sheathing which is much less expensive than plywood further increases the total r value of the metal wood stud wall table 1______________________________________comparison of thermal transmittance forconventional metal stud wall and novelmetal wood stud wall stud spacing cavity total stud size inch insula exterior r description inch o c tion sheathing value______________________________________1 conventional 1 625 u00d7 3 625 24 r 11 1 2 34 7 9 metal stud plywood2 conventional 1 625 u00d7 3 625 24 r 11 1 2 34 11 4 metal stud xps3 novel metal 1 5 u00d7 3 5 24 r 11 1 2 34 11 3 wood stud plywood4 novel metal 1 5 u00d7 3 5 24 r 13 1 2 34 12 8 wood stud plywood5 novel metal 1 5 u00d7 3 5 24 r 15 1 2 34 14 2 wood stud plywood6 novel metal 1 5 u00d7 3 5 24 r 11 1 2 34 12 1 wood stud fiber board7 novel metal 1 5 u00d7 3 5 24 r 13 1 2 34 13 6 wood stud fiber board8 novel metal 1 5 u00d7 3 5 24 r 15 1 2 34 15 0 wood stud fiber board______________________________________ conventional metal stud values from 34 thermodesign guide for exterior walls american iron and steel institute washington d c pub no rg9405 jan 1995 comparison of vertical transverse and racking load capacities of 2 u00d7 4 wood stud metal stud and subject invention wood metal composite stud structural analysis by kim mcleod p e of keymark enterprises boulder colorado summary calculation results compared the allowable axial load for stud elements subjected to combined loading with axial and bending component the three elements analyzed were a conventional 2 u00d7 4 wood.