Steel SIPs Combine Strength and Speed PATH Case Study

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Steel SIP walls are placed in their bottom track, braced and then fastened in place after the top track is installed. Installation and training "Steel SIPs are also lightweight and easy to handle," Ballard says. "Most panels weigh between 30 and 80 pounds, depending on the size, requiring only two men to position them. We like to have three to five crew members on site to install the panels. As long as your crew knows square, level and plumb, they can install the panels just fine. A typical house, around 2,000 square feet, takes about three to four days to get the SIP walls and roof up. "As with any home, but even more so when using SIPs, it's really important to make sure that the slab is formed and poured properly to ensure straight edges and a level finished surface. We measure the slab; lay the bottom track out, much the same way we would lay out a bottom plate for a wood-framed wall; and then use anchor bolts to attach the track to the slab shortly after the concrete has set up. I like to hang the track off the slab 1/2 inch to create a drip ledge even though we also seal underneath the track. Once the bottom track is set in place, we start at a building corner and set two corner panels into the track, joining them with a sealing caulk adhesive before fastening them together. It's almost like building with Legos; it's truly that easy." Effect on the trades "The electrician, plumber, and roofer are all affected by our use of SIPs," Ballard says, "but training usually just involves a brief explanation of how their respective jobs will be handled in order to hit the ground running. "Most SIPs have chases already pre-made for electrical and plumbing. Some SIPs require furring with a 5-gauge hat-channel (16 inches on center) to run piping for stacks or drain lines. We typically run lateral electrical, plumbing and other lines and leave a 12-inch gap above the finished floor to match the wire chase height on the panels. Another way to run floor-level lines on walls without a chase is behind hollow baseboard trim and around door casings. We are still perfecting our technique for concealing the lines to the overhead lighting from the switch. "On interior wall surfaces, standard gypsum board can be attached directly to panels containing electrical and plumbing chases. Otherwise, drywall is attached to the hat channels on furred walls and finished with conventional tape and mud. We frame interior partition walls conventionally with either finger-jointed wood studs or light gauge steel and insulate with either fiberglass batts or spray-applied foam. For fireplaces and chimney shafts, we use Isokern systems, which are modular masonry units made from volcanic pumice that can be installed in under a day. "The most common exterior finish we use is conventional cementitious stucco over building paper and lath secured with Tek screws. The project includes a stone veneer wainscot with conventional stucco above. Depending on the panel coating, synthetic stucco is another exterior finish possibility." PREVIOUS  1 | 2 | 3 | 4  NEXT