#Sip meaning in construction full#

Large panels do have one drawback: a crane is needed to set them due to weight considerations.

SIPs – Many home designs can be erected in a single day.įor moderate-cost housing with 8’ ceilings, a 24’ long panel provides the best value, with the least waste, splices, and connections.įor taller walls, a 9’ or 10’-tall x 8’-wide panel covers the most area with the fewest pieces.

#Sip meaning in construction full#

Since the largest panel is available in 8’ x 24’ (based on the limits of available OSB manufacturing), horizontally placed SIPs have a maximum wall height of 96”.Ĭorrespondingly, vertically placed SIPs have a maximum width of 96”, but can be used full height to achieve 8’, 9’, or even 10’ high walls.īecause of its more brittle nature, cement board SIPs are more limited in dimension than OSB SIPs, with typical sizes of 3’ x 8’, 3 x 9’, and 3’ x 10’ and are therefore always placed vertically.

The use of standard heights is equally critical in controlling costs and minimizing waste. SIPs can be used for virtually any house design, but with a non-panel friendly plan, the amount of waste, internal posts, headers, and structural panel slice lumber will quickly add up diminishing the cost and performance advantage of more optimized design. What this entails is a building design that is simple in form without excessive jogs, bump-outs, non-90 degree angles, and where the envelope openings are planned to coordinate with panel dimensions. SIP’s are, as the name indicates, panels, and as such, they are far more efficient if the building project they are intended for has been specially planned to be panel-friendly. Building Design and Planning Considerations Typically EPS foam is R-4 per inch, XPS is R-5 per inch, and polyisocyanurate and polyurethane are approximately R-6.5 per inch (the higher R-value cores are correspondingly more expensive). The overall, nominal R-value of an SIPs wall is a function of its thickness and the type of core insulation used. The overall thickness of the foam core (and thus the R-value achieved) is also variable and is typically available in dimensions closely mimicking traditional framed walls. Panels with interior gypsum board or tongue-and-groove pine boards are also available but are easily damaged during transport and set and must be treated carefully. In addition to OSB faces, some manufacturers either specialize in, or offer as options alternatives such as plywood, strawboard, and cement board. Alternate insulation cores include extruded polystyrene (XPS), polyisocyanurate and polyurethane.

The material used for the outer faces and the foam insulation core can vary depending on the manufacturer and the desired properties of the final wall system. SIPs are a manufactured “sandwich” panel most commonly utilizing two exterior faces of oriented-strand-board (OSB) encasing a core of expanded polystyrene foam insulation (EPS). Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) represents another choice for builders seeking alternatives for R-30 (or higher) walls for single and multifamily construction.Īlthough a substantially different system than the more typical ICF construction methods, SIPs can achieve equally impressive results cost-effectively if the nature of the product, its variables, and its limitations are well understood by the designer and the builder.