About Interior Wall Framing
Most interior details, mainly walls and closets, are built with 2x4s. The walls usually aren't load-bearing, so headers may be down-sized to consist of a couple of 2x4s. Interior framing can provide partitions between rooms, create storage, hide/enclose mechanicals, support second-floor joists, or even support trusses.
| Structural Insulated Panels |
Insulated Concrete Forms |
Steel |
Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)
CSI Division: 042219 | Residential Category: Insulated Concrete Forms
ICFs are forms for poured concrete walls that stay in place as a permanent part of the wall assembly. The forms, made of foam insulation or other insulating material, are either pre-formed interlocking blocks or separate panels connected with plastic or metal ties. The left-in-place forms not only provide a continuous insulation and sound barrier, but also a backing for drywall on the inside, and stucco, lap siding or brick on the outside.
What Makes It A Green Product
- Has a high thermal mass to buffer the interior of a home from extreme outdoor temperatures, which reduces both the peak and total heating and cooling loads.
- Can result in a 25% to 50% energy savings with an energy bill costing $35 less than that of a wood or steel-framed homes.
- Structure is durable, long lasting and requires little to no maintenance.
- Alternative aggregates, such as recycled concrete, are readily available.
Negative Environmental Considerations
- Because ICF are filled with concrete, additions and expansions to homes can be difficult and require the use of a jackhammer unless pre-planned.
- The production of Portland cement generates significant volumes of CO2, a significant greenhouse gas and so substitutes like fly ash and slag should be used when possible.
Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)
CSI Division: 061216 | Residential Category: Stressed Skin Panels
These panels have a foam insulation core surrounded by skins of oriented strand board (OSB). Agriculture fiber cores, such as wheat straw, are widely available and environmentally preferable.
What Makes It A Green Product
- When properly assembled, an SIP house is very tight with very little unintentional air leakage.
- SIPs are very resource efficient and strong.
- Agriboard cores, such as wheat straw, should be used for better indoor air quality.
Negative Environmental Considerations
- Non-formaldehyde polyurethane binders must be used in OSB to prevent offgassing.
- Petrochemical-based foam insulation cores should be avoided.
Steel is a much better choice for interior partition walls than for exterior wall framing because of the excessive heat loss through the steel framing called thermal bridging.
What Makes It A Green Product
- Most light-gauge steel studs have a recycled content of about 25% though much higher recycled contents are available.
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