I am the proud owner of a Valubuild SIP home. I believe I have the best home money can buy, but I must emphasize that the Valubuild SIP home, or any SIP home for that matter is not a "Do it Yourself" project. First, the day your SIP panels arrive you realize that you have taken on a very huge project. Expect a half a day to unload the panels and be sure to get a very big forklift with boom that will extend a good distance. Good luck to you going over the inventory list so that you can sign off to the delivery driver. It took a lot of time just getting the SIPs off of the truck and finding a place to put the SIPs. Don't forget about the next truck arriving that will have your lumber package. We were lucky in that the driver with the lumber package stayed overnight on a Sunday so we received the lumber early on Monday morning with time to spare. Valubuild uses a very good company in Idaho for their lumber package. I was very impressed with the quality of the lumber and the customer service of their lumber supplier is first rate and even helped us with engineering loads. You must understand that the SIPs cannot be loaded in order at the factory so you will need to spend another day arranging the SIPs panels in the locations and order of installation. By this time you will realize that the SIP home does not go up in 3 - 4 days as quoted by many SIP companies. Now, if you have your foundation poured and it was poured perfect, then you will now set up your sill plates to be close to perfect as possible to accommodate easier construction of the SIPs. By this time we realized the importance of having a very good carpenter on board with us to ensure the critical first step be done correctly. We lost our first carpenter as he was not familiar with SIPs and did not want to get involved. We found him at a friend's construction site and found that he was quite quick and very good quality. He was a bit demoralized when he saw the scope of the project and quite frankly had worked with traditional framing his entire career and felt out of place with SIP construction. He visited our site for a couple of weeks during actual SIP construction and joked with our current carpenter on how long the project was taking and that if we had used traditional framing the project would be done by now. Of course I'm saving time on not having to insulate the building, but not a big deal as we have insulation companies here that are in and out in a day and charge about what the insulation costs if you were to buy it at Home Depot. Again, I am fond of the higher R Values of SIPs and again am very happy with my solid, well build Valubuild home. Our current carpenter is well accomplished and a very nose to the grindstone kind of guy who makes no excuses. I find that we are very lucky to have him as the other carpenters in the area who frequent our SIP project just scratch their heads on what we are doing. It's ironic that I chose a SIP home to try to eliminate expensive carpenter labor and do it myself with a few friends like all the SIP videos and books show. After the first day on the job with friends, you quickly realize that this is going to be a very long job and that you are not going to do it correctly. Unfortunately, you only realize all the mistakes you would have made when your carpenter goes to work. They do this every day and know all the tricks of the trade. You also learn that they are unable to use many of their tricks on the fabricated SIPs panels. By the way, we had our panels cut at the factory to save time in the field, which it did, but left us with fewer options in the field to make modifications that will always be a part of your project. After a few days of building, and depending on the weather and season, you realize that this is going to be a long project and that you now must prepare your SIPs to be protected for the long haul. I went out and bought about $200 in tarps and other hardware to keep my SIP investment dry and off of the ground. I got my first full night of sleep that night at least knowing that my SIPs would be protected. I am lucky to be building in a very small community that is pretty safe from theft. My biggest worry was someone stealing one of the SIP panels. Several people talked about how fun they would