall or pressure treated ledger lag bolted to the exterior of the foundation wall, all outside the Grace Select covering the foundation. Set as much gap as you want, 8", 12", whatever. Denshield or other rot-proof window and door bucks only midwall connections between inner and outer wall. Then a vapor open wrb like Tyvek or double roofing felt over the 2x4 studs. Attach wood or galvalume siding or Denshield and stucco cladding. Fill both walls with cellulose. Outer cellulose would be continuous layer up onto Grace wrapped attic floor 20" cellulose layer.
We are putting a ton of material into the wall make it more efficient, than we create a huge window opening that will have r-5 maybe r-7, I think the real improvement to being energy efficient needs to start with all the openings
Not sure r46 in a wall matters when you have huge windows everywhere that have a r value around 6-8. Getting rid of windows is the best way to save energy.
It will weaken it, but not defeat it. It still needs to be a functional house, and not a dark windowless fortress. It will probably get triple pane windows though, which is not as good as that wall, but the best we can get. Big windows with well insulated walls are better than big windows with thin walls.
I think there is and will always be a tug of war between 1) how many windows 2) how large windows should be 3 )the design / aesthetic look of the house from the outside appearance 4) how much lite you want and / or need 5) how much you want to save / efficiency on utilities 6) how and / or what type of glass to use. That is, of course double or triple pane justified with cost, low E, and argon 7 ) cost of the windows or your budget. 8) whether this is your forever home or you are going to resell. Yes that's a lot of manusha and very academic. So, in the real world (lol) just like many things we buy as consumers , there tends to be a priority on looks. Imagine that !! Therefore, where the balance of all that I listed plus maybe others that I missed is really going to come down to ....man that looks good. And man I got those windows on a deal. Lol And remember , as a home efficiency expert told me long ago, the biggest loser of energy every single time and every home is " GLASS " So, I think when you have a wall that is built very well with a great R factor ,then try to keep the windows to a minimum if you want a low utilities. Otherwise , if you don't care and like paying more on utilities then go for it. I'm always amazed , well not really, why people spend huge amounts of money on sunrooms and don't use. Same with decks. People simply say one thing and do another. ( Yes I'm guilty too ) I think that is the same logic as it looks good matters more than I don't care what my utilities will be. Dah !!
Yes, very expensive construction, double wall, double framing, less square footage of livable space. How does that construction compair to other forms of construction at the same R value? manufactured modular construction panels with foam fill, autoclaved foamcrete block, etc. Also, using double framing seems it may not be as sustainable as non organic high R value products. I can forsee a time when premanufactured 3D printed modular wall construction filled with foam or some other insulation could take over since the concrete isnt organic and also new formula utalizing Fly Ashe and other low carbon footprint materials can be greener.
I would consider a double wall the best bang-for-buck system when you factor in all forms of labour involvement compared to other assemblies. I would much rather go the double wall route than say adding 6" of Rockwool on the outside of the wall and having to address all the details with exterior cladding, even though that may be a better performing assembly. No wall system is perfect, but at least they are building something to PH standards which itself is highly positive.
2x6 with 6" rockwool exterior is double the price, just in materials. Same range as ICF. Double stud is between that and 2x6+Zip-R. Add LiteZone R14 windows to 2x6+Zip-R, and you close to double stud performance with lower cost. Only downside is they're fixed windows, but do your really need to open windows with ERV/HRV?
My house has double 2 x 4 walls with staggered studs and no space between them. Minimally more expensive that 2 x 6 wall but no thermal bridging except for top plate and mud sill. Very low heating bills with radiant heat. I think the number and size of windows starts playing a bigger factor once you get to r-30. I have a lot of windows so having a thicker wall assembly wouldn't help that much more since the square footage of the windows makes up much of the wall.
There's no need for the 2x6 wall, it's just wasted money. You can get the same R-value with two 2x4 walls at the same 12-inch wall depth. There are plenty of 3-level buildings built with a single 2x4 wall so structurally it's fine.
No wonder the housing situation is in such a crisis, these guys use enough material to build 2 houses in just one house that costs 4x what it really should!
I saw a video on here the other day an electrician trying to justify only wasting one roll of wire on a house with 250 boxes. I’m like wtf a decent house only uses one roll of wire altogether. When I see post Malone talking about a 12,800 sq day house. I’m thinking is the layout an oversized house with a 10x1000 foyer or what
why not just use thermal studs? you build one wall with 95% of the advantages, and use less materials? I imagine probably similar if not less costly as well.
