A recent innovation in building materials is the Tstud. It is meant to replace traditional lumber for external wall framing applications. Wood is not a very good insulator. It conducts heat through a wall at a much greater rate than the insulation (see thermal photo below). No matter how well you insulate the cavity, the framing will alway create a thermal bridge for heat to move in or out of the house.

A Tstud is made of two pieces of dimensional lumber that are connected by angled dowels. This creates an air gap that can be filled with insulation resulting in much less heat loss through the framing. Pictured at the top of the post is a 2×6 style Tstud (composed of two 2x3s) being used on a project our architect is designing. He invited my builder’s framing crew and me to see the work in progress for a better understanding of how the product will be incorporated. Our house will use a 2×8 Tstud which is made from a 2×4 and 2×3 dowelled together at right angles to form an L-shaped profile.