As builders have new regulations pushing them out of time-old traditions and, sometimes, out of their comfort zone, new processes are being established. Among those is the high-performance building system known as SIPs, or structured insulated panels.
Here, John Barrows, owner of P3 Builder Group, talks about the benefits of SIPs, including cost savings and energy savings, and how to bring the trades together to make these benefits a reality. Finding trades that will work with SIPs and learn new processes is an obstacle that would be an administrative strain on builders.
Both trades and consumers need to be educated about SIPs. In many cases, what is behind the wall can remain a mystery for the consumer, but with SIPs, there is a good reason to tell them the story. These higher quality walls create better performance for the home buyer, so they should understand the benefits.
There is a great opportunity for prefabrication of components like SIPs. Barrows attests that anything that can be made off site and brought on site brings huge efficiencies. His experience proves that there can be anywhere from no additional cost to a 3% to 5% reduction in cost because you are accomplishing a number of steps all in one process. The simplified process of putting SIPs together means that you can eliminate steps within the construction process. Plus, as codes get tighter, the cost difference between a systemized process versus a traditional one becomes less and less.
“With a SIPs panel, you not only have the structure and the frame, but you also have the insulation, air sealing, and moisture management all wrapped up into one installation,” Barrows said. “What excites me the most is that it’s built for standards that will be appropriate 10 years from now. It goes beyond the code and will satisfy the needs of the occupant for years into the future.”
In this BIG BUILDER article, Sam Rashkin, chief architect at the U.S. DOE Building Technologies Office and author of Retooling the U.S. Housing Industry, promotes the use of SIPs by outlining their major benefits versus on-site construction. He touts the superior performance of SIPs and their high-quality construction, which is faster, uses fewer tools, has a decreased reliance on subcontractors, produces less waste, isn’t limited to stud construction, and has more quality control. In the article he says:
SIPs is an entirely different enclosure paradigm, and builders don’t like change. As a result, builder cost calculations too often don’t recognize the significant savings from the benefits listed above, not to mention what should be much more satisfied home buyers. But I remain hopeful because there are builders that have made the commitment to get past the learning curve and internalize all of the benefits of SIPs.
One my favorites is a good friend, Steve Brown of Carl Franklin Homes. He’s passionate about SIPs because he gets it and has learned how to construct SIP homes at the same or lower price as stick-frame competitors.
The hope is that more builders will take the risk to try this new process and experience its benefits.