I am having a hard time understanding why you would ever need an r46 in the walls.that is insane .they did some research on the when you are wasting money on over insulating and the heat loss thru every r value you could use. There is a ooint when you start wasting money because more is better. It is not true. All the money wasted on double framing is massive over kill for not one efficiency benefit. For the cold to transfer thru a 2x6 stud it would have to cool all the insulation touching it on both sides. If you want an r 46 step up to the close cell spray foam and use the money you will save by not doing the double framing. Silly
Spray foam is toxic. Insurance won't cover it. Many countries and states are NOT allowing loans or even sales to take place if there is ANY spray foam in structure. Also let alone the inability to get wood rot and termite inspection. ..and Soo much more
Close cell spray foam is quite expensive. I'm not sure it would be cheaper than what you think. I do think it would've been better to have both walls as 2x4. The 2x6 shouldn't be needed structurally, so going to a 2x4 would give an extra 2" of insulation or a thinner wall.
@@agisler87 for what ? An r 30 in the walls is overkill the upper floor ceiling is the most important .heat rises it doesn't push sideways. Double framing is pointless waste of money
@@jefflinnell8492It's not that much over what code requires. Especially depending on which zone this is for. The double wall reduces thermal bridging which will transfer cold. This is probably a cheaper design for a high performance wall.
Talk talk, pictures and diagrams worth a thousand words..
Very nice explanation of the mud sill Wade and how to properly seal it. Thoroughly enjoy this content, keep up the great work!
Thanks so much!
My house built in 1962 had such a huge gap between the concrete and the wall assembly. It was about 3/4 of an inch in the center of the wall. Yikes, lots of expansion foam and lumber to prevent cold air leaking in. Thanks. great video. 👍👍👍
Thanks for explaining the details for double wall construction
thanks for watching!
My current house is double wall construction at 14''. The outer load bearing 2x6 wall has 1/2'' exterior plywood sheating and is cantilevered 2'' from the concrete. This allows 2'' rigid exterior insulation to wrap the foundation having the wall and basement insulation to be in plane.
In my 40 + years of building energy efficient homes I always insulate the foundation on the outside.
Can you cantilever load baring walls like that? I mean, I guess you did, but that passes code? So, really it's 1.5" of the stud over?
What do you fill with? If blown insulation, how do you keep that from settling over time? Even if dense pack?
What about condensation?
@@nomdeguerre8464 You still have four inches of wood on the concrete foundation. The roof trusses can have the load on that 4''.
Dense pack cellulose. The space between the two walls is open and accesable in the attic. If the insulation were to settle it could be packed with the cellulose in the R 80 attic and then the attic toped up in the future.
I use poly on the ceiling only. The interior drywall walls have vapor retarder primer and the exterior has black building paper under the siding so the structure breaths.
Hey, nice work. A few things about double walls. The framing for the exterior walls is set for the plywood. The interior walls can be set for perfect sheetrock layout.
Off setting the exterior studs from interior i think is useful. interior window walls can be splayed to let light shine in more.
We used a 2x12 top and 2x12 PT bottom plate. This allowed us to frame only the exterior walls and get the roof on. Later it was easy to frame the interior walls.
Electricians and plumbers will love your job it is easy for them to work.
I have done insulated panels set-up on sliding door tracs. The panels slid out from inside the wall to seal the window closed at night.
I like 2x4 24"O.C, 5/8 sheetrock for the walls. I think it is a better and different product than 1/2".
Nice details. Can I ask.. Do you think your wall would be significantly stronger than a single 2x8 wall 24"oc? I live in FL(hurricanes) and weighing my options. If I'm understanding you right, your wall is 2x6(24"oc) plus a 2x4(24"oc) with a 2x12 top/bottom plate tying everything together? Of course I have roof uplift in mind also.
Will you be showing how the window and doors are installed with this passive house?
( You have a great presenter's voice ........If you were one of those kids that aggravated the 3rd grade teacher because of all the talking....if only she could see you now)
Happy New Year everyone !
I grew up in RI working in the Watch Hill/Westerly area and we always used sill seal but that was before everyone started going passive. I’ve since moved to VT and their energy code here says they do not allow sill seal, you must use a flexible caulking between the foundation and sill so this is the best of both worlds.
Awesome helpful info thank you! I would like to ask for this style of double walls between the exterior and interior walls as you showed on this video. Is there any connections between the two wall that greatly affect the thermal bridging? Or are both the walls completely independent from each other with minimal connecting each other not to affect that heat transfer! Also would the esg foam boards Matt and other builders use more/less or same R value in buioding methods?
i like the double wall idea but i have questions about fire blocking....i see there is blocking on the exterior wall but is it needed in the 2x4 interior wall or even in the space between the walls
cellulose is an "active fire-resistance materials that provides a Class 1 flame spread rating and is a building code approved fire-blocking product".
