Posted By mzmercury on 01 May 2010 11:36 PM
Thanks for your reply Chris. Can you tell me why steel SIPS would be better than the steel framing, in your opinion? I guess my main concern about any SIPS is the possibility that the insulated core can become detached over time. In reading the SIPS forum, I noticed several people complaining about the SIPS becoming noisy with expansion and contraction. I don't know if any of those people were referring to steel or the OSB but I thought that a benefit of steel was the lack of warping over time with expansion and contraction? And if you did build with SIPS and there was a problem, how is it remedied? I'm still leaning heavily towards either steel SIPS or steel framing, but as it's the most important factor, I'm trying to learn all I can.
Thanks,
Theresa
Theresa;
If I thought delamination was a common problem I would not be in the business or would have built my last 2 personal homes with SIPs, Steel and Aluminum SIPs have been used for cold storage warehouses for decades and in that commercial environment get put to the test. There is no greater stress on a panel than sub-zero inside and 100 degrees out side like it is for many refrigerated warehouses.
Those people were refering to OSB, I was shocked to hear that OSB panels were having expansion /contraction problems. I occasionally see the expansion / contraction in metal based SIPs, but it is a short term event when new, disapates in a couple of months and is a subtle noise, not as described for the OSB.
Steel is a more consistent and stable skin, corrosion resistant, impervious to water and termite proof
I don't know if there are steel SIPs available in your area. It is my preference because there is less thermal bridging than steel framing