![]() It is designed with an air space behind the bricks and weeping holes at the bottom to the outside. A brick facade is designed to be a rain and wind screen for the house itself. That is not to say that a brick façade cannot be placed in front of a foam sprayed wall, but even here there is a functioning air space. Maintaining the draining, pressure equalization and air drying functions of this air space is the reason why we should never try to insulate an older house by spraying foam insulation into the space behind brick. In fact after a lot of research by the Institute for Research in Construction and the CMHC it was determined that a rain screen was so important for the drying capacity of a wall that in certain regions and certain types of siding it is a building code requirement. Click here to see an animation of the rain screen principle, and other links to more details of this critical air space that helps walls to stay dry throughout Canada. That air space is a key element of building what we call a “rain screen” wall. Most siding in Canada is installed with an air space between the siding and the wall itself. Both are big topics with many articles to be found in this website via the search tab. Air barriers block air from flowing through the wall, and vapour retarders control the movement of moisture. In our cold climate, there is some kind of insulation in and/or on the wall. The outside of the wall can withstand the elements as well as being decorative. The habitable side of the wall is aesthetically pleasing – most commonly decorated drywall. Some part of the wall is structurally sound, holding up what is attached to the wall and carrying what is above the wall, including the roof with its changing weights of snow and wind. A surprisingly important aspect of an above grade wall is the fact that the temperature of the wall on the outside of the house is rather uniform from bottom to top while inside the house each floor has significant temperature differences between the wall near the floor and the wall near the ceiling – and of course, in the winter, the inside is all warmer than the outside of the wall. What are the critical elements of an above grade wall? OUTSIDE THE BASEMENT – PLACEMENT OF AN AIR GAP MEMBRANE BETWEEN INSULATION AND DRYWALL – BETWEEN THE VAPOUR AND THE DRYWALL BETWEEN INSULATION AND DRYWALL – ON THE INSULATION SIDE OF THE VAPOUR BARRIER ![]() BETWEEN CONCRETE/MASONRY WALLS AND INSULATION IN CORNERS OF BATT INSULATION BETWEEN STUDS BETWEEN HOUSE SHEATHING AND BATT INSULATION INSIDE THE WALL BETWEEN INSULATED SHEATHING AND THE HOUSE For the rest, the first important thing to understand is that walls that are buried in the ground, usually called basement walls, do not function in the same way as walls above grade – so here they will be dealt with separately.Ĭlick on the title for direct access, or scroll to read the whole story. Most of this article will deal with walls that separate the indoors from the outdoors but at the end of the article is the one air space that is important between two heated spaces – air spaces with sound proofing batts. Yes, walls must be made differently in different climates. I have debated as to how to approach the air spaces and I decided not to do an historical evolution of walls, but rather work my way through a wall and discuss each of the air spaces commonly found in cold climate walls. So let me try and organize and explain as many of these air spaces as I can here in one place. Some are accidental - some on purpose, even code required - some served a purpose at one time in history but because of the evolution of construction, are no longer useful - some are wasteful - and some can cause damage.Īfter years of answering questions on this web site I realized that I had quite a scattering of information about air spaces in walls. Walls often have air spaces hidden somewhere between the siding on the outside and the drywall on the inside.
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