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GeorgiaTom
Basic Member
Posts:159
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| 07 Mar 2008 07:57 AM |
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Posted By Roy Traub on 03/07/2008 7:50 AM
Has anyone had experience with EZ Build Systems? Their pitch is to supply the entire house envelope using SIPs and floor and roof systems. Roy; They say they will but, very often EZ will just supply walls, with a trussed roof, it's not worth using SIPs if you are just doing the walls |
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Roy Traub
New Member
Posts:5
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| 07 Mar 2008 08:44 AM |
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I'm a real novice at this. We are in the very early planning/budgeting stages of a retirement home and have decided to use sips and insulated concrete panels for the shell. We envisioned the rest of the house to be conventionally built using green products. Trying to zero in on a supplier I can trust and a builder in my area is a little daunting. If there's anyone from the Central Maryland area that can recommend a builder familar with sips, let me know. |
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vhehn
New Member
Posts:91
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| 07 Mar 2008 01:02 PM |
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'it's not worth using SIPs if you are just doing the walls"
thats not true at all. |
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SteelSipMan
New Member
Posts:49
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| 07 Mar 2008 01:47 PM |
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There is no sense in putting an inferior roof on a superior wall |
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PanelCrafters
Advanced Member
Posts:680
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| 07 Mar 2008 01:58 PM |
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Posted By SteelSipMan on 03/07/2008 1:47 PM
There is no sense in putting an inferior roof on a superior wall True, but just because a roof isn't built with SIPS, doesn't mean that it's inferior. What do SIPS(and ICF's) excel at? Eliminating Air Infiltration. That is why I consider walls to be just as important as roofs. |
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| ....jc<br>If you're not building with OSB SIPS(or ICF's), why are you building? |
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Rsipgeo
Basic Member
Posts:104
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| 17 Mar 2008 09:49 PM |
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I would never use SIPs on a flat/low slope roof. If you get a leak the only way to find out is after you lose structural integrity. You can get a perfectly good roof with sheets of poly-iso foam and then a little foam on the inside. On roofs with more slope I would use SIPS. Except I have heard of problems like the OP's before.
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Steelsil
New Member
Posts:2
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| 29 Mar 2008 03:17 PM |
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I have an SIP house in Western Washington State, and I love it. If was finished in 2000. It costs us about $900 a year for propane at last summer's prices, (I buy propane once a year in July,) to heat/heat water/ and cook. I had the interior of the house sprayed with lacquer before putting on drywall. The ceiling has thick plastic sheeting protecting it from moisture on the inside, between the drywall and the SIP cathedral ceiling. It cost only about $1,500 extra to go with 10" walls and 12" roof, and an extra $2,500 to go with 10' ceilings on the first floor, so we did. The home is about 2300 sq. ft., with two stories. It did take Snohomish County a long time to approve the plans, though. We also used Form-a-drain footing formers and those styrofoam blocks that act as footing forms / footing insulation. We are in a very wet location, with a slab foundation and ceramic tile on the first floor. Most of our windows are on the south side, including 4 patio doors, with overhangs calculated for our latitude, to protect against the summer sun. On sunny winter days, no heating is required due to solar gain. We are happy with all of our building decisions.
"I support the Tibetan people in their struggle for religious freedom and human rights!" http://www.freetibet.org http://webmastersfortibet.blogspot.com/ http://www.steelsilhouettes.com http://www.dunnanddunnrealtors.com |
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4324
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| 29 Mar 2008 03:27 PM |
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Posted By Rsipgeo on 03/17/2008 9:49 PM
I would never use SIPs on a flat/low slope roof. If you get a leak the only way to find out is after you lose structural integrity. You can get a perfectly good roof with sheets of poly-iso foam and then a little foam on the inside. On roofs with more slope I would use SIPS. Except I have heard of problems like the OP's before.
You don't have that problem with steel SIPs, the panel actually works as a primary or secondary water barrier |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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tmsu
New Member
Posts:76
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| 29 Apr 2008 05:40 PM |
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Posted By sled4fun on 01/03/2008 3:49 PM
My electrical contractor was not very happy when he got done with my SIP house either. Said "never again"
My single level 2500 SF took 3 months to erect with SIPs. They said 1-2 weeks...................RIGHT! there is always an excuse!
That being said I love the tight envelope and the rock solid structure. Would I do it again? Probably not based on my past experience.
