![]() Below is a brief summary of these key advantages, as well as technical information on what makes up a SIP. Primarily this is to do with the factory-built components allowing for a better performing building fabric. The UK market has been slow to catch up, but SIPs have many advantages over standard masonry and timber frame construction methods. Let’s just say there’s no easement with my easement - yet - and leave it at that.Structurally-insulated panels, or ‘SIPs,’ are commonly used throughout Europe and North America as a construction method. 2: The state or feeling of comfort or peace. 1: A right to cross or otherwise use someone else’s land for a specified purpose No. There are two definitions for the word, and, in my case at least, “easement” is turning out to be a contronym, meaning a word with contradictory or opposite definitions (like how transparent means “invisible,” or “obvious”). Also on the to-do list: a matter of neighborhood politics that feels like a splinter in the footings. Meanwhile, with a battalion of hard hats and steel boots working the outside, we’re turning our attention to the inside and all of the sundry design decisions from flooring to ceiling fans. “They’re a lot more fun to build and it’s faster to frame a house out of SIPs.” But come and see for yourself since ours is currently the only residential SIPs project within city limits. “I like building energy-efficient houses,” Fitchett says. Three weeks on, the erected SIPs form a solid shell, tightened up with expansion foam where ceilings join walls. Four weeks later, panels arrive to the job site on a flat-bed truck. Architectural plans are sent to the SIPs manufacturer and a computerized radial-arm saw cuts each piece to specifications. The two cookies are dense wood particle boards (OSB) and the cream is an insulating foam (EPS). Think of SIPs as an Oreo (or, preferably, the lesser-known but more delicious original Hydrox). Also, having dealt with in our last house virulent mold issues and a dank, camel cricket–ridden basement that seasonally required either a pith helmet or a HAZMAT suit, SIPs offered peace of mind for the long-term health of the house and health of our respiratory systems. Like the hybrid car, the SIPs house maximizes resources and makes you feel just a little better about your carbon footprint. While climate change naysayers believe greenhouse gases don’t matter out there in the troposphere, progressive minds are reining-in environmental excesses down here in our own abodes. ![]() “It costs a tiny bit more,” says Fitchett of the construction method, “but it pays for itself within two to three years.” Overall, you’re looking at a 5- to 10-percent increase up front, “but,” he says, “you’ll save on your heating and cooling costs for decades.” So tight, in fact, that SIP houses need to breathe they use their HVAC systems to inhale fresh air and exhale stale air. Between these 2-by-4-inch lumber studs, however, there’s a lot of empty space where heat and air conditioning spill out like waste water, except it’s made of money. Traditional wood-frame homes are built out of sticks (wood) and nails. The Fitchett family launched ODI in 2010 and started following from day one the EarthCraft guidelines: a LEED-like epistemology that saves energy and water while improving indoor air quality. Involved in solar and contracting for years, Fitchett saw the need for a company that understood green building practices, thermal energy and high efficiency. “Every joint is caulked and sealed, there are no air leaks and there’s foam insulation throughout the whole house.” “SIPs are the best method to insulate your home,” says our builder Cory Fitchett, construction manager at Old Dominion Innovations, Inc. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |