TABLE 3: Thermal Properties
of Various Building Materials

Building material R-values are from 1997 ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, Chapter 24. HC-values are calculated from Density and Specific Heat from the same source, except as noted otherwise.
. PER THICKNESS LISTED
MATERIAL DESCRIPTION THICKNESS
(in.)
R VALUE
(h o ft2· °F/Btu)
HC VALUE
(Btu/ft2· °F)
WEIGHT
(lb/ft2)
BUILDING BOARD . . . .
Gypsum Wallboard 0.5 0.45 0.54 2.1
Plywood (Douglas Fir) 0.5 0.62 0.41 1.4
Fiber board sheathing, regular density 0.5 1.32 0.23 0.8
Hardboard, medium density 0.5 0.69 0.65 2.1
Particle board, medium density 0.5 0.53 0.65 2.1
INSULATING MATERIALS  . .   .  .
Mineral Fiber With Metal Stud Framing (1) . . . .
R-11, 2X4 @ 16"
(R-11 X .50 correction factor)		  . 5.5 0.3 1.7
R-11, 2X4 @ 24"
(R-11 X .60 correction factor)		  . 6.6 0.27 1.4
R-19, 2X6 @ 16"
(R-19 X .37 correction factor)		  . 7.1 0.44 2.4
R-19, 2X6 @ 24"
(R-19 X .45 correction factor)		  . 8.55 0.39 1.9
Mineral Fiber With Wood Framing
(2) (w/lapped siding, 1/2" sheathing,
and 1/2" gypsum board) . 		        
R-11, 2X4 @ 16" on center  . 12.44 2.01 6.1
R-19, 2X6 @ 24" on center  . 19.11 2.13 6.5
Board, Slabs, and Loose Fill . . . .
Cellular glass 1 3.03 0.13 0.7
Expanded polystyrene, extruded 1 5 0.08 0.3
Expanded polystyrene, molded beads (3) 1 3.85 0.03 0.1
Perlite (3) 1 3.13 0.11 0.4
Polyurethane 1 6.25 0.05 0.5
UF Foam (4) 1 4.35 0.02 0.1
Vermiculite (3) 1 2.44 0.13 0.4
Expanded Shale, Clay & Slate LWA (5)    
30 lbs/ft3 Dry loose weight 1 1.21 0.53 2.5
40 lbs/ft3 Dry loose weight 1 1.02 0.7 3.3
50 lbs/ft3 Dry loose weight 1 0.88 0.88 4.2
Mortar (3), Plaster & Misc. Masonry        
Clay brick masonry 3.6 0.4 8.16 40.8
Stucco and cement plaster,
sand aggregate		 1 0.2 1.93 9.7
Gypsum plaster, perlite aggregate 1 0.67 1.2 3.8
Mortar 1 0.2 2 10
CONCRETE (3) (cast in place, precast)  .  .  .  .
60 lbs/ft3 1 0.52 1.05 5
70 lbs/ft3 1 0.42 1.23 5.8
80 lbs/ft3 1 0.33 1.4 6.7
90 lbs/ft3 1 0.26 1.58 7.5
100 lbs/ft3 1 0.21 1.75 8.3
110 lbs/ft3 1 0.16 1.93 9.2
120 lbs/ft3 1 0.13 2.1 10
135 lbs/ft3 1 0.09 2.48 11.3
150 lbs/ft3 1 0.07 2.75 12.5
WOODS  .  .  .  .
Southern Pine 1 1.00-0.89 1.16-1.34 3.0-3.4
California Redwood 1 1.35-1.22 0.80-0.91 2.0-2.3
.        
(1) R-Value corrected per ASHRAE/IES 90.1-1989, Table 8C2; HC from vendors' data
(2) Calculated per ASHRAE 1997 FUNDAMENTALS, Chapter 24
(3) NCMA TEK 6-16 and NCMA "Concrete Masonry R-Value Program"
(4) NBS Tech Note 946.
(5) R-Values from Thermophysical Properties of Masonry and its Constituents, Part I, by Rudolph Valore, Jr.