Wall Assembly
Huntsman Building Solutions, a global provider of high-performance, sustainable building envelope solutions, has introduced W-Wall™, a fire-safe load-bearing wall assembly utilized for partition walls between attached multifamily and townhome units. A design solution created specifically for architects and builders, W-Wall is the first two-hour fire rated load-bearing wall assembly tested and approved for use with open cell spray foam. Huntsman Building Solutions’ open cell spray foam insulation solutions have been certified for use with W-Wall, providing sound attenuation and energy efficiency capabilities as part of the assembly solution. Use of the assembly design meaningfully reduces construction and labor costs.
The W-Wall Assembly design incorporates a series of materials in addition to Huntsman Building Solutions’ open cell spray foam insulation. All of the materials include: wall sheathing consisting of two layers of 5/8” Type X Gypsum wallboard on each side of the assembly; walls constructed with 2×4 studs at 16” on-center, with no need for 8” off-set; sheathing secured with screws, and the finished layer covered with tape and joint compound; one side of the wall leaf filled with 3-1/2” of Huntsman Building Solutions open cell spray foam insulation; and a 1” air gap between the two wall leafs. The overall assembly is 1” thinner than the typical shaft wall.
W-Wall is assembled at the construction site by framers and/or spray foam contractors. W-Wall is fire rated for two hours, passing ASTM E119 in accordance with IBC requirements, making it the first spray foam wall assembly solution of its kind to pass. The W-Wall assembly also notably allows for easy installation and an overall quicker build as compared to alternate partition wall solutions, essentially reducing labor costs.
The Huntsman Building Solutions business is a global leader in high-performance, sustainable building envelope solutions. Its systems and solutions are widely utilized to optimize commercial and residential structures worldwide in both new construction and retrofit applications. Formed in 2020 with the acquisition of Icynene-Lapolla and its combination with Demilec, the Huntsman Building Solutions business capitalizes on legacy industry technologies, environmental stewardship and the power of the Huntsman brand.