be to take out into the lake for a boat or pier platform. Horrible thought when you think about the cost of an 8' x 10' SIP-about $150. each and having to order, and wait for delivery could really slow down your project. We live near the SIP factory so we are able to go down there and pick one up. Along those lines, if you cut your own SIPs, don't mess up beyond the two extra panels they give you for mistakes. Of course you can always work in some traditional framing, like we did so that the project can keep moving along! It is a bit sad to do this and defeat the air tight SIP and high insulation value, but it cost a lot more to have men on site sitting around. I must emphasize that you really don't see that many SIPs home if any. I have only seen them in books, or on the Internet. WHY? Why don't SIPs take over the building industry? All I can say is that it takes your carpenter about a week to figure them out and by that time they realize that this is not an efficient system by any means and all that they have learned is useless going forward. Again, I bought a SIPs home to eliminate expensive professional help and find the ultimate system for the do it yourself builder. Straw bale, log home, timberframe, etc. etc did not seem to fit the bill, but the SIP home seemed to finally be the ultimate do it yourself system. I now see that I was very wrong in this thought. Along the lines of SIPs bucking the traditional system of a stickbuilt house, you must realize that your local building authorities are not used to these systems and you will have to jump through many additional hoops to get your SIP home approved. First, if our home was a stick built home then we would have received our permit right away. However, our county in Washington State required that all SIPs homes get the stamp of a structural engineer. The month that it took to get this stamp delayed our project by one year as we missed our building season out of the rain. It also cost us another $1,500 for the stamp. Now, you must realize that the engineer is responsible for your SIP home from not collapsing on you so I believe he or she is going to over-engineer your design to handle the loads. For example, I have never seen a 6" x 6" column used in the construction of SIPs homes. Well, our small 1,200 sq. ft. home uses a total of 16 of them and a few are over 20' in height. I must emphasize that our home is custom and such columns are needed, but still this is something I did not anticipate with SIPs construction and it has slowed down our project quite a bit. Again, I am very happy with my Valubuild SIP home and know for a fact that it is the strongest, quietest, and best build home in the area. I just want to emphasize that this is not a do it yourself project and that you will have a hard time finding a carpenter to help with the project. I have also found that this construction is the one of the most expensive type of systems out there and is difficult to modify in the field. I know that there are many builders out there that build exclusively in SIPs and these are the people you should talk with first before you purchase a SIP kit. Get a quote from them in writing on what the cost will be to build your SIP kit and see how much you will save. Perhaps you will find as I did that you will spend more on this type of construction, but in the end will receive a better build home. As we complete the first floor of our home I am feeling less overwhelmed thanks to our rock solid carpenter who took on the SIP project and now I am on to thinking about eliminating the off gassing of all of the chipboard OSB plywood that lines the interior of a SIP home. This will be an additional cost, but in the tradition of a SIP home I should enjoy a higher level of air quality once I install a proper heating system that allows air exchanges within the building envelope. I am also realizing that I now own the building of the future that is quite green and will save a lot of money in heating and cooling bills. I will never forget, however that in no way is a SIP home a do it yourself system that goes up in few days with a few unskilled friends. I have three remodeled homes under my belt and am quite skilled, but found myself overwhelmed from the moment the SIPs arrived.

