I will be building a 1000 sqare foot house for myself this winter. I plan on using 2×4 framing on 2 foot centers. I have read about people using 1/2 inch OSB at the corner of the exterior side of the walls, for the sheer strength, and covering it with 1/2 inch ISO panels. I would then cover the rest of the wall with 1 inch ISO panels. The article said that you may need to have OSB in other specific areas beside the corners to provide the strength the wall needs. Is there a rule of thumb for this, or would I need to consult a professional?
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Welcome to Breaktime.
Filling in your profile will help with some questions.
Our local chapter of Habitat for Humanity built one house with a similar system. I say similar because we built on 16" centers rather than your 24" proposed system.
We were required to sheath with 1/2" OSB at the building corners and at all openings (windows and doors). Sheathing around windows and doors had to extend 1 full stud bay past the opening in both directions and cover completely from top to bottom plate.
Quite frankly, the system proved to be such a pain that we abandoned the technique on all future homes. Our primary objection was the need to hit studs with the siding nails - almost impossible when using volunteer labor. Secondary objection was the problem of how to anchor Tyvek - foam does not hold staples very well.
We used foam board which was donated to us by Dow - they were willing to provide foam board for future homes, but we declined.
I would be inclined to use 1/2" OSB for all of the sheathing and skip the foam, especially with 24" stud centers. I suspect that the OSB will be cheaper than foam, and I am positive the OSB will yield a more rigid wall.
The best answer which I can give you is - Check with your local building department to determine legality / restrictions in your area.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Rick Arnold wrote an article in Fine Homebuilding this past year about the different types of poly panels, and he said the ISO panels are so effective as a water barrier and for air infiltration that Tyvek wrapping is not needed. I haven't checked myself yet, but the contractors that I have worked for in the past say that there really isn't any local code. I have never seen anybody ever come and check any project. Most contractors don't waste their time getting a building permit. I'm not sure what needs to be filled out in the profile, I might of been looking in the wrong place.
Member profile:
Go to upper right of this screen - in the yellow bar - click on "My Forums"
Will take you to a page which is basically empty since you are a new member.
Scroll down on left side to "My Info"
Click on "My Profile" - will give you a form of sorts to fill in basic info such as geographic area of the country - this helps with building questions regarding snow loads, heat / cool loads, earthquake areas, etc.
You can view any other member's profile by clicking on their user name - gives you a vague idea of who you are talking with.
Search function regarding past threads: go to "advanced search" at upper left of thread listing - click - fill in what you are looking for by subject or thread number - many topics already discussed at length.
In your case you could probably get some insight on the forum opinions regarding 24" framing and probably foam panels as sheathing.
When you search by topic - don't be discouraged when you get some old discussion about replacing galvanized pipes - be patient and perhaps you will get the topic you searched for! I think the pipes discussion serves as a screen saver.
Suggested reading from the archives - 94292.1 - thread titled "24 in framing" Sept '06 time frame. Be advised you will read differing opinions on almost every topic - with the possible exception of - "it is not the best practice to use bright common nails with ACQ treated lumber in outdoor applications!"
Enjoy,
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Thanks for the guidance, I'm slowly figuring out this site.
You are welcome.
Don't know what your flooring system is going to be - this is a discussion on the topic of floor joist spacing - 16 vs 24 spacing - 88172.1
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
How do I check out past discussions, like 94292.1 and 88172.1?
On left side of this screen scroll up to the very top of the discussion threads.
Click on "Advanced Search"
Screen will come up with a title like "search for mesages" - scroll all the way to the bottom of that screen. Do not fill in anything - keep scrolling to the bottom.
You will find an option to "search by message number"
Type your known thread number into the box - click search - voila - that specific thread will appear. How does it do that???????
The addresses which I gave you are specific to just the original post in the thread, however, you will be able to read the entire thread.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Your browser should be displaying a URL up above that looks like this,
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages/?msg=97671.1See the number at the end of it? Change that number to what ever message you are seeking and hit enter
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Good Tip Piffin! Is there any time when that comes in handy? FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
Two times I am likely to do that.One is when soembody forgets to make a live link or doesn't know how, but they provide the message number as in the message post I replied to.The other would be when say I am in a long thread with a complicated discussion and forget what in the world we are talking about.
