@stefan-webb did you make any progress with the imperial fork? I took a pass today at the Small Wall unit and realized there are probably quite a few decisions with regards to dimensions that have implications for the other building systems. So sharing my first pass and hoping we can compare notes or sync up on a standard approach for the imperial version.
I first made a couple of assumptions about the unit dimensions:
- For the interior wall “conduit cavity” I made the depth 1.5". I figured this would allow for easy 2x4 blocking if needed for any additional interior support.
- For the insulation cavity, I made it 9.25". Originally I was still in a dimensional lumber mindset (i.e. 2x10) but then I just saw your note that about 8.75" fitting R30 rockwall batts. I guess the other question is how this impacts the corner units.
- I went for the 24" on center approach. I considered 16" on center but thought that probably isn’t a material savings over traditional 2x4 or 2x6 construction and the metric ones are close to 24" so it did not seem like a drastic change structurally.
- I wanted to put the interior “tabs” on a 12" grid so that applying sheet material like drywall would fit with standard building materials.
- I thought that making the bowties imperial wasn’t worth it given they are a unique shape and already structurally vetted, so adjusted the “tab” spacing to be more regular imperial measurements and then placed the bowties according to the original layout.
Some observations from this first pass:
- At 24" on center, you can’t fit the interior and exterior wall panels on the same cutting sheet. I made the Small unit 7’ tall, so this also means they will soon be too tall to fit on a single sheet and need to use the splice method.
- I’m not structurally inclined, so I didn’t feel like moving the spacing of bowties too drastically. It seemed like the bowties were off center in the original units – I assume that’s intentional?
Would appreciate any feedback on the approach and or ideas on how to make the dimensions conform with imperial building conventions.
Thanks!
Wall-S-Imperial.skp (459.2 KB)
