On to what I'm most interested in working with, though the ICF's weren't bad... I'm not a concrete guy. 

We got the SIPs unloaded just in time to tarp them up  before a big rain.   But by 2pm we were back at the jobsite sorting panels.  I was a little dissappointed to see the stacks aren't organized according to layout order... do you guys spend an hour  dissecting the pile before you start building?   We just swapped them from one pile to the next, but that can mean handeling a panel 3 or 4 times before we put it in place. 

I think I should have gone ahead and had the plan engineered, I've got a lot of windows with 2x12 headers that I think I could have done without.   It is a 2 story with attic trusses, but I still wonder if the openings less than 4' could have been  panelized, or at least a box header built.  Speaking of bearing  headers, how do you guys prefer to finish off the header?  I've got 3" of wood, I wonder if I could use some of my left over TF  panels and fill in the remaining space with 2 1/2" of EPS. 

Anyway, here's a few pics of  progress.  We only got in 5 hours before it got too dark, but I was happy with the progress since it's the first time.  3 guys, 32' of 8' wall, 5 hours,1 window, 1 door, 1 stairwell wall.  Already got the chance to use the hotknife and  modify a panel length.   Looks like I need to sharpen my pencil, these panels are dead on.

Ben

Pretty much. I don't know of a company that worries about installation order when loading a truck. They may be out there, but I haven't seen it. The important thing is to maximize the load. Freight is expensive.

I'm surprised that your headers(if provided by the manufacturer) weren't already full width.

I should have been more clear with that.  The manufacturer did not provide the headers, I've built all of them out of 2x12's.  I remember reading in Fine  Homebuilding a few years back about full width, insulated headers, I suppose I could have used those.  Instead I called my spray foam dude and  asked if he'd hit them while he sprayed the rim joist.  No problem. 

Incidentally, we stood 72' of wall today, 3 guys, 8 openings, 9 hours for each of us.  On to main floor interiors  tomorrow.  I don't know if I could say SIPs are faster just yet, but I've never built and insulated that much wall in one day with my stick framing crew.  It's still work though and I'm tired.

Ben

What no braces? You have found one of the cool things about SIPs. They tend to be very sturdy after the first corner. But I would still throw up a couple braces as caution for winds over night. If your panels are damaged by a blow over they would be very expensive to replace as alll the structural properties are transfered to the amount of linear footer attached to the sill plate.

I would post some pictures of my project but I am an idiot and still trying to figure it out.  Anyway, I am a bit confused by the posts and pictures.  My panels came simply with the windo or door cut out.  No header required.  This, of course, was on the smaller openings (3' wide).  On the larger cut outs we used the factory made insulated headers.

tmsu,

I should have had my panels engineered, I suspect more of my panels would have had the windows and doors cut out too.  If you're building a ranch style that helps as well.  I'm basically building a 3 story since I've got attic trusses, so all of my walls need to carry floor system, and my main floor walls carry  2 floor systems plus roof.  Still, the insulated headers would have been really nice.

Ben

MM,

Thanks for the bracing advice, I added more tonight.  However, I was surprised how stiff the walls are. When I went to push them out to plum.... man, that took some work. 

Here's some  more pics of progress.

Ben

That telescopic foklift comes in handy....your's, rented, or leased?

Nice looking job Ben.

Leonard

Hi Leonard,
The lift belongs to a GC friend of mine, I've started doing his framing lately and he's renting it to me very reasonably.  When I unloaded the SIPs the truck driver mentioned they charge considerably more for delivery if they are unloaded by hand.  My only recommendation is to ask them to send along some fork extenders, my forks were just barely long enough and it took a bit of fancy operating to get the bundles to stay where I wanted them.

How's your project coming along?  Have you set a start date?

Ben

Ben,

Hopefully breakground this Spring. I am really leaning towards the TF system as you have done. I have not decided with regards to SIPS vs ICF for above grade. But I am somewhat favoring ICF for all the way up. Keep posting on your progress. This has been one of the most informative threads on this forum. Certainly many replied generated.

Leonard

Ben,
My house is a (2) story with a 9' basement and a traditional roof truss system.  However, I did place 8.5" panels on the roff trusses (6/12 pitch).  I used the 2x4 built floor trusses as well.  It turned out pretty well.  Again, I'll post a few pictures if I can figure it out.  Your place looks good.  One very stupid thing we did was buck out the windows before we measured the openings for our windows.  We had several that were literally 1/8" too small, so we had to pull the 2x6s out and cut a slightly bigger window.  Measure twice, cut once!

