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What Is the Standard Wall Thickness in 2024?

What Is the Standard Wall Thickness in 2024?

Many homes, garages, and sheds feature standard-thickness walls.

In this piece, we will explore what the standard wall thickness is for your home, plus the factors you need to consider if you’re building a new home or extension.

Most Walls Use 2-by-4-Stud Frames

The typical interior wall in a home uses a 2-by-4 stud frame. This frame size is relatively light, easy to install, and strong enough for most interior walls.

Exterior wall thickness depends on the siding material. In general, exterior walls are thicker than interior ones because they must resist wind loads, earthquakes, and water pressure from rain, snowmelt, or snowmelt runoff.

For Interior Walls, the Standard Wall Thickness Is 4 ½ Inches

Image of a wall made of wooden studs for a piece on the standard wall thickness with insulation in the middle

Chad Robertson Media/Shutterstock

Interior walls in a home or office building typically use 4-inch-thick studs. The size provides enough space for wiring and plumbing to run through each stud without being obstructed by additional materials like drywall or insulation.

Most homes use ½-inch plywood as an exterior sheathing material instead of cardboard, such as OSB (oriented strand board) or CCA (carbonized compacted aggregate). If you’re using drywall that is ½ inch thick, then your walls will only be 4 ½ inches thick.

You Can Use 2-by-6 Frames in Special Cases

You can also use a 2-by-6 frame for when you need insulation or if the walls support the extra weight. A 2×6 stud wall will be 5 ½ inches thick.

Not only does this give the walls more weight and can be used for extra support, but it also gives them greater insulation, allowing you to cut down on energy costs.

A foam-insulated structural insulated panel (SIP) wall will have a thickness of about 7 ½ inches. There’s more to a SIP wall than its insulating ability, however. They’re usually very sturdy, thanks to their double-wall design.

Plywood may not be a structural material, but you can use it when building framed walls in new construction.

Plywood is easier to work with than dimensional lumber or steel studs and does not require any special tools to install. You can add sheetrock panels as needed on top of plywood walls.

Interior Wall Thickness Manufactured Home

Inside a manufactured home, you'll find that the wall thickness varies depending on the size and style of the home

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Inside a manufactured home, you’ll find that the wall thickness varies depending on the size and style of the home. Most of these walls use ⅜-inch drywall panels, but some may have thicker walls to support the extra weight.

You can expect interior walls inside a manufactured home to have drywall panels of ½ or ⅝ inch thickness. These thicker walls add strength and stability to support additional loads from heavier furniture and appliances.

These might include refrigerators or freezers (not to mention larger families). Most modern mobile homes are designed with this stronger construction, although older models may lack it entirely.

Exterior Wall Thickness

Exterior walls are usually 9–12 inches thick, which provides increased structural stability and insulation against outside temperatures. 

The International Residential Code requires a minimum thickness of 9 inches for exterior walls and other requirements to ensure they meet the building’s design requirements.

However, no code limits the thickness of exterior walls. It depends on how thick your wall is for structural or insulation reasons.

You can increase the strength of your home by adding 2×4 studs. It will make it easier to attach polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or metal pipes and wires without weakening them structurally.

Drill out holes in each stud at intervals equal to twice their width (2 inches apart). Then, insert screws into these holes so that PVC pipe can pass through them without causing damage to the screw heads when you tighten them down later.

Decorative Walls

For a roundup on stair trim ideas, a plain metal railing with parquet wood paneling on the side

Belskih/Shutterstock

Decorative walls can be of any thickness. However, most designers prefer this to be a minimum thickness of 4 inches. You can use decorative walls made of concrete, brick, stone, or other materials.

Decorative walls should always be thick enough to support their weight without sagging over time.

If you plan on installing new shelves or cabinets in an existing wall, ensure that it has adequate structural integrity before doing so. You don’t want to risk damaging yourself by standing on top of weak construction.

Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) Walls

SIP walls consist of two layers of oriented strand board (OSB) separated by an insulating foam

anatoliy_gleb/Shutterstock

SIP walls consist of two layers of oriented-strand board (OSB) separated by an insulating foam. The thickness of the insulation varies depending on its type, but generally, it’s about 3 to 4 inches thick.

The OSB panels are typically ½ or ⅝ inches thick, bringing the total thickness up to 7 ½ inches. SIP walls are typically ideal for commercial buildings.

They offer superior thermal performance compared to traditional stick frame construction with sheathing and drywall on both sides. They can also be great for residential applications where cost savings are essential factors when designing a new home or remodeling an existing one.

Drywall Thickness

Drywall comprises gypsum plaster as the primary component, which is mixed with water and poured into a mold. Drywall is also known as plasterboard, gypsum board, or sheetrock.

Drywall is usually ½ inch thick, but you can also have various thicknesses, including ⅝ inches and ¾ inches.

The average thickness of a house’s interior wall assembly is about 4 inches (or thereabouts). If you add the drywall thickness to that figure, you get about 4 ½ inches for the total wall thickness of an average home.

Concrete Wall Thickness

Yellow bubble level sitting on a wooden shelf in a concrete room

Galyna Motizova/Shutterstock

Concrete walls often feature two layers of 2×6 studs and a layer of concrete. Architects call this the “double wythe” method, and it helps to achieve walls that are very strong and durable.

The thickness of this type of wall works great for load-bearing structures like houses, but there are also many other ways to build your home when it comes to concrete. The thickness also determines the space available for wiring or piping within the wall, if needed.

When designing your concrete home or office building, you should consider including a few inches of extra space around your pipes or wires so that they do not get crushed when installing other fixtures down the road.

Plywood Wall Thickness

Plywood is a sheet of wood veneer that has been glued together with a special adhesive. It’s composed of multiple layers of wood veneer, and it’s usually used in the construction of interior walls because it’s not as strong as solid wood.

The thickness of plywood depends on how many plies (or layers) are in each sheet and typically ranges from ⅛ to ⅝ inches thick. The International Residential Code specifies that ⅜ inch thick plywood should be used for wall sheathing when building new homes.

Lumber Wall Thickness

The ideal lumber wall thickness varies based on the type of lumber used. Commonly, 2-by-4-inch and 2-by-6-inch lumber are used for walls. These measurements refer to the width of the board in inches.

Most building codes also allow for other sizes, but these two are most common for residential construction. The IRC allows for 2-by-3 lumber widths for nonbearing walls such as interior partition walls or garage studs.

However, installing thinner material will result in less strength than is required to hold heavy loads, such as shelving or cabinets, without sagging under pressure (which can cause injury).

Brick Wall Thickness

thickness for brick walls

bogdanhoda/Shutterstock

The required thickness for brick walls more than one story high is 8 inches (203 mm). Brick walls are typically a mixture of clay and sand baked in a kiln. This process causes the bricks to shrink slightly, making them very strong and resistant to damage.

The thickness of the wall you choose to build depends on what you’re using it for and whether or not it needs to be strong enough to withstand high temperatures.

If you use your wall as a storage space not exposed to heat, you can get away with making it thinner than normal. But if your walls need more protection from heat loss, they will need to be thicker than normal to insulate them properly.

Things to Consider

Wall studs with wires and mechanical workings inside for a piece on the standard wall thickness

Alessandro Cancian/Shutterstock

When deciding on wall thickness, there are many factors to consider.

Architectural Style

For instance, a colonial house that uses wood siding will have a lot of walls with 18-gauge sheet metal. A modern home with a lot of glass and steel will have very few walls that need more than 14-gauge sheet metal.

However, if you have an older house with more standard features and details, a thicker steel section will be appropriate for the look of your home.

Temperature Control and Energy Conservation

If you live in an area with cold winters or hot summers, you may want to consider installing thicker walls because they add insulation value and help keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

In warmer climates, thinner sections allow more airflow through the walls to help regulate interior temperatures.

Plumbing, Electrical, and Mechanical Systems

Wooden studs showcasing the standard wall thickness with a pipe running through the middle

VDB Photos/Shutterstock

When deciding on wall thickness, consider how much plumbing or wiring will run through your home’s walls.

The thickness of the wall should allow enough room so that you can install these systems without compromising the wall’s structural integrity.

Dimensional Stability

Thicker walls provide more dimensional stability than thinner ones because they’re less likely to sag or bend under pressure from their weight or wind loadings (like hurricanes).

Stability is especially important in areas with high seismic activity, where earthquakes may cause damage over time.

Water and Chemical Resistance

Water and chemicals are the two most common factors that can damage a concrete wall

wabeno/Shutterstock

Consider the type of environment the wall will be exposed to. Water and chemicals are the two most common factors that can damage a concrete wall.

You’ll want to ensure that your wall can withstand these elements before deciding which thickness is right for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

There’s a lot to consider when deciding on wall thickness. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions:

Plumbing, Electrical, and Mechanical Systems

When deciding on wall thickness, consider how much plumbing or wiring will run through your home’s walls. The thickness of the wall should allow enough room so that you can install these systems without compromising the wall’s structural integrity.

Dimensional Stability

Thicker walls provide more dimensional stability than thinner ones because they’re less likely to sag or bend under pressure from their weight or wind loadings (like hurricanes). Stability is especially important in areas with high seismic activity where earthquakes may cause damage over time.

Water and Chemical Resistance

Consider the type of environment the wall will be exposed to. Water and chemicals are the two most common factors that can damage a concrete wall. You’ll want to ensure that your wall can withstand these elements before deciding which thickness is right for you.

So What Is the Standard Wall Thickness?

The wall thickness is very important when building a house or remodeling an old one. The standard wall thickness is 4 ½ inches.

If you want to make sure that your walls are solid and sturdy, you should consider what kind of material they’re made of before making a decision.