Opinions vary, and so do the talent & construction knowledge that people possess. I've had many customers erect their own structures w/o any problems, and in a reasonable time frame. If a hammer is a challenge for you, then common sense dictates, that maybe you shouldn't try to build your own house.

Something else to note, is that all SIP Systems are not created equal. Some are more difficult to install, and professional experience is suggested. What type of splines did your system have? Also, panel size. Large(Jumbo) panels can be a challenge, especially for someone w/o experience.

So, I think that the bottom line is: You are correct that not everyone should attempt to install their own SIP project, but if you have some experisnce and talent and are comfortable with the size of the project, you can be successful.

We are building with 2" x 6" splines. These were required by our county building department. The SIP home project I decided on is the talk of our community. Like me, everyone has only seen or heard about them and never seen one actually being built. For weeks I've been telling everyone about my Valubuild SIP home that will go up in 3 -4 days. We are now going on exactly 119 hours and that is just actual hours of the carpenter I am paying to be on site with me. I have about 4 extra days in above this for logistic of the project--accepting SIP delivery, spending another whole day reconfiguring the entire building lot to accept the SIP walls and SIP roof. I am very, very glad that I spent a considerable extra amount of money to have the SIPs cut and hot foam scooped at the factory--this takes a lot of time and cutting the foam with the branding iron foam cutter is very toxic. I drove 140 miles round trip from our building site to Premiere Panel in Tacoma Washington to pick up a new panel that was cut wrong. This is the second time I've made this trip. SIP kits don't allow you to make a mistake and just pick up another 2" x 6" piece of lumber. They are extremely heavy also, or at least ours are. We have 9' panels and the house is 2 stories with flat roof. We have several very skilled carpenters in the area that are building houses all around us. They have all noted the long, complicated process of building a SIP home. AGAIN, I MUST REMARK THAT I HAVE ONE OF THE MOST HIGH QUALITY HOMES IN THE UNITED STATES AND IT IS VERY WELL BUILD AND VERY STRONG. I BELIEVE MY HEATING AND COOLING BILL WILL BE THE LOWEST IN WASHINGTON STATE. WHAT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE IS THAT THE SIP HOME IS JUST AS DIFFICULT, IF NOT MORE DIFFICULT THAN A TRADITIONALLY FRAMED HOME. DON'T CHOOSE THE SIP BUILDING SYSTEM IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO SAVE MONEY OR ARE LOOKING FOR A BUILDING SYSTEM THAT GOES TOGETHER IN A FEW DAYS WITH A FEW UNSKILLED PEOPLE. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH THE SIP BUILDING SYSTEM. YOU WILL NEED A HIGHLY SKILLED CARPENTER ON STAFF AND IF YOU CAN KEEP HIM ON SITE YOU ARE LUCKY. MOST CARPENTERS ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS SYSTEM AND ONCE YOU HAVE THE HOUSE FINALLY BUILT ALL THAT LEARNING IS FOR NOTHING BECAUSE I CAN GUARANTEE YOU AND YOUR CARPENTER WILL NOT WANT TO BUILD ANOTHER. NOW, IF YOUR DO DECIDE TO GO INTO SIP BUILDING FULL TIME I BELIEVER YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A BASE OF KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO PUT THESE HOMES UP VERY QUICKLY. AGAIN, THIS WILL NOT BE THE CASE FOR THE HOME OWNER WHO IS ONLY LOOKING FOR A BUILDING SYSTEM THAT SAVES THEM TIME AND MONEY AND ALLOW THEM TO BUILD IT THEMSELVES. AGAIN, LIKE MY ORIGINAL POST NOTES, THE SIP HOME IS NOT A "DO IT YOURSELF" BUILDING SYSTEM AND IS JUST AS DIFFICULT, IF NOT MORE THAN TRADITIONAL FRAMING.

Sorry to hear your experience was not satisfactory. I built my SIP home (2-stories, 9' basement, hip roof around 3,800 sq. ft.) myself with help from my father-in-law and two friends. None of us have ever built a house before. Fixed up rooms, bathrooms re-do, etc. is the extent of our experience. It was stressful, fun, exciting, frustrating, worthwhile all rolled into one. I agree with many of your points made above. People have asked me what was the most important thing I did. It was, no doubt, organization and managing the project. This starts with the building department, engineering and following codes well in advance of the actual build.

My foundation was off a bit (my fault), so you are very correct in pointing out that having a good carpenter or applying basic carpentery skills is vital. I used a local truss company for my floor trusses (they engineered them). I went with a traditional roof truss system and placed my SIP panels on them.

I had a lot of fun with my project but was scared and anxious until I got the house "dried in". I would do it again and feel very confident I could lead a team of partially skilled but dedicated workers to build another one. I have told people that I wouldn't take this project on simply to save money. You gotta love it!

I was wondering, besides the fact that you're using SIP's, what makes the home of the highest quality in the US and how do you know how strong it is?

I can do anything, all of the trades, architecture, engineering, web design, programming, art, doctoring etc. It's all possible for me. However, I am not the fastest and there are mistakes that happen. Also, I could probably make more money using my core skills than I would save learning a new skill. Trueism.

Although we would rather do the install for our customers so they don't need to suffer thru a learning curve, we have seen several of our steel SIP customers do oustanding jobs on their own ..... like:

New Tribes Missions-Sanford, FL who assembled this one story duplex with all volunteers in just 2-1/2 Days

or the 3 story custom home in Taylors, SC


or the one story home in Ft. Valley, Ga.

