What are the advantages and disadvantages of panelizing walls in 8 foot sections for easier lifting? I know where the studs would screw/nail together at the end of each panel would prevent any insulation, but how much would it affect heating/cooling?
Jared
The short version is you are creating more thermal bridges to the outside, I'm sure someone around here has a link that can give the actual numbers on how much extra heat those thermal bridges will carry. Putting foam board on the outside of the framing will add more insulation than the R numbers would indicate because you are reducing the number of points where transfer of heat through the framing members can occur
If I leave the upper top plate and headers out I can usually lift a 12-16' section of bare 2x6 studwall solo. I'll leave studs that are close to the headers out also so once the wall is stood I can insert headers and jacks or premade header, king, jack assemblies.
I understand the part about thermal bridging, just wondering HOW MUCH of a problem I'd be creating? Think I'd even notice a difference in heating/cooling?
Play with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Whole Wall Calculator (http://web.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/AWT/InteractiveCalculators/NS/Calc.htm). You can lose slightly more than R-1 when using 16" vs 24" OC stud spacing for example. That's R-1 over the entire wall surface. That may be hard to measure with your pocketbook.
A way around the thermal bridging would be to apply sheets of XPS foam over the entire exterior. The ORNL calculator can also show the gains made by using foam on the exterior.
Foam on the exterior as the only insulation may be the ultimate wall as it does not then matter at all what the wall structure is.