Has there been any study's showing how long the Sega tape will stay adhered to various substrates?
Long enough for your builder to disappear
Great video. There are many types of sealants. What type do you recommend for the mudsill?
Lateral fire blocking? How do you accomplish stopping a fire from traveling between the two walls?
Fire is really difficult in a "dense packed" cellulose wall. It is difficult for air drafts/smoke to get pulled thru it. Cellulose also "has active fire-resistance materials that provides a Class 1 flame spread rating and is a building code approved fire-blocking product".
So, I’m curious to know why you put all the wall insulation on the inside? I thought the Matt Risinger best practice was to put most of it on the outside of the WRB?
Hi Wade. You didn’t address the need for an interior vapour barrier. In Ontario, Canada we need to install a 6 mil polyethylene vapour barrier on the warm side of the insulation. Where do you install the VB in your wall assembly?
5:25 - seems like it would be whole lot easier to do 2" Zip R sheathing to a thermal break and WRB in one pass around the house. In 2024, labor costs is what eats me alive.
thanks for sharing
Hi Wade. Are you not concerned with the interior 2x4 wall drying out and studs twisting since it does not have any sheathing? I think this would cause a situation of drywall nail pops in the future.
I was thinking about metal studs on the inside to get nice flat walls
Hi Wade.....do you have any suggestions for improving the mudsill on a retrofit residential ranch? Taping?
Yes, SIGA's fentrim tape
Thanks Wade
"can allow thermal transfer" it WILL allow thermal transfer and drops a walls R value immensely. (3 studs each side of window and door + Header)
Sides of my doors/windows in -20c are freezing to the touch being as a 2x6 R value is only about R7. Not to mention -35c Temps I face in Calgary Alberta.
I am a huge fan of Sealant Between Jack/King/Criples. to get rid of any airflow on the outside of the framing that might migrate towards the inside of the home as well as the top and bottom double plates. That little Effort goes a LONG way.
Rigid Foam Below Grade against Concrete walls FTW.
Is heating really that expensive in the NE? I wonder what the ROI is. Understanding that wood is a conductor - what about Post and Beam framing?
This is kind of a loaded question imo. It all depends on the house and heating methods really, but 5-700 is pretty average monthly cost of heat/cooling on 2000ish sqft.home. Also depends on what the home owner is going for, Some people can't get gas, They are going solar ect ect ect. Generally the ROI is 6-8years without tax write-offs, If you include them it is sometimes (depending on state) cheaper to build this way believe it or not. my dad learned the hard way lol. But The biggest downside to homes like this, Is the time it takes to build at the end of the day.
My dad and I built pretty much identical houses the past (started the same time) 5years, Both 30x100 ranch "kit" homes just two lots from one another. He went normal 2x6 advance framing but with R3.3 zip sheathing, about R25 walls 60 attic. He pays about 260 average a month for electric. I went staggered double wall, with R9.9 zip sheathing on the outside and in for vapor barriers with 1/2" closed cell foam on the outer sheathing and packed rockwool in the middle about R67-69 total for the walls that also runs up the roof, with another R40 in the celling to the attic cavity, triple pane windows, R22 doors and a 1.8 blower door score, I was able to put in a 4stage 2 ton geothermal cool/heating system while he had to get a 2 stage 5 plus another 2ton geo. I also put 86Kw's of solar 165Kws of batteries, 20Kw generator and 1000gallon propane tank he did not. I went with a well and septic he went city service and we both don't have gas lines. Because of all this I got Passive home, Net zero and Energy star Certified.
My dad paid 240K for everything turn key, He got 25K back in grants and taxes at the end of the year but that's it , I paid 290K but got 90K in Federal grants an taxes at the end of the year plus 25K in state rebates, So right away it was hella cheaper for the wife an I, PLUS we get 1K for energy star 3.1 a year for 10yrs and 2500 per year for 10yrs in tax rebates as long as I'm "net zero" even with 2 electric cars with around 10K miles a year put on them, only charging at home (we use the gas car for road trips) the electric company still pays us 30 a month or %40 the value of what we feed back, Instead of paying $260 Like my dad for the same (ours is about 250sqft less tho) home or the $5-700 the average home here pays. We both also got (Menards) in store credit, Him 20K me 27K. IDK about him but I also got a lil more then 12K cash back from the cards used.
