Question : Has anyone used structural insulated panels (SIP) in their home/addition.?
If so, what benifits/detriments have you found.
Research has shown me that they are more benificial to standard ‘stick’ framing (insulation, air infiltration etc. )
I’m planning a couple of room additions (bedroom, dining room/sunroom) and I am curious as to what I should expect.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
room addition plans

Best answer:

Answer by Nick B
Hi,

I used SIPS to construct a 9m x 3m extension to the rear of our house, it’s a fairly simple lean to but because of the slope of the land I built it on a ring frame rather than conventional foundations. Then used Sips panels for the floor as well which gives me excellent thermal insulation and a nice flat surface to build up from.

It took approx 14 man days to lay the floor and erect the walls and put the roof on. This was with no previous Sips experience but a fair bit of building knowledge. The whole process was really straight forward and when I have the money I’ll do a further 2 story extension using Sips.

The only issues I had where 1. Ensure the drawings are absolutely accurate, next time I’ll use a structural engineer to draw them, had an architect do them first time and they tend to do concept not detail. Check the drawings make allowance for the thickness of the panels and any finishes you apply.

2. I had all the materials delivered by the sips supplier and the timber they sourced was not cut to the same tolerance as the sips which meant I had to get much of it machined to size.

3. We used a lot more glue than they supplied, make sure your local supplier has some in stock, it’s expanding PU wood adhesive, fantastic stuff! get it in the tubes and use a mastic gun to apply.

Our extension has been up for over year now and we are delighted, exterior is rendered on a s/s mesh to match the house and internally I dry lined it as I wanted to run the services on the surface of the sips panels.

Overall, why would anyone use anything else, on insulation we added kitchen space and a sun lounge I have added no heating to either room and despite having a glass roof panel 3m x 2m in the sun lounge it has never been cold.

Go for it, use a good company, shop around for the best price once you have detailed drawings and if you know a good chippy thats probably all you need to get the structure up.

Best Nick