It is becoming more evident that the choices we make impact the environment, the importance of building an eco-friendly, energy-efficient home is a given. By making smarter choices in our designs and our materials, we're creating healthier homes and helping to preserve our planet's resources.
Our SIPS can be made to work for any home style, size and location. We can build to a set of plans that you already have, you can choose one of our beautiful models or our architects can design you a custom house. The possibilities are endless when it comes to building with SIPS.
Our SIPS homes are very competitively priced. The models we offer are the same price per square foot as conventional framing, but with the benefits of a 40-60% lower electric bill.
Built stronger and straighter, structural insulated panels (SIPs) create a tight envelope of insulation, blanketing the home with a superior seal. They virtually eliminate drafts as well as ensure low sound transmission, mold resistance, and better indoor-air quality—not to mention, lower energy costs for the homeowner and fewer greenhouse gases for the rest of us. Tougher to the core, they're built to withstand heavy snow, wind, and rain, so that the elements stay where they should—outside.
Manufactured under factory-controlled conditions by experienced engineers, our high-performance SIPs are custom designed for every project. Hall & Wright Builders, SIPs can be cut into any shape, giving architects and designers the ultimate creative freedom. To ensure the highest quality and customer service, all SIPs are installed onsite by our expert crew.
Open floor plan with no interior walls obstructing the view? No problem. Do you want 20 foot cathedral ceilings? SIPS can make it possible. Virtually all house plans can be used for sips construction, and eliminate the need for roof trusses. Think of all that wasted space that can now be used for a storage area, game/media room or the extra bedroom you have always wanted. Most home plans are designed to use roof trusses to support the roof. With SIPS they are structural and can cover a greater span, using ridge beams to lay the roof panels on can make that single story home plan a two story home and almost double the square footage.
Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are high-quality foam core panels suitable for many residential and commercial building applications. They are solid, one-piece structural components that can be used in walls, floors and roofs. Each panel is made of an Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) core bonded between two outer layers of rugged Oriented Strand Board (OSB). SIPs are manufactured under factory controlled conditions and can be custom designed for each home. The result is a building system that is extremely strong, energy efficient and cost effective.
Each panel contains one pound of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) for every cubic foot of core. Higher densities are available for special building projects. Depending on the strength and energy-efficiency your building requires, you can specify four standard thicknesses for your Insulated panels. EPS is an inert, stable cellular plastic with superior insulating qualities. Unlike many other foam products, EPS is "ozone-friendly" – no CFCs or HCFC's are used in the production of panels. Other characteristics of EPS include:
- • Structural Integrity: EPS retains its shape indefinitely. It will not shrink, decompose or disintegrate due to age or weather.
- • Thermal Stability: The insulating value of EPS does not decrease with age.
- • Toxicity: EPS is formaldehyde-free.
- • Low Water Absorption: EPS has a closed cell structure. Its water absorption level is so low that moisture and the elements will not significantly affect its insulation values.
- • Permanence: EPS is an inert, organic material. It provides no nutritive value to plants, animals or microorganisms. It will not rot and is highly resistant to mildew.
- • Flammability: Like many construction materials, EPS is combustible. It should not be exposed to flame or other ignition sources. However, you can expect a building made with SIP products to survive a fire that would completely destroy a stick-built home. The panels have passed rigorous fire endurance tests required by national codes, and their solid core construction eliminates the chimney effect caused by hollow stud walls. See technical bulletins for further application information.
The oriented strand board skins on Insulspan structural panels are exterior rated Exposure I by the American Plywood Association (APA). Exterior phenolic resin permits the panels to be used with normal construction delays.
Structural insulated panels are one of the most environmentally responsible building systems available. A SIP building envelope provides high levels of insulation and is extremely airtight, meaning the amount of energy used to heat and cool a home can be cut by up to 50 percent. This substantially reduces air infiltration compared with conventional construction techniques. The panels' solid core of insulation also eliminates the convection looping that can occur in the gaps and spaces typical in batt insulation.
Structural Insulated panels provide stable performance year after year. The tightness of the SIP building envelope prevents air from gaining access to the interior of the home except in controlled amounts. A controlled indoor environment is both healthy and comfortable. Humidity can be controlled more easily in a SIP home resulting in a home that is more comfortable for occupants and less prone to mold growth and dust mites.
Since SIPs are prefabricated in the factory, there is less jobsite waste that needs to be landfilled. Factory fabrication is often done using optimization software and many manufacturers recycle factory scrap to make other foam products.
The strength of Structural Insulated panels has been proven through rigorous structural testing required by national code authorities, plus their actual performance through more than 20 years of use. The beam-like properties of Structural Insulated panels can make them 2-3 times stronger than typical stick-built structures.
The structural characteristics of SIPs are similar to that of a steel I-Beam. The OSB skins act as the flange of the I-beam, while the rigid foam core provides the web. This design gives SIPs an advantage at handling in plane compressive loads. SIPs can be engineered for most applications.
