| 摘要 |
An integral and structural wall panel for a generally studless house where the wall panel is in effect the stud (instead of a two inch by four inch piece of dimensional lumber being the stud) and where the wall panel is a vapor barrier (instead of the polyethylene sheet being the vapor barrier). The wall panel runs integrally, or as generally one-piece, from end to end of an exterior wall, from the top to bottom of an exterior wall, and from face to face of the exterior wall, thereby directly transmitting load from end to end, top to bottom, and from face to face and thereby minimizing joints where vapor leakage may occur. The wall panel is generally impervious to water vapor even though formed of an organic material such as wood, preferably oriented strand board, rendering a polyethylene or metallic water vapor barrier optional. Embodiments of the invention include a) a wall panel (about 7/16 inches or one-half inch thick) that includes a support network on each face of the wall panel (with the support network on each face having a thickness of about 7/16 inches or about one-half inch), b) a one-piece sandwich wall panel without a support network and being at least 1.3 inches thick, and c) an integral wall panel without a support network and being at least 1.3 inches thick.
|
