In traditional framing (i.e. 2×6″ studs), “thermal bridging” is an issue. A thermal bridge is a “shortcut” where thermal energy bypasses your insulation, and instead travels through the path of least resistance which in most cases is your wood studs (or even worse, metal studs). The image below shows thermal bridging in traditional framing.
The exterior walls of the Pilikan house are framed using a staggered double stud method. The sill and top plates are 2×10″ with studs being 2×4″ @ 24″ on centre. There is an outside and an inside course of stud, and these two courses are offset.
The double stud wall breaks that thermal bridge by having two seperate stud walls which are seperated by an insulation layer. By staggering the studs, the distance seperating the two stud walls is further increased, which in turn improves the thermal performance of the wall even more.
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- Thermal Bridge – traditional 2×6 framing
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- Thermal break – Double Stud Wall
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- Looking between the two stud walls
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- Wall corner
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