Older Home Wall Construction
Homes built before the mid 20th century were not built with the same techniques that we use today.
Older home wall construction. If you insulate the wall on the outside that could keep the moisture. There are two methods of plank construction horizontal and vertical. Continuous maintenance can greatly impact a homes life as can the original quality of construction but the older a home is the more likely you are to find issues impacting its livability and. For more about wall framing see how to build an interior wall.
Non load bearing walls only carry their own weight and does not support any structural members. These older homes were largely built without insulation and just open cavities in the walls where the house could breathe. Wood lath systems supporting plaster or stucco in older homes. Most older houses have 2 by 4 wall studs spaced 16 inches on center.
What is a lath and plaster wall. Types of walls used in building construction 1. Home built around 1800. But if your home does have this older interior wall building system you may be curious about how it is constructed and how it compares to drywall.
It carries loads imposed on it from beams and slabs above including its own weight and transfer it. Many newer houses have 2 by 6 wall studs either 16 or 24 inches on center to make exterior walls stronger and create a larger cavity for wall insulation. Adding extra insulation to the exterior walls of an older home when renovating or remodeling is a great way of improving a homes walls thermal performance and reducing energy use while reducing heating bills carbon footprint and improving a buildings comfort level. There are several generations of plaster and lath plaster board and drywall which have been used in.
The thick planks usually hand hewn and sometimes rough sawn are usually joined at the corners with joints typical of hewn log homes. Old buildings were built to breathe and be heated one room at a time said rob lloyd sweet the historic buildings adviser. Many are often. In other cases drilling holes in the walls or removing a couple courses of clapboard to blow insulation into the stud bays may work with no problems.
Non load bearing wall. The first built of thick horizontal boards is strictly known as a plank house these are mostly from a very early period and are found in some areas along the east coast.