Helped a friend on Sip construction

[schmism]

It will be interesting to see how the foam is holding up in 60-100 years.

 

[Duffster]

It will be interesting to see how the foam is holding up in 60-100 years.

Or even 15.

 

[Kyle241]

Kyle241: What method did you use for attic insulation?

I used blown in cellulose 25"+ to obtain R60. It works perfectly for my style of house, one story craftsman.

 

[Kyle241]

Or even 15.

Now that is funny! Unfortunately not quite accurate. One styrofoam cup takes approximately 500 years to dissolve...yes 500 years, research and you will find out. I wonder what a 4'x9'x6" section will take? Quite a while I think.

There are great alternatives to building these days, ICF (which I would have loved to build), SIP's, rammed earth, strawbale, etc. All must improved on the stick framing/balloon framing if ones needs require them, e.g. cold climate. Unfortunately there are many still out there that have not taken the time to educate themselves on these methods as they are all very interesting. The only other tried and true homes to build are true stone homes which can last centuries...but I will not be around then so does it truly matter?

 

[Duffster]

Now that is funny! Unfortunately not quite accurate. One styrofoam cup takes approximately 500 years to dissolve...yes 500 years, research and you will find out. I wonder what a 4'x9'x6" section will take? Quite a while I think.

I don't see the humor.

We just resided a house that had part of it sided in '97 and the rest a few years earlier. The older part had foil covered foam and the newer part had Dow Styrofoam ins. The condition of both foams was surprisingly poor and where there was a window leaking water behind the siding the foam was in extremely poor condition.

 

[wedge40]

Started to think about the longevity of SIP.. This was the first thing I read.

Expected Lifespan of A SIP Home - GreenBuildingTalk - GreenBuildingTalk - Green Building Forums on Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF), Structural Insulated Panels (SIP), Radiant Heating, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Solar Power, Green Construction Projects -

I'm guessing you're good for three or 4 generations providing you take care the shell.

Wedge

 

[schmism]

Now that is funny! Unfortunately not quite accurate. One styrofoam cup takes approximately 500 years to dissolve...yes 500 years, research and you will find out. I wonder what a 4'x9'x6" section will take? Quite a while I think.

its not about how long it takes the foam to "dissolve" but how long it holds its structural integrity. Afterall the ONLY thing holding the 2 OSB sheets together is the adhesive property of the foam. If that starts to beak down over time, then the whole structure starts to fall apart like a house of cards.

At the end of the day, if your happy with it great... Your likely only to live in it for 20 maybe 30 years. At which point the houses long term structural integrity is someone elses problem.

 

[dstig1]

SIPs are not new, just more well known as people now get more serious about building energy efficiency. The things that cause the biggest attack on plastics and adhesives are: UV light, air (oxidizing), solvents/water and heat. Not many of those are found inside a wall. I'm not worried about the foam or the adhesive breaking down in a few lifetimes, as long as you maintain the integrity of the shell.

This is a key difference between modern energy efficient house and old under/un-insulated leaky houses. In those older houses, leaks were not catastrophic. In modern tight house, leaks can be very damaging or catastrophic. If you build a tight house with SIPs, ICFs, R50 cellulose walls, whatever it will cause big problems if the weather barrier is not maintained or if there are serious installation errors. That is the cost of getting high energy efficiency.

My $0.02

 

[crazyal]

My house is a timberframe (post and beam) with SIP panels. The panels have sheetrock on the inside and after doing it once I would never build a stick built house again. I have cut off panels that have been sitting in the weather for 5 years now (just to see what happens) and the OSB has started to break down, the moisture resistant sheetrock has seen better days but the foam looks the same other than it's got some black mold on it.

I have one wall, a large gable end that gets a lot of wind that's stick built. Even then the main reason for going stick built on it is there is a lot of window in it so most of the panel would have been cut out anyway. The insulation value is miles beyond studs.

I wired my house up. The panels had a chase that is easy to get at once you use a rotozip to cut a hole for an existing contruction box. A wire fish can easily be sent down the chase, hook on wire, and pull it back. I took a couple of 1/2" nuts on some 1/8" steel cable that once heated up glowing red then simply dropped it down through the outlet hole. Cans of spray foam are your best friend.

Being a timberframe installing the panels is real simple. They are either nailed or screwed onto the frame I thought I had pictures on this computer but it doesn't look like it.

 

[MacLawn]

Well, an interesting way to build a house; and I think it will be fine. Probably better than most stick built 2x4 houses. Kyle, yours is a great looking place! Good job.