Episode 7 - Insulating Walls: Cavity or Continuous

Jake emphasizes the critical need for maintaining continuity in the control layers of buildings, particularly the water control layer. According to Jake, the absence of continuous control layers can lead to water infiltration and energy inefficiencies. Instead of the traditional method of cavity insulation between studs, Jake advocates for the use of continuous insulation, which he believes is a more effective alternative.

He delves into the building code requirements for continuous insulation and explains the impact of different options on energy performance, including R-values for walls, basements, and crawl spaces. Jake underscores the higher cost and complexity of continuous insulation, but highlights its superior energy efficiency and environmental control.

The discussion also covers practical considerations, such as managing penetrations and water while incorporating continuous insulation. Additionally, Jake compares advanced framing techniques with traditional methods, emphasizing the cost-effectiveness of continuous insulation. Lastly, he draws from his personal experiences to suggest that a combination of cavity and continuous insulation often provides the best balance between cost and performance.

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[jackofalltradesmasterofnon]

I feel like this discussion should include more on performance path vs. prescriptive path. I did a calculation for our home build in 4 marine and if I use higher performance windows along with R23 between the studs I don’t need exterior CI. So in this case would I rather spend money on better windows or exterior insulation?… for us better windows and simpler build seems like a better option. This really should be discussed more, I didn’t even realize that performance path was an option until I did a lot more digging. Performance path lets you make the right tradeoffs for your particular build.

[andykross]

An even better option is to go 100% continuous insulation with ICF construction and get a better built house. Better in terms of structural, disaster resistance, fire resistance, sound suppression, durability, longevity, less trips around the building, etc.

[DeuceDeuceBravo]

Exterior insulation is still a luxury item for the vast majority of clients. Even if you use cheap polyiso, the extra labor for detailing is rarely in the budget.
Also, cavity insulation is important for sound dampening. Even if my home had all the required R-value on the exterior I would still put some insulation between the studs.

[raymondpeters]

2 foot thick poured in place pumicecrete walls are fire proof and has a good R value and good sound attenuation
My goal is to build a pumicecrete home for Community First in Austin Texas
Take care Ray

[Leonidimus]

Advanced framing or not, you still have to have headers in load bearing walls? If it's not load bearing, you can skip on headers in a regular 16 OC wall.

[patrickkenny]

I think the interesting opportunities with continuous insulation really come down to how your interior wall is presented/finished. If your rough framing can be highlighted in the interior you are making the most effective use of resources: you eliminate the cavity insulation because that could let you eliminate the drywall.

[kverdis]

Nice work w/ the visualization of lumber difference. 👍🏼

[trampfossil]

Can you also address the double pane tripple pane gas filled windo factor too?

[Jcewazhere]

There was a video a while back where the 2x4 studs were offset forward and back sitting on a 2x6. Would the insulation weaving through that count as continuous?

I wish codes were enforced everywhere. I have a 1 year old house in Southern CO (5b) and they did barely R15 in the walls. Not R20+5 like that graphic shows.
It's a spec home, they did a crappy job on most of it, but that's the most irksome because it's the hardest to fix for now.

[imtheonevanhalen]

You're showing bad insulation installation EVER staple the vapor barrier to the inside of the to the outside insulation manufacturers showing heat lose that stupid!!

[bricelangston]

I don’t like continuous being referred to as an alternative. It should be as standard as cavity. With the advent of new materials that allows for sound sealing and waterproofing., continuous should be applied as it makes sense. Retro is the only thing that gives me indigestion.

[jeremyjedynak]

In this video, Jake says that he sees his company continuing to build in his region with still some cavity insulation in addition to continuous exterior insulation.

It wouldn't surprise me if he did an update video a year from now, perhaps after using the Insofast X Bracket system, where he would say that they're exclusively doing continuous exterior insulation going forward.

Lots of great info in this video, and any builder who not only reads the code but will walk you through how it applies to your build, like Jake did here, is definitely one worth considering working with!

[CG-cxsm]

Could you spray the exterior with 2.5 inches of closed cell. No tape or seams no stud insulation.

[MichaelJ]

Really enjoyed this one, Jake. It clarified a few things I hadn’t thought of before, at least not with any sort of clarity. It’s difficult to discuss any one of the four control layers without getting into some depth on the other three as they are so interrelated and interdependent. I thought you did a pretty good job of focusing on insulation without sacrificing too much on mentioning the others and without making the video longer than our attention spans can endure 😊.

That said, perhaps the single most important reason to use at least some continuous exterior insulation is to move the dew point during the heating season from the interior face of the sheathing to outside the WRB in order to eliminate the potential for water vapor from the interior condensing on the sheathing and thereby promoting mold growth. I don’t recall you mentioning this in the video and from the point of view of building durability, this is way more important than thermal comfort, energy efficiency, construction cost, etc.

[СергійМаксименко-гй]

Кривий Ріг 📯 вітає 🎉 исіх, мирного неба Україні👍👍👍

[purplerays]

So, I'm getting ready to build a house for me, and it is truly a budget build. Not sure if the zip r sheathing with the 1 inch foam is in the budget, but I DO want the best air sealing and insulation I can get. What's the most cost effective way to have it all? Zone 4 in Kentucky, 2400 square foot ranch. I was planning on using the foam backed vinyl siding already. Would this do the job?

[christittle]

2x6 walls or 2x8 walls? Which would y’all go with in 2025

[DONCLI]

I'm with purplerays6. I want to use zip-r with insulated vinyl siding and then spray foam in 2x4 studs. Good idea?

[gregoryvschmidt]

All very helpful if discussing new construction, but the majority of building projects are remodels. Continuous is virtually impossible without expanding the project far beyond original concept.