Can you add furring to 2 by 4 walls to hold 2 by 6 insulation?
Michael McDougallOct. 13, 2021
Has anyone had experience with furring out 2 by 4 walls to take 2 by 6 insulation?
Responses (1)
Emmanuel CosgroveNov. 1, 2021, 3:34 p.m.
You can for sure add 2 inches to your 2x4s so they can accommodate 5.5" batts. You would need to bring out your wiring boxes to mee the new thickness and it would inset your windows more, but there is no reason we can think of as to why that would be a problem otherwise, assuming the wall is currently solid.
A few questions though - where is it and how old is it? And is this a house or an old cottage? I don't know if you experience heavy snow loads where you are, so my only concern without knowing some variables would be making sure this building can continue to carry the load. Weather patterns are far less predictable now, and there are more frequent and heavier precipitation events, so before you do a bunch of work to it just be sure it's ready to last into the future. If you do recieve a lot of snow and it is a 2x4 wall on 24" centers for example, you may want to take advantage of that added 2 inches of wood to help carry a bit of the load if necessary. But, all this is simply a long-winded way to say, yeah, you can add 2 inch furring to a 2x4 wall and get more insulation in there.
Fitting extra insulation to an older home when renovating can be a great idea, but when insulating exterior walls from the outside take care to do it right. Ec…
Thermal bridges in walls can reduce the overall performance of a home. Thermal breaks are the answer to this problem. It is easy to look at the R value rating …
How to build a slab-on-grade with a thickened edge on standard soil. There are many ways to build a slab-on-grade (or frost-protected shallow foundation), the …
Solutions for preventing and eliminating some common pests and insects safely & humanely (if possible). Insects & Rodents, how to show them the door...
Below i…
When it comes to choosing a building envelope there are many variables to consider: what climate zone you're building in, performance, durability, health, comf…
Whether a house is worth rebuilding or is better torn down depends on a lot of factors, many of them personal, but also financial considerations like grants, s…
Crawlspaces are becoming rare for new home construction in USA & Canada. If you've got a crawls space with damp, mold, odor & cold issues, here's how to insula…
You can for sure add 2 inches to your 2x4s so they can accommodate 5.5" batts. You would need to bring out your wiring boxes to mee the new thickness and it would inset your windows more, but there is no reason we can think of as to why that would be a problem otherwise, assuming the wall is currently solid.
A few questions though - where is it and how old is it? And is this a house or an old cottage? I don't know if you experience heavy snow loads where you are, so my only concern without knowing some variables would be making sure this building can continue to carry the load. Weather patterns are far less predictable now, and there are more frequent and heavier precipitation events, so before you do a bunch of work to it just be sure it's ready to last into the future. If you do recieve a lot of snow and it is a 2x4 wall on 24" centers for example, you may want to take advantage of that added 2 inches of wood to help carry a bit of the load if necessary. But, all this is simply a long-winded way to say, yeah, you can add 2 inch furring to a 2x4 wall and get more insulation in there.