Continuous wall assemblies and methods

An insulated structure comprising:

• a frame comprising a plurality of structural support members coupled together, wherein the structural support members form a plurality of cavities between adjacent structural support members;
• a plurality of insulative foam boards attached to the frame to form a continuous wall of the structure, the continuous wall having a plurality of penetrations that extend through the plurality of insulative foam boards;
• a plurality of fasteners that attach each insulative foam board to the frame, wherein each fastener comprises an elongate shaft that penetrates through one of said plurality of insulative foam boards and into one of said plurality of structural support members to couple the frame and the insulative foam boards together, wherein each fastener is configured to hinder over insertion of the fastener into the insulative foam board;
• a first sealant applied to seams between adjacent insulative foam boards;
• and
• a second sealant applied to substantially all of the plurality of fasteners and substantially all of the plurality of penetrations that extend through the plurality of insulative foam boards such that the continuous wall forms an effective air barrier and water penetration barrier on an exterior side of the continuous wall that restricts a passage of air through the continuous wall to less than about 0.2 L/(s-m2) at a pressure of 75 Pa and that restricts penetration of water through the continuous wall as tested in accordance with AC71.

An insulated structure comprising:

• a structural base;
• a plurality of insulative foam boards attached to the structural base to form a continuous wall of the structure, the continuous wall having a plurality of penetrations that extend through the plurality of insulative foam boards;
• a plurality of fasteners that attach each insulative foam board to the structural base, wherein each fastener comprises an elongate shaft that penetrates through one of said plurality of insulative foam boards and into the structural base to couple the structural base and the insulative foam board together, wherein each fastener is configured to hinder over insertion of the fastener into the insulative foam board;
• a first sealant applied to seams between adjacent insulative foam boards;
• and
• a second sealant applied to substantially all of the plurality of fasteners and substantially all of the plurality of penetrations that extend through the plurality of insulative foam boards such that the continuous wall forms an effective air barrier, water vapor barrier, and water penetration barrier on an exterior side of the continuous wall that restricts a passage of air through the continuous wall to less than about 0.2 L/(s-m2) at a pressure of 75 Pa, that restricts a transport of water vapor through the continuous wall to less than or equal to 1 grain/hr-ft2-inHg, and that restricts penetration of water through the continuous wall.