How Thick Are Walls? How Well Do You Know Your House

As you open the door of your house, you feel relaxed, owing to how safe you feel inside it.

The integrity and beauty of your home depend upon the wall thickness, whether it is an exterior wall or an interior wall. People often seem to think that all that walls tend to do is separate your living area from the outside, but walls are much more than that.

To build a wall is a delicate balance between ticking safety boxes but not wasting resources on them by making them too strong or thick. Usually, these days, the width of the framing determines the thickness of the walls. The most commonly used sizes are two-by-four studs and two-by-six studs. People prefer to choose the latter option only for load-bearing walls and the size of the former studs is chosen when interior walls are constructed.

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How thick are walls in a house?

In a house, the thickness of the walls depends upon whether it is an interior wall or one of the exterior walls of the house. The exterior wall thickness is usually more than that of the inner walls. A wall thickness comprises the type of brick used, the concrete, and the drywall on both sides of the wall.

The width of the framing determines the thickness of the walls. Inner walls are usually constructed with two-by-four studs which make the wall almost 3.5 in (9 cm) thick. Then there is 1 in (2.5 cm) thick drywall on the wall, with 0.5 in (1 cm) drywall on both sides of the wall. In the case of exterior walls, these are the walls that contain plumbing; hence, they are almost 5.5 in (14 cm) thick but the exterior wall thickness increases when 0.5 in (1 cm) thick drywall is added on both sides. The drywall typically covers both sides of a wall, whether exterior or interior. The exterior walls have more thickness than the interior ones as their thickness is directly proportional to insulation. The walls in an apartment have more or less the same thickness as that in a house.

How thick are exterior walls in a house?

It is very important to perfectly determine the wall thickness of exterior walls during construction as these are the load-bearing walls that carry the structure's entire load to the floor or foundation. The general rule for exterior wall thickness is that it depends upon the material used, i.e. whether it is wood, steel plates or brick walls.

If you use wood to frame the exterior walls of your house, you can use two-by-four studs or even two-by-six studs, but the latter would increase the costs and the total wall thickness would then be 5.5 in (14 cm) along with the sheathing. On floor plans, exterior walls are usually 6.5 in (16.5 cm) thick including the 1 in (2.5 cm) drywall. Although, keep in mind to measure the wall thickness at the door frame. In the case of a floor plan, the walls have a thickness of 6 in (15 cm) and a 2 in (5 cm) drywall typically covers this width.

How thick are castle walls?

Castle walls are a beauty to behold. Their construction, even though similar in some ways to current styles, was still a lot different. There was a considerable amount of space between two layers of the wall before one could get access to the inside of the castle.

Although the width of the castle walls and their thickness varied from one castle to another, the average thickness would be around 10 ft (3 m) and most of them were as tall as 39 ft (12 m). The material used was mostly concrete along with bricks, and the walls were high to prevent enemies from climbing into the castle using a ladder. Even the interior walls of a castle were fancier than the ones in houses these days as they had carvings on them with around 1 in (2.5 cm) drywall at the least. The thick sheathing of the wall and the massive width between the two sides of the exterior wall provided insulation and safety.

How thick are concrete walls?

The thickness of a concrete wall largely depends upon a number of factors including the material used, whether they are exterior walls or interior walls, and the climate of the place where the house is located. Additionally, whether the concrete is reinforced or not would also change the ideal thickness of the internal or external wall.

Usually, the external wall has more width between its two layers than an internal wall, as it is the primary load-bearing wall and also has to tackle harsh climatic conditions. In desert-like areas, the concrete walls need to be thicker, but, in tropical areas, they can be less thick. Ideally, one must use reinforced concrete instead of one that is not reinforced as it not only makes the wall four times stronger but also makes the wall thinner which gives you more space. For non-reinforced concrete, the width between the two layers of the wall should be at the most 8 in (20 cm), whereas, for reinforced concrete, it should at least be 4.9 in (12.5 cm). Make sure to measure the width from the frame of the door.

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