Walls and insulation

return to As Built

Windows, walls and floor on historic side of the building

Sustainability goals for our wall system

Because we were designing a Super Insulated Building Envelope, our wall system design was extremely important. Our goals included:

• Minimize thermal bridging.
• Reduce energy use of existing building by at least 70%.
• Use envelope and insulation materials that do not harm building occupants or the environment.
• Use envelope and insulation materials that are existing, recycled, and/or local materials wherever possible.

Wall design

Historic side

Built second wall inside the brick/block walls to accommodate super insulation while preserving historic appearance and keep block from entering waste stream. Modeled wall system with WUFI software to determine how best to achieve high R-value and also deal with moisture within our super insulated wall assembly design

Historic brick/block layer 8" thick

Weep holes at base of wall to drain moisture from behind masonry layer

Drainage plane 1" thick

This air layer helps control thermal bridging by separating the inner wall from the outer wall

Also helps control moisture build up in the wall by providing a path for condensation or rain water to run down to weep holes

Firring blocks 1" thick

Controls thermal bridging by holding stud wall away from drainage plane behind masonry

Polyiso rigid foam board 2" thick, 2 layers with staggered seams (total of 4" thick)

Cellulose blown-in insulation (and wood studs) 5" thick

Absorbs and dissipates moisture like a living organism

Contains fire retardant and mold inhibitors

Gypsum wallboard 1" thick, 1/2" reused from existing, 1/2" new material

Total thermal resistance for the walls is R-42

Total wall thickness is 18.5"

Annex side

Caulking the walls of the annex.

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The importance of insulation

Stacks of used polyisoinsulation, in background, filled up the building for months before installation in our walls.

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Resources

• Insulation specialist
  • Byczynski, Ken (Building Science Consultant)

Kenco Energy Services

kensr.kenco@gmail.com

248-895-8161 - Mobile

7273 Tucker Road

Holly, MI 48442

• Insulation Supplier

David Volpe

Insulation Depot/

(Used rigid insulation supplier)

508.532.1851

• Comparisons of insulation
  • Insulation Comparison from UK
  • Fiber Glass vs.Cellulose Comparison
  • Long List of Insulation Material Comparison
  • Rocky Mountain Institute Insulation Guide for Home Envelopes
  • Shurcliff, Wm. Super Insulated Houses and Air-to-Air Heat Exchangers

• Wall Systems
  • Building Science Insight 001: The Perfect Wall
  • Oak Ridge National Lab Wall Insulation Guidelines ...nice picture of basic system.
  • Oak Ridge National Lab Wall Moisture Insulation Guidelines by Climate
  • Vapor Barrier Guidelines Put the vapor barrier on the warm side of the exterior structure.
  • Wall System R Value Calculator
  • The Perfect Wall

See also

• Super Insulated Building Envelope
• Flooring
• Passive design
• Roof
• Windows