Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) offer a vastly superior, more versatile and economic method of construction, capable of delivering solutions to meet rapidly changing building regulation relating to energy efficient buildings. SIPs are set to become the building method of choice and a real alternative to the inefficiency of traditional building methods.
Consisting of two high-density OSB (oriented strand board) faces, factory bonded to a rigid MPF (modified poly foam) core, SIPs are lightweight and offer superb thermal efficiency. SIPs allow complete flexibility of design, fast construction to a weather proof stage and therefore less labour time on site. Installation of windows & doors, electrical, plumbing, ventilation and other utilities becomes much simpler and faster in a SIP building.
Fabricated off-site in dry-factory conditions, SIPs are delivered to site ready for rapid erection to a weather-tight state, which means that on-site wastage is minimal, and construction time slashed, offering an opportunity for savings in interest for short term Bank loans. A typical house of 150sq/m, erected by a trained crew, can be weather-tight and ready for first internal fixings in only five days!
SIPs are suitable for external and internal walls, roofs and floors. They have been used successfully to construct buildings of up to 4 storeys tall, and their vertical load-bearing capacity allows concrete beamed floors to be incorporated into designs. In addition, consistent thermal & acoustic performance offers great potential for higher-rise construction.
Precision fabrication and installation ensure extraordinary thermal efficiency and vastly improved air-tightness, with heat losses cut by up to 80% in passive SIP buildings.
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