SIPs are Energy Efficient, Cost Effective and Environmentally Friendly
The Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) has emerged as a unique alternative building technology for the construction of high-tech, energy-efficient building envelopes. SIPs are Oriented Strand Board (OSB) sandwiches with a core of high performance rigid foam. The OSB is laminated to both sides.
This lamination is done under pressure with a commercial grade Urethane glue. The foam construction eliminates the voids common with Fiberglass insulation. For these reasons, air temperature and quality are easily controlled which allows heating and cooling costs to be drastically reduced.
SIPs are used as walls, floors and roofs. They can be used as either components of construction, or a system of construction just like other engineered wood products, such as trusses or I-joists. We can precut openings for windows and doors in our manufacturing plant, or cut them on site to allow for adjustment. The panels are delivered to your job site ready for assembly.
The idea of SIPs panel construction is not a new concept. As early as 1935, The Forest Products Lab built the first in a series of experimental SIP's homes. Then in 1952, Alden P. Dow built homes in Midland, MI. Several others through the years have appeared.
Just what will SIPs do for you as a homebuilder?
A no-nonsense approach is best -here are some items that may be important to most contractors:
1) Money - It won’t really affect your finished product cost to use SIPs these days. Material costs differences are closer than even before and your crews won’t have to sort through stacks of lumber.
2) Time – Because framing with panels is assembly, the process is faster and requires less skilled labor. Weather delays are minimized because you are dried in more quickly.
3) Waste – SIP construction minimizes both waste and trips to the dumpster. Theft is also reduced because of assembly time, sequencing and staged deliveries. Drywall scraps are used because there is a continuous nail base without studs to miss or split.
4) Call Backs – A builder’s worst nightmare is an angry customer. With straight and flat panel surfaces trim fits better, cabs are flat against the walls, and counters plop against ’t let drywall screws or nails back out and pop requiring a trip for mud or one for paint.
5) Reputation – An energy efficient home with square, plumb and flat walls that are quieter than fiberglass and sticks will yield happy owners and long-term referrals.
6) Ease of Use – Because this is a wood product, your labor force already has the tools to work with it. Framers are also comfortable with the concept of engineered wood and tired of fighting, shimming, and culling studs.
SIPs are not tomorrow’s technology, but are currently used in every market in North America. SIPs are assisting successful builders in actively fighting the labor crisis that confronts the building industry.
What is Oriented Strand Board (OSB)?
OSB manufacturing began in 1981. OSB panels consist of layered mats. Exterior surface layers consist of strands aligned in the long panel direction: inner layers consist of cross or randomly aligned strands. These large mats are then subjected to intense heat and pressure to become a “master” panel, then cut to size. OSB, as a performance-based structural use panels, is recognized by all the major US model code agencies through the adoption of DOC PS2-92 Wood-Based Structural Use Panels.
Contact Information
LPS, Inc.
P.O. Box 545
905 W. 10th
Cassville, MO 65625
Email: info@lpspanels.com
417-847-0360 or
800-457-4474
FAX: 417-847-0363
News from the
Structural Insulated Panels Association
National Association of Women in Construction