So if we compare cost just over 10yrs with my dad. He paid 195K while still paying about 400 a month for ALL utilities or another 48k over 10yrs. We will have paid 101K, with no utilities bills (maybe 800 total in two septic cleaning) while getting paid around 3K from the electric company over the 10yrs, Nor are we paying $3-400 a month in gas for car's. Compared to a normal home my home is basically (not really) paying me after 10years
Would 2 x 3 turn sideways staggering on a 2 by 6 sill plate be strong enough for a single story house?
24 inch centers both ways
A lot depends on the quality of the the wood. Most 2x3 are crap. Not sure they meet Code for most areas for exterior walls.
@@je-fq7ve
They are used in mobile homes, what would be the difference
Is the air chamber in between going to be filled with isolation or with air?
not an air chamber. The entire depth of wall, incl the 3inch "chamber" gets filled with dense pack cellulose. So 12" of insulation for an R46
Maybe a silly question, but why have the load bearing 2x6 wall be on the outside instead of having it and its fragile osb sheathing as the inner wall ? Inside, it would still carry all the roof and ceiling and second floor loads, and would still maintain the thermal break between it and the outer 2x4 wall, but the unsheathed 2x4 wall would not have any osb to rot in the event of any leak in its wrb. That half of the wall would still have dense pack cellulose but be vapor open with nothing to rot and mold like the osb eventually will. The result would be more like the Larsen truss retrofits, except with the full thermal break advantage of the double stud wall.
I read your question 3 times. Sheathing on the INNER wall?
@@nomdeguerre8464 Yes, where structural sheathing is still necessary to prevent wracking of the wall, but keeping it away from the weather and dewpoint by burying it in the middle of the insulation layer. Then you have no substrate under siding just wrb over open studs on the outer wall.
@@kirkellis4329 interesting, but... how would you build that?
@@kirkellis4329 and what WRB? Just a loose tyvek?
@@nomdeguerre8464Start exactly like a single-wall 2x6 home, but ceiling joists separate from truss or rafter roof, with osb sheathing over this flat box and wrap it all in self-adhered membrane like Grace Select up walls and over attic floor before setting rafters, for a full vapor tight living space. Windows mounted and flashed as "innie" windows in this 2x6 wall.
Then build a second 2x4 studwall without osb, hung from roof rafter tails at the top and the foundation at the bottom, either with a lipped foundation wall or pressure treated ledger lag bolted to the exterior of the foundation wall, all outside the Grace Select covering the foundation. Set as much gap as you want, 8", 12", whatever. Denshield or other rot-proof window and door bucks only midwall connections between inner and outer wall. Then a vapor open wrb like Tyvek or double roofing felt over the 2x4 studs. Attach wood or galvalume siding or Denshield and stucco cladding. Fill both walls with cellulose. Outer cellulose would be continuous layer up onto Grace wrapped attic floor 20" cellulose layer.
We are putting a ton of material into the wall make it more efficient, than we create a huge window opening that will have r-5 maybe r-7, I think the real improvement to being energy efficient needs to start with all the openings
yup lol lets put a r70 in the attic then have 8ft windows
Hard to sell a house with tiny or no windows.
So you're saying do nothing?
Not sure r46 in a wall matters when you have huge windows everywhere that have a r value around 6-8. Getting rid of windows is the best way to save energy.
seems like the studs aren't offset, feels like the insulation will suffer where the insulation will be choked between 2 parallel studs...
It should be very quiet inside that home.
Those huge window openings will defeat your wall r-values
Bro. When you have that kind of money you don’t need insulation.
It will weaken it, but not defeat it. It still needs to be a functional house, and not a dark windowless fortress. It will probably get triple pane windows though, which is not as good as that wall, but the best we can get.
Big windows with well insulated walls are better than big windows with thin walls.
No joke. Some breakers won’t even fit in a 3.5” cavity
I think there is and will always be a tug of war between 1) how many windows 2) how large windows should be 3 )the design / aesthetic look of the house from the outside appearance 4) how much lite you want and / or need 5) how much you want to save / efficiency on utilities 6) how and / or what type of glass to use. That is, of course double or triple pane justified with cost, low E, and argon 7 ) cost of the windows or your budget. 8) whether this is your forever home or you are going to resell.
Yes that's a lot of manusha and very academic. So, in the real world (lol) just like many things we buy as consumers , there tends to be a priority on looks. Imagine that !!