Chris, how long did the DIYer in SC take to put the shell together?

Jelly;

spread out over 3 months just working on weekends, not sure exactly how much time he has invested. I wouldn't reccomend a house that complicated for a DIY, but he did do a fine job. a professional crew of 5 would have still taken 2 weeks, maybe more

Thanks for sharing your experience with this board, but saying that SIP construction is not a "Do it yourself" system is a misleading blanket statement. You've shared some great points for others considering SIPS, but as others have stated, not all SIPS are created equal. Yes, the complexity of the project, the builders ability, and organizational skills all play a role, but also how integrated and user friendly the SIPS are plays just as important of a role.
Although I am a fans of SIPS, after researching alternative building systems for 4 yrs, I found Eco-Panels to be the most integrated, highest performing and user friendly of any SIP on the market. There are no spines or corner build-ups (only SIP company with insulated corner panels). All window and door openings are pre-cut and framed at the factory. Electrical boxes and conduit (PVC) are engineered and integrated specifically to the plans. Skins with the ZIP system avoid the need for housewrap. All the panels interlock with a cam lock and the last wall panel is a spacer panel to overcome dimensional shortfalls. Eco-Panels also incorporates beam and rafter pockets for the roof assembly depending on the roof design. I could go on and on, but in the case of SIPS, you get what you pay for and I've seen too many times, that what you've paid for may cost you a lot more in the end, not to mention delays and headaches. Check out Eco-Panels at www.eco-panels.com

I was wondering that myself. I have seen some timber frames that I would feel comfortable driving a truck across. Not to mention Monolithic Domes, those beasts look like they would take on anything.

 Also, why would I want to build anything that I would hate so much I would never build another?

"Posted By umy888 on 10/27/2008 12:44 AM
I MUST REMARK THAT I HAVE ONE OF THE MOST HIGH QUALITY HOMES IN THE UNITED STATES AND IT IS VERY WELL BUILD AND VERY STRONG.
YOU WILL NEED A HIGHLY SKILLED CARPENTER ON STAFF AND IF YOU CAN KEEP HIM ON SITE YOU ARE LUCKY. MOST CARPENTERS ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS SYSTEM AND ONCE YOU HAVE THE HOUSE FINALLY BUILT ALL THAT LEARNING IS FOR NOTHING BECAUSE I CAN GUARANTEE YOU AND YOUR CARPENTER WILL NOT WANT TO BUILD ANOTHER."

I wouldn't give up on Sip so easily, maybe just on the company you used. My friend built using Valubuild as his sip supplier and it was a lot of what you said, but that is more the suppliers fault, ie poor organization, tech help and very poor engineering. However if he would have used another supplier/builder like I did then maybe he and you would be singing the praises of the system and home. I had a crew put up my shell but my company did a duplex with inexperienced labor and was under roof in about two days with steel sips. We are getting ready to do a Chapel 100 x 100 with 53 ft roof panels as soon as the final plans are done. Balloon framing is quicker and in my opinion, more cost effective.

Tim,
A good sip company would correct every problem you mention with the exception of the hold downs which of course a good project manager should always double check and supervise hold down connections locations;)

As I have said before its like doing a remodeling job. A good reason to fur-out

My vision of sip building would be diminsion lumber embedded in the panels where required for structural strength and flat against the outside osb. not from outside to inside and the resulting thermal loss, and at least 24 ft panels delivered on the semi ready to crane into position. a real house in 3 or 4 days.

Well your "vision" has been realized by sip companies.....before you even had your vision.

I have a quote out to Premier Panels right now.  It's a little concerning you had panels incorrectly manufactured as I am in Yakima.  Also a fair drive to get things right.  Thanks for sharing.

You are good to go, going direct to Premier Panel. They did not cut my panels wrong, that was the mistake of Valubuild (Valubuild). Stay clear of Valubuild
and go direct to Premier Panel.