WORDS: BERT SLONE, CHIEF ARCHITECT AND SENIOR MANAGER OF COMMERCIAL
Masonry Design | 43
BUILDING SYSTEMS FOR OWENS CORNING
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF OWENS CORNING
performs in conjunction with other elements. For
example, insulation must be considered in terms
of thermal and moisture performance, but also in
context with how it functions with air/water barriers
and limiting fire propagation in the enclosure. The
design team selected the pre-engineered Owens
Corning® Enclosure Solutions for the masonry steel
stud wall assembly. Following is how each element
supported key challenges.
Challenge #1: Guarding Against Moisture Infiltration
Regardless of the form it takes, moisture is a
pervasive threat. The closed cell, moistureresistant
rigid nature of the Rigid Foam Insulation
used as continuous insulation keeps steel stud
framing warmer in cold condtions, and it is adequately
permeable to regulate vapor migration, both of which
reduces the likelihood of vapor condensation in the
stud cavity. It also resists liquid moisture in masonry
wall cavities