Therefore, where the balance of all that I listed plus maybe others that I missed is really going to come down to ....man that looks good. And man I got those windows on a deal. Lol
And remember , as a home efficiency expert told me long ago, the biggest loser of energy every single time and every home is " GLASS "
So, I think when you have a wall that is built very well with a great R factor ,then try to keep the windows to a minimum if you want a low utilities. Otherwise , if you don't care and like paying more on utilities then go for it. I'm always amazed , well not really, why people spend huge amounts of money on sunrooms and don't use. Same with decks. People simply say one thing and do another.
( Yes I'm guilty too )
I think that is the same logic as it looks good matters more than I don't care what my utilities will be. Dah !!
Not if they're made by Riotglass.
I thought I saw David Costabile
Yes, very expensive construction, double wall, double framing, less square footage of livable space. How does that construction compair to other forms of construction at the same R value? manufactured modular construction panels with foam fill, autoclaved foamcrete block, etc. Also, using double framing seems it may not be as sustainable as non organic high R value products. I can forsee a time when premanufactured 3D printed modular wall construction filled with foam or some other insulation could take over since the concrete isnt organic and also new formula utalizing Fly Ashe and other low carbon footprint materials can be greener.
I would consider a double wall the best bang-for-buck system when you factor in all forms of labour involvement compared to other assemblies. I would much rather go the double wall route than say adding 6" of Rockwool on the outside of the wall and having to address all the details with exterior cladding, even though that may be a better performing assembly. No wall system is perfect, but at least they are building something to PH standards which itself is highly positive.
Triple wall construction is even better!
2x6 with 6" rockwool exterior is double the price, just in materials. Same range as ICF.
Double stud is between that and 2x6+Zip-R.
Add LiteZone R14 windows to 2x6+Zip-R, and you close to double stud performance with lower cost. Only downside is they're fixed windows, but do your really need to open windows with ERV/HRV?
My house has double 2 x 4 walls with staggered studs and no space between them. Minimally more expensive that 2 x 6 wall but no thermal bridging except for top plate and mud sill. Very low heating bills with radiant heat. I think the number and size of windows starts playing a bigger factor once you get to r-30. I have a lot of windows so having a thicker wall assembly wouldn't help that much more since the square footage of the windows makes up much of the wall.
How is it less sqft if the architect accounted for the double wall? If its a 6000 sqft house the double walls are factored in.
After all this expense the homeowner will open the windows for ventilation 😂
No need to. They'll probably have an ERV system that pumps in fresh air and removes stale air 24/7
@@whymindsetmatters and open the windows
@@CybekCusal if they want to. Of course
@@whymindsetmatters I never asked for your advice or comment and I don't want it. Go make your own thread about your own ideas.
@@CybekCusal likewise pal.
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There's no need for the 2x6 wall, it's just wasted money. You can get the same R-value with two 2x4 walls at the same 12-inch wall depth. There are plenty of 3-level buildings built with a single 2x4 wall so structurally it's fine.
No wonder the housing situation is in such a crisis, these guys use enough material to build 2 houses in just one house that costs 4x what it really should!
I saw a video on here the other day an electrician trying to justify only wasting one roll of wire on a house with 250 boxes. I’m like wtf a decent house only uses one roll of wire altogether. When I see post Malone talking about a 12,800 sq day house. I’m thinking is the layout an oversized house with a 10x1000 foyer or what
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why not just use thermal studs? you build one wall with 95% of the advantages, and use less materials? I imagine probably similar if not less costly as well.
I am having a hard time understanding why you would ever need an r46 in the walls.that is insane .they did some research on the when you are wasting money on over insulating and the heat loss thru every r value you could use. There is a ooint when you start wasting money because more is better. It is not true. All the money wasted on double framing is massive over kill for not one efficiency benefit. For the cold to transfer thru a 2x6 stud it would have to cool all the insulation touching it on both sides. If you want an r 46 step up to the close cell spray foam and use the money you will save by not doing the double framing. Silly
Spray foam is toxic. Insurance won't cover it. Many countries and states are NOT allowing loans or even sales to take place if there is ANY spray foam in structure.
Also let alone the inability to get wood rot and termite inspection. ..and Soo much more
Close cell spray foam is quite expensive. I'm not sure it would be cheaper than what you think.
I do think it would've been better to have both walls as 2x4. The 2x6 shouldn't be needed structurally, so going to a 2x4 would give an extra 2" of insulation or a thinner wall.
@@agisler87 for what ? An r 30 in the walls is overkill the upper floor ceiling is the most important .heat rises it doesn't push sideways. Double framing is pointless waste of money
@@jefflinnell8492It's not that much over what code requires. Especially depending on which zone this is for. The double wall reduces thermal bridging which will transfer cold.
This is probably a cheaper design for a high performance wall.
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