It would cost me my wife! I built a SIP home myself (I am not a builder). I wired my entire 3,800 sq. ft. home myself (I am not an electrician). That is planned it, bought the materials, installed and went through the inspection process. I find it hard to believe that an electrician would have much of a problem wiring the house. The chases made in the walls were easy (yeah I typed that, easy) to pull through. I used a simple fish wire to pull most of it. There were a few places I needed to get creative to get wire to. NOT TOO DIFFICULT. It amazes me when I see or hear an electrician whine about a SIP home. Good god, you're a professional! Please use your experience and expertise to make it happen. Charge a bit more? Sure. Whine about it later? Stop talking. |
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sled4fun
New Member
Posts:27
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| 29 Apr 2008 06:49 PM |
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I agree with the stop the whining! I am in the auto repair industry. Sometimes bolts come off easy and sometimes they are rusted and take more time. Just fix it and move on. |
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RoKat
New Member
Posts:9
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| 02 May 2008 12:03 PM |
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First of all I love the House & appreciate the posting of experiences! As a SIPS manufacturer/supplier & as other people have said, planning is very important. We panelize the home based on information about the timber frame and we design the panels to fit accordingly using the Deitrich autoCad program. This also allows us to (fly around) if you will, the interior and make sure there are no gaps. It is vital to have the panels cut correctly or one would lose the variable of speed in assembly. You can stick build just as fast if you have to do alot of fabrication on site. That is the beauty of Ready to Assemble Panels. We cut our panels directly using a Hundegger PBA machine and it is taking those dimensions straight from CAD programs cutting complex angles, rounded windows...etc. It is important to deal with a company and installers that understand the project. The electrician, as said before must be involved in the planning so he can express his needs. If vertical chases are every 4' in the panels they can be drilled through the plate by the installers and marked right on the subfloor so the electrician can see them. The horizontal chases should also be marked. Some are produced that way. The electrician finds the chases in the basement just as he normally would. It is not hard to push a 5' wire through a ready made chase to go to your next outlet, but care must be taken to not block the electricians chase. You should not have to wire around a corner if it is planned out that way. The panels should not have any additional foam applied before the electrician has the opportunity to do his job. Some electricians actually like this because they are not spending time drilling...they are wiring. |
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tmsu
New Member
Posts:76
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| 02 May 2008 04:47 PM |
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Posted By Rosanne Katilius on 05/02/2008 12:03 PM
First of all I love the House & appreciate the posting of experiences! As a SIPS manufacturer/supplier & as other people have said, planning is very important. We panelize the home based on information about the timber frame and we design the panels to fit accordingly using the Deitrich autoCad program. This also allows us to (fly around) if you will, the interior and make sure there are no gaps. It is vital to have the panels cut correctly or one would lose the variable of speed in assembly. You can stick build just as fast if you have to do alot of fabrication on site. That is the beauty of Ready to Assemble Panels. We cut our panels directly using a Hundegger PBA machine and it is taking those dimensions straight from CAD programs cutting complex angles, rounded windows...etc. It is important to deal with a company and installers that understand the project. The electrician, as said before must be involved in the planning so he can express his needs. If vertical chases are every 4' in the panels they can be drilled through the plate by the installers and marked right on the subfloor so the electrician can see them. The horizontal chases should also be marked. Some are produced that way. The electrician finds the chases in the basement just as he normally would. It is not hard to push a 5' wire through a ready made chase to go to your next outlet, but care must be taken to not block the electricians chase. You should not have to wire around a corner if it is planned out that way. The panels should not have any additional foam applied before the electrician has the opportunity to do his job. Some electricians actually like this because they are not spending time drilling...they are wiring. My panels were pretty much as you describe them. I had (2) chases vertically and (2) horizontally (light switch and recept levels). You are right in that whoever assembles the panels needs to keep the other trades in mind to help smooth the process. I would assume that should be the case in any type of material used. We foamed the chases AFTER we pulled the wire to reduce the chance of air movement. The company I used was very helpful, detailed and friendly to deal with. Delivery was right on as well. |
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jstelmack
Basic Member
Posts:127
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| 04 May 2008 12:49 AM |
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About the electrical installation in SIP's. My experience is that it takes a few whacks at it to become proficient, as with anything else. Get creative and don't be afraid to learn new tricks. For example: to install single gang outlet boxes, I've found that 3 1/2 inch round boxes work great. Cut the hole with a 3 1/2" hole saw, pop out a little foam inside th edge for the metal snap flange, put the wire in and pop in the box. OH. Cut the hole and pull ire for rough in. Install the round box after drywall. Be sue to use the round electrical boxes that have screw holes far enough apart to accept switches and outlets. The only drawback for me is that you have to use 4 1/2" outlet covers which are more expensive then standard single gang covers. |
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