Exterior Wall Sheathing Installation

Non structural exterior wall sheathing also called insulating sheathing is installed on the exterior wall to add insulation and provide a radiant barrier.

Exterior wall sheathing installation.

A line snapped across the studs orients the top of this sheet. Sheathing attaches to the outside edge of the exterior walls and supports the exterior siding as well as providing a dry environment for plumbing pipes electrical wires and hvac ductwork. Rely on georgia pacific gypsum s industry trusted line of high performance exterior gypsum panels including densglass sheathing the 1 architecturally specified fiberglass mat gypsum sheathing. The first sheet should hang below the bottom wall plate to tie into the framing below.

Structural exterior wall sheathing strengthens the wall system by tying the framing studs together which makes the walls resistant to twisting and bending. This includes both labor at roughly 700 and materials at roughly 300. Don t leave the integrity of your exterior walls to chance. Installation of structural exterior wall sheathing occurs after the structure s walls are framed secured to the slab plumbed and braced.

Your exterior walls deserve the gold standard. The next piece above it should be allowed a 1 8 expansion joint ending at the top plate or at the midway point of the next rim joist. Gypsum exterior wall sheathing costs the costs of installing gypsum sheathing is around 2 a square foot installed which makes a 500 sq ft. The second row of sheathing should be offset at least three stud bays from the first.

Wall sheathing starts with making sure the underlying wall framing is square. How to install gypsum exterior wall sheathing. Existing walls usually do not require sheathing unless you are stripping off the old siding and applying a different type that calls for sheathing. Installation cost roughly 1 000 when complete.

Sheathing serves many purposes in home construction. Most new walls need sheathing to strengthen them to act as a nailing base for siding and or to boost insulation. Insulating sheathing comes in various r values. For multi story buildings the sheathing on the bottom should extend down to the bottom of the lowest framing member extend to the halfway point on rim joist as shown in red.

On our first wall we installed the osb sheathing. In this episode of our off grid cabin build series we are installing the osb sheathing on an exterior wall.