Patent ID: 8397465
Filing Date: 2013-03-19
Classification: E04B,E04H

Abstract:
1. A process for assembling a continuously insulated wall assembly comprising the following steps: (a) providing a support structure comprising structural members spaced apart from one another so as to define a cavity between structural members; (b) providing a thermally insulating layer comprising a plurality of polymeric foam boards each having a polyurethane foam core and having opposing inside and outside surfaces with the inside surfaces attached to two or more of the structural members so as to create a cavity defined by structural members and the thermally insulating layer, the polymeric boards abutting one another with seams where the boards abut and characterized by achieving a Class A rating according to ASTM E-84 test procedures and by having an R-value of greater than 28 meters*Kelvin per Watt (4 hour*square foot*degrees Fahrenheit per British Thermal Unit*inch); (c) providing a sealing tape that contains butyl rubber, rubberized asphalt, or both and covering the seams between polymeric foam boards with the sealing tape; (d) providing a plurality of fasteners and affixing them all the way through the thermally insulating layer to structural members such that the fasteners extend beyond the outside surface of the thermally insulating layer; and (e) attaching a façade to one or more than one of the plurality of fasteners and within five centimeters of the thermally insulating layer such that the thermally insulating layer and sealing tape are between the structural members and the façade, the façade being selected from a group consisting of metal panel veneer, metal-composite-metal panels, fiber reinforced cementitious siding veneer and materials having a thickness of at least 1.9 centimeters that qualify as “non-combustible” according to ASTM E136; (f) applying a polyurethane foam sealant within the cavity defined by the structural members and thermally insulating layer in a manner that seals air gaps having an opening of less than 25 square millimeters between the inside and outside surface of the thermally insulating layer; the process further characterized by being free of application of a gypsum sheathing layer or wood-based sheathing layer between the structural members and thermally insulating layer.