This R-58 wall has I-joists screwed to the outside and dense-packed with cellulose. It is also one of the four best in 'BS and Beer' circles
There was recently a contest on Instagram for the most high-performing wall that was practical to build, and we at ProTradeCraft decided to make animations of the four finalists.
The first wall comes from Mike Maines, who submitted a panelized wall from a company he used to work with, Ecocor.
- The Ecocor wall begins with 2x4 framing, on 24-inch centers. The stud cavities are eventually filled with rock wool insulation.
- ZIP System wall sheathing covers the framing to provide not only lateral support but also it is the primary air control layer.
- The seams are taped with Pro Clima Tescon Vana tape. Because this layer isn’t a water control layer, any tape will work, and while Pro Clima Tescon Vana tape is harder to say than ZIP, it is less expensive, so worth the mouthful.
- Now comes the fun part: screwing I-joists to the outside of the wall. The I-joists are capped with a strip of ZIP sheathing top and bottom before installing the exterior WRB and blowing the cavities full of cellulose.
- The outer WRB is also from Pro Clima, called Solitex Mento Plus.
- On the corner is a wide strip of ¾ inch subfloor that will plane out with ¾ in furring strips. Ecocor uses two layers of perpendicular strips to create 3-dimensional airflow and positive water drainage behind the siding that will be fastened to the furring strips.
And that is the first entry in the Final Four High-Performance Wall Challenge. Stay tuned for more of the four.