Structural panels now come in almost as many flavors as ice cream. In fact, there seems to be a specialty panel system for nearly any situation a multifamily builder might confront. Depending on your location, investing a little more in one of these can save time and money, reduce liability, and even turn down the volume on resident complaints.
Some of these products aim to give residents an oasis of quiet. "As land becomes more expensive and less available, more development is taking place near airports, highways, railroad tracks, and other noisy areas," says Ron Kelly of Knight-Celotex, which makes soundproofing panels for use between apartments as well as on exterior walls. "We're trying to make people aware of the advantage of providing some sound-stopping protection in the initial building phase."
STRETCH PANEL: Windstorm OSB wall sheathing is long enough to reach from the top of the top plate to the bottom of the bottom plate in a single panel. There are no horizontal joints to block or filler strips to cut and install. In hurricane zones, this can reduce the number of metal straps the builder needs to install. And when installed with an engineer-approved nailing pattern, Windstorm satisfies uplift and shear requirements in areas with building codes for up to 140 mph winds.
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