New Home Begins

[EddieWalker]

This house is full of all sorts of surprises for me. I've never seen this before, but have read a few articles about something that might be similar. What is the R value of the walls? Are you saving money doing it this way in labor, or does the savings come down the road in energy savings? Does the electrician cut out the foam or is there something in there already to run the wiring? How do you seal it up if the electrician cuts it out? More tape?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[Obed]

Finally!!!

The basement slab is in and the framers will start tomorrow!!

This was the small concrete pump ... 1/2 the price of the big ones and really easy to maneuver. The weather is expected to be in the upper 40s to near 50 for the next few days and lows in the mid 30s. Calcium was added to the mix also.

Tom,

These temps are ideal for concrete. As close to freezing as possible but without freezing lets the concrete dry slowly which results in strong concrete.

I know you are glad to see some progress.

We framed our house during the winter, something I said I would not do. However, you do what you have to do. Our build worked out ok, even though that year we had one of the hardest winters our area had seen for 20 years.



Obed

 

[tkappeler]

This house is full of all sorts of surprises for me. I've never seen this before, but have read a few articles about something that might be similar. What is the R value of the walls? Are you saving money doing it this way in labor, or does the savings come down the road in energy savings? Does the electrician cut out the foam or is there something in there already to run the wiring? How do you seal it up if the electrician cuts it out? More tape?

Thanks,
Eddie

Eddie,

Glad to keep springing surprises on you. :laughing:

I kind of backed into finding the panels. The great room is going to have 1x6 T&G over the rafters, along the lines of what you would see with a log home. That meant that the insulation would have to be ABOVE that, so I started looking at SIPs. A two sided SIP seemed like overkill and over priced since I only needed plywood on the top side. I was able to find one sided SIPs which fit the bill. Unfortunately, it used a low density polystyrene which mean the panels were almost 12" thick to meet code requirements.

During that research, I happened upon Raycore. The 2x4 wall panels are R26 and the 2x6 roof panels are R42. They definitely carry a cost premium but I had to do something for the roof anyway. If I went with spray, the added cost was more than using these.

Given that kind of R values and if done correctly, will result in energy savings down the road and other cost savings immediately during the construction. Insulation is done. Vapor barrier is done. The tape and construction adhesive will cut down on air infiltration so I won't have to spend as much time passing a blower door test.

As for the electric, there is no channel precast in. You carve out the foam and attach the electric boxes with the type that face nail to the studs. Carve out for the chases also. After the rough inspection, use canned spray foam and backfill. Carve off the extra and sheetrock. No need for staples near the box per the inspector, same as SIPs.

I am planning on making a jig and use a long straight router bit to carve out for the boxes.

Of course, time will tell if all of this really pays off.

 

[edlegault]

EddieWalker asked "This house is full of all sorts of surprises for me. I've never seen this before, but have read a few articles about something that might be similar. What is the R value of the walls? Are you saving money doing it this way in labor, or does the savings come down the road in energy savings? Does the electrician cut out the foam or is there something in there already to run the wiring? How do you seal it up if the electrician cuts it out? More tape?"

R value of 3.5 inch walls is 24.5 (5.5 inch is 38.5). There can be some savings on labor if an experienced crew does the build. For electrical and plumbing the foam is cut out with a router or saw, the lines run, then use a can of spray foam to seal back up after it passes inspection. The energy savings payback is a little over 2 years.

One thing that is different with Raycore is they do not glue osb to their panels during manufacture. They let the builder attach osb or plywood to the panels after they are on site. They have their reasons and it has to do with trapped moisture rotting the osb. The strength of the panels comes from the studs which are molded in the panel. They can use wood, pressure treated wood, metal studs or even composite studs (metal and composite for non load bearing). For 2x6 or 2x8 walls they can use staggered studs to get a better energy seal.

The biggest drawback for most people is the shipping. I think their only plant is in Idaho.

I am currently designing a home to use their panels on a concrete slab (with radiant floor heat) installation in Eastern Washington state (not far from their plant). I will price it out to see how it (their 3.5 inch panel) compares to a standard 2x6 wall with fiberglass bat insulation (r 18, the code minimum).

All I know is what I have read on their web site (raycore dot com) and from looking at various diy and construction forums. Most other SIP manufacturers and a lot of contractors don't like them because they (Raycore) don't manufacture "standard" SIP panels with the OSB attached. DIY builders seem to love them for their simplicity and easy install in construction.

Personally I do not like OSB, anyway. In my case I am looking at 10' high walls. A 4 foot wide, 10 foot tall, 3.5 inch thick panel weighs about 60 pounds. At 4-5 dollars per square foot, the panels are very competitive with 2x6 lumber, one or two inches of sprayed foam and then fiberglass bats that I was planning on using in standard construction.

They seem to ship a lot of panels to Alaska (5.5 and 8.5 with staggered studs). With the thicker panels they have an insulated door header and window header option.

I am looking forward to see more of this home particular construction.

 

[tkappeler]

EddieWalker asked "...
The biggest drawback for most people is the shipping. I think their only plant is in Idaho. ...

You are correct. I had 4 double pallets delivered. The costs for shipping was about $2,200 to Philadelphia (local freight depot) and then delivered to the job site. They do run an April "sale" that gave me enough of a price break on the panels to ALMOST cover the shipping.

 

[sdkubota]

Concrete doesn't dry it cures. It cures faster the warmer it is. Low temperatures may slow the curing process but have no effect on eventual cracking.

 

[tkappeler]

This house is full of all sorts of surprises for me. I've never seen this before, but have read a few articles about something that might be similar. What is the R value of the walls? Are you saving money doing it this way in labor, or does the savings come down the road in energy savings? Does the electrician cut out the foam or is there something in there already to run the wiring? How do you seal it up if the electrician cuts it out? More tape?

Thanks,
Eddie

Eddie,

Here is a picture from the Ray-Core manual about how you work with the electrical and plumbing. This is NOT ours.

 

[edlegault]

tkappeler:

Is the install manual online? Or does it come only after buying the panels?

 

[KennyG]

Concrete doesn't dry it cures. It cures faster the warmer it is. Low temperatures may slow the curing process but have no effect on eventual cracking.

This isn't really true. Curing at lower temperatures (and over a longer period of time) will result in higher concrete ultimate strength and less cracking. You want really want the concrete to cure over the longest period possible and at a uniform temperature (not fluctuating). So I would agree, it looks like this pour was under ideal conditions. Interestingly enough, I once saw a technical paper reporting on use of a concrete additive that prevented freezing so the concrete could be held below freezing during the cure. This increased the ultimate strength of the concrete.

 

[dave1949]

Tom,

Thanks for the pics and documenting your build. Interesting new stuff.