I know there is link near the bottom to display all mesages in the thread or to go back to beginning, but there are times when rather than scrol to that link fiorst, I find it easier to just adjust it in my URL. Or maybe the thread has 337 messages and somebody refers to what they said back inmessage # 69. There won't be a direct link to that one so I put ****.69in the URLI know a lot of people never even look at the URL line unless they are typing in a new addy, but I have a habit os seeing addresses. One reason is that I look at a link before clicking to see if it might be some type of file that could be a virus or worm.
or a large PDF that would challenge my system depending on what else i have runningAnother is a form of reverse engineering. Sometimes a person here will link to a photo in another site , perhaps a commercial entity or their own photobucket or whatever, instead of just making it an attachment here. They might be showing their siding for a question, but the photo they linked does not show the whole storey, so if the photo number in the URL they show seems one of a series, I change that and often see a lot of their work on the house that educates me how they work and think or what might be wrong with things - fleshes out the whole picture
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I do that URL trick too but it just never occurred to me to use it in a thread. I'll probably find a good use for it some day. I am also very wary of differnt files. I dont/can't/don't want to open about 30% of all site that I visit. I don't allow updates, especially auto updates and I don't allow plugins to be installed. Every time I allow something, they hijack my defaults and I have to go through the system shutting down their bots and scripts and get the stuff off my taskbar. I found a great site for tweaking Windows XP and for a long while I could boot my computer in about 40 seconds. This laptop is now taking me about 2 minutes....it's time to clean house again! FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
We stood up many, many homes like that back in MI. To date, they are all standing....some as much as 25 years.
Foamed sheathing houses are shakier than osb houses but it wasn't too long ago that everyone was warning about using osb instead of "real plywood" too. The houses shake, but shake bake to plumb.
FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
Is there a rule of thumb for this, or would I need to consult a professional?
Well, there's several rules of thumb, and a few more that are rules of law, too--location matters. (That's why all the hinting at pressing that "Update Profile" that's up in the ocher band at your top right, about 2 o'clock under the cover image of the magazine.)
It's not merely the 1/2" sheathing (also known as "sheeting" up in Canada, I'm given to understand) there's usually a nailing schedule (what size and what spacing) along with glue requirements to achieve minimum racking or wind shear requirements.
Now, there's nothing wrong with using a 24" center framing scheme. Not that much different than using a 24" modular design, really. But, as the expression goes, the divil is in the details. Like the nifty way a 2-0 window does not "fit" neatly into 24" framing. Or the pessky ways 2-8 and 3-0 doors also faile to play nice with the layout.
It can still be done, and done well. Just takes detailing right, which generally translates into a bit more drawing before the sawing starts.
Oh, and in case the thought had occured to use the 8' dimension of most sheet goods to decrease waste has cropped up, remember that there are two surfaces to walls, and the vertical dimensions on the exterior walls differ. Honest.
Now, putting up those ISO panels does make some sense, but over the entire exterior wall--I'm a big fan of creating thermal breaks between extreme climates and framing.
Your building department should be able to give you what the minimum requirements are, but think about what you want too. Personally, I like a solid house and would go for 2x4 studs 16" o/c or 2x6 at 24" (this allows more insulation). In the West, with earthquake concerns, the whole exterior would be sheathed; same is true for a lot of the coastal areas in the East and Gulf. Go for double the minimum floor stiffness too. A stiffer structure and better insulation don't add much to the total cost, but can add a lot to the way the house feels.
First, I have never seen exterior load bearing 2x4 walls on 24" centers. More to the point though, the rule of thumb for structural panels (sheathing) is one on each side of each corner and then one every 25' (for long walls). So if you have exterior load bearing walls longer than 25' you need to place a structural panel somewhere around the midpoint of the wall. I'm about 90% sure this is in the IRC code too.
value engineering & the APA had lot's of information on 2x4 @ 24" oc
you could even eliminate the double plate.... AS LONG AS.....
everything was stacked...
studs.... joists...... raftersMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
and as long as the lumber is decent.Somebody has been grading with their eyes closed lately. Had to send back two bunks of 2x6 that were all wane on one side
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Thanks, I planned not to have a double top and I had it designed so that the joists, studs, and rafters were all stacked. For some old habits die hard.
All good tips.
I'd go out and get an IRC code book. 2006 International Residential Code
The IRC is what most of the Northeast is using and has prescriptive code for wall sheathing.
The APA has great shear wall design for skinny walls adjacent to garages,when windows are close to a corner, etc. which is becoming more important in high wind areas.
Depending upon what you are putting up as your exterior siding, I'd be careful with the foam boards without an exterior wrap. The seams would need to be sealed from water penetration and it is easier to lap exterior wrap than it is to seal between 2 butted panels.