Thursday, August 24, 2017

Insulated Wall Panels Installation Tips

By Stephen Collins


Wall panels are usually flat pieces of material cut into rectangular shape that is an exposed and visible covering for walls. They are functional and decorative by providing insulation and soundproofing with a uniform appearance, durability and replaceable. These can reduce cost in construction as consistent appearance is provided with its paneled surface and no finishing material like paint is required.

They are finished on its one side only when their back is against concrete and brick walls, or used as substitute when assembled to an appropriate framework. Using insulated wall panels is becoming popular in institutional, commercial and industrial projects. They may be build according to your specifications that results in reduced waste of materials and labor savings.

Since the materials are manufactured in accordance to specifications, planning the electrical chases ahead is important. This will avoid the costly modifications which consumes time during installation and panels must not be horizontally cut to prevent compromising the structural performance. Determine in design phase if you need any equipment like forklift or crane due to the size of the materials.

Organize the installation with proper weather protection, storage, and handling to make this a more efficient process. Store them in level areas and not close than three inches from the ground, and put them in sequence of being installed. Separate those for each floor and cover them using a protective and breathable tarp to keep them dry.

Tightly and correctly install them while providing full support and ensuring this with slipping them over a wall plate. And make sure to place them in correct order starting from valleys and corners and goes outward. Seal the void or joints properly once installed with adhesive to maintain their durability and minimize air leakage.

Protect them from water penetration and use weather protection like housewrap for preventing moisture deterioration. Follow the installation guidelines the manufacturer of housewraps gave and be sure to flash every penetration. Windows will still leak some water eventually so use flashing around and under the units for directing water away from the structure.

These have air sealing and high insulating properties that most people underestimate which would allow smaller HVAC to be bought. Work with HVAC contractors and make sure air infiltration in lower levels is considered. Proper sizing is essential because systems that are underused would not reach a steady operations rate which results to short cycling resulting to more maintenance required and less energy efficiency.

Important factors to determine proper sizing of HVAC include size of home with each floor individually analyzed, building orientation and wall construction type. Other included ones are specs of windows and doors like fenestration rating, insulation value, location and number of units. Include also the type and number of fireplaces and air infiltration amount.

Remove debris before panel placement from plate areas, provide foundations with enough support and before setting them, study installation drawings. Store adhesives in warm areas to get the best results when applying in cold weather. Then provide enough ventilation for maintaining indoor air quality.




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