Leonard,

I tried to get on as a TF distributor, with no luck.  So, I've got nothing to gain from promoting the system.  Having said that, I think it is exceptionally easy to learn, and hope to do another one soon.  I'm glad to see you considering ICF's of any sort.  I don't know how it would go once you got above grade, hanging floor systems off of them and the like.  I'm not real comfortable working with concrete, so that's why I never considered going on up with ICF's.  Depending on where you're building (think hurricane country) I would give more than a nod to ICF's. 

I stopped by my neighbor's project tonight.  He's building his first foundation, using a lego block style ICF.  He's moving quickly as well, especially considering he has 11 corners in his 150' of wall.  He did mention wishing he'd bumped his footprint in 3' increments as his corner blocks create a 3' offset (his bumpouts are 2', and 3' 6", which I would think  could generate some waste and take a little bit of time to build.  The TF system corners are full height and in 12" increments, panel modification was simple if you have a table saw with a dado blade)

 I'm glad this thread is informative.  This is what I was looking for last January when I started thinking of selling my house and trying to build something better suited to a family of 5 (we had 2 bedrooms in our old place, now I've got 5, albeit small bedrooms).   The level of specific knowledge that I've found on this site is very helpful, though don't discount the local guys either.   They know how it works in your locale, and I have no idea where most of the guys who respond even live.   

Best of luck, and I will continue to post pics, I've just got to remember to grab my camera along with my lunch and cell phone. 

(We finished sheathing the second floor today, and stood up the West wall panels.  No site built headers, so they went up fast (2 guys, 2 hours, 5 panels = 30')  I'm pretty sure SIP's go up quicker than ICF's, but speed isn't very meaningful in the long run... if it were  we'd all live in tipi's.

Ben

Leonard,

I tried to get on as a TF distributor, with no luck.  So, I've got nothing to gain from promoting the system.  Having said that, I think it is exceptionally easy to learn, and hope to do another one soon.  I'm glad to see you considering ICF's of any sort.  I don't know how it would go once you got above grade, hanging floor systems off of them and the like.  I'm not real comfortable working with concrete, so that's why I never considered going on up with ICF's.  Depending on where you're building (think hurricane country) I would give more than a nod to ICF's. 

I stopped by my neighbor's project tonight.  He's building his first foundation, using a lego block style ICF.  He's moving quickly as well, especially considering he has 11 corners in his 150' of wall.  He did mention wishing he'd bumped his footprint in 3' increments as his corner blocks create a 3' offset (his bumpouts are 2', and 3' 6", which I would think  could generate some waste and take a little bit of time to build.  The TF system corners are full height and in 12" increments, panel modification was simple if you have a table saw with a dado blade)

 I'm glad this thread is informative.  This is what I was looking for last January when I started thinking of selling my house and trying to build something better suited to a family of 5 (we had 2 bedrooms in our old place, now I've got 5, albeit small bedrooms).   The level of specific knowledge that I've found on this site is very helpful, though don't discount the local guys either.   They know how it works in your locale, and I have no idea where most of the guys who respond even live.   

Best of luck, and I will continue to post pics, I've just got to remember to grab my camera along with my lunch and cell phone. 

(We finished sheathing the second floor today, and stood up the West wall panels.  No site built headers, so they went up fast (2 guys, 2 hours, 5 panels = 30')  I'm pretty sure SIP's go up quicker than ICF's, but speed isn't very meaningful in the long run... if it were  we'd all live in tipi's.

Ben

Oh no!

I bucked 2 windows this afternoon, I'll be sure to check the RO's tomorrow. 

Here's how I attached pics.

See the Message Attachments: boxes below?   Click on  Browse, and pull pics off your hard drive or digital camera.  The first time I tried my files were way too big, try saving them at 500 pixels or less (if you're using Picasa you need to select the pictures you want to post, then open the File Menu, then choose Export Picture to Folder, then choose Image Resize Options, and slide it down to about 480.) Once you have these pictures resized, you'll be able to post them.  I look forward to seeing what you've got. 

I don't know if you've seen my whole album, I posted the address once before, but it's http://picasaweb.google.com/Ben.David.Miller
if you want to take a look.

Ben

I moved a little faster today.  Especially considering I worked alone this afternoon.  Well, except for the 30 minutes my friend stopped by and I talked him in to setting my whole east wall with me.   Those  8'x8' panels are too bulky to set alone.  This is the voice of experience as I set one by myself and ended up nudging it into place with the lift .

Here's a few more pics.  Tomorrow I've got 3  panels to set and the walls are done.  Then it's only the gables, and the crane's coming Tuesday to fly them up.

Any suggestions on building those gables?  I'm used to sheething the gable truss on the ground, building the rake and all, and swinging them up. 

Ben

 More rain today, but at least it held off until we set trusses.  I just wish I could have 8 dry hours, tell me again why we choose this business?

Ben