BW Wall System
The BW Wall System is a structural system intended to provide reinforcing for unreinforced masonry and unreinforced concrete walls. The BW System is designed to provide resistance to seismic and wind forces. The BW Wall System consists of a wood or metal framed conventional shear wall that can be designed and detailed to withstand in-plane wall forces if needed and is always be designed to carry out-of-plane wall loading to prevent the collapse of an otherwise unreinforced masonry or concrete building.
Within the BW Wall System SR Adhesive acts as an bonding material providing a strong connection between the existing unreinforced wall and the new reinforcing wall. The use of SR Adhesive in this application eliminates the need to install large numbers of discrete fasteners, which has reduced labor costs and sped up construction on projects. Since the SR Adhesive provides a continuous bond to the original wall surface, issues that occur during seismic events with alternative systems that use discrete fastening are very limited. The BW Wall System is highly redundant for anchorage of the back up framing to the supported wall when compared to other systems that use spaced, discrete fasteners. Full bond of the wall surface area significantly reduces the impact of areas of weakness in the masonry materials because it prevents a concentration of force on any one area.
SR Adhesive is not a fully rigid material and will allow the bonded walls to move relative to one another as may be required for thermal expansion and contraction that may occur without losing contact with either material or losing bond strength. As a Class 2 vapor retarder SR Adhesive can significantly reduce the amount of moisture that will transfer through the exterior permeable wall materials to the interior conditioned environment.
Key Advantages:
- Excellent structural capacity for out-of-plane seismic and wind forces, protecting the structure from collapse
- May be used in shear wall applications, improving the in-plane load capacity of the building
- Leaves an open stud framed wall future electrical wiring, plumbing or other mechanical systems
