Wall Sheathing

Engineered Shear Strength
When it comes to sheathing, a Kodiak Steel Homes^® kit offers you a choice you don't have with a stick-built house. Wood-framed homes typically have load-bearing shear walls, and they must have a sheathing like plywood or OSB board to give them sufficient stiffness and strength. In contrast, our homes are engineered to meet the specified building codes and design loads without wall sheathing (IBC/IRC code requires sheathing behind any vinyl wall covering). The Kodiak Steel Homes framing system bears all the load and provides the necessary shear strength, so many of our customers choose to attach their steel siding or their brick ties directly to the frame and save the expense of sheathing. Others may add an insulation board or similar product, and a few want full sheathing for one reason or another, which only makes their steel-framed home even stronger. If you decide to use a sheathing, we recommend that you choose a fireproof product like Georgia Pacific's Densglass to attach to your non-combustible steel framing.

Sheathing is not required on our 6-inch exterior wall framing. This Kodiak Steel Homes model has only foil insulation wrap between the frame and siding.

Wooden frames lack adequate rigidity and shear strength and must have sheathing to meet minimum specifications.

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