When constructing a commercial building, you must always consider integrity because of the many factors and elements that could potentially ruin it. One area within a commercial building that needs to stay strong at all times is the exterior walls. They are the ones that experience harsh external elements that can damage anything over some time.
During the construction phase of your commercial building, you can find different materials for exterior walls that will hold on for a lifetime. It also ensures that you can rest easy, knowing that you won’t have to experience any commercial building issues in the long run. It’s best to learn the different exterior walls to achieve commercial building efficiency.
1. Institutional Walls
Many designers and architects consider institutional walls as a “500-year-old wall” because of their excellent durability. The concrete and rock masonry provide the structure with vapor, water, and thermal control layers outside its surface. It also has a gypsum board interior and dries in and out from the control layers, which offers moisture adaptation capabilities to withstand weather elements.
You can mostly find institutional walls in old buildings that people built between the 1800s and 1900s when technology was primitive back then. Nowadays, contractors rarely create institutional walls because it’s not that practical anymore compared to the other two wall types. If you want walls that can last up to hundreds of years, it will take longer to pay for them.
2. Commercial Walls
The second type of wall that all commercial buildings use is commercial walls. Most builders agree that commercial walls are the “perfect wall” because of the different alterations and improvements from institutional walls. Contractors swap out masonry for steel studs, ensuring that it will never topple over unless applied using heavy force like wrecking balls.
You can find that it shares a few similarities with institutional walls, mainly the gypsum board lined within the interior. The only downside with commercial walls is the interior steel studs that don’t have insulation, making cold and heat transfer very easy. The inside of commercial buildings will feel the effects of the weather most of the time.
However, manufacturers found a way to achieve insulation, and they did it by using control layers on the outside of its surface. They fix the insulation problem using continuous insulation to prevent cold and heat from extending to the framing. What makes it better is that insulation added to a steel wall cavity decreases sound transfer, ensuring employees inside a commercial building can do their jobs in peace. And if you want to add protection for your building components against weather elements, contractors have the choice to install exterior access doors and panels.
3. Residential Walls
As the name suggests, it’s a type of wall that most residential buildings use. It’s the last variant of the three and utilizes many insulating materials, such as cellulose, fiberglass, polystyrene, and foam, for its interior cavity. However, small-sized commercial buildings in rare instances don’t have access to materials that will help them create commercial walls.
If you think that your commercial building walls need some fixing, ensure that you stick to commercial walls at all times. It’ll save you time and expenses in the long run, which is what any building owner wants to achieve.