Sips (Structural insulated panels) and why we chose to build with them! So this is what my blog is about today.

What is Sips you may ask.... well it is panels made of rigid insulation between structural facings. Sips can be used for walls floor and roof and depending on what the facings are made of they can be used as the interior finish so you can save on interior cladding! But the big part is the air tightness ability is really good and the R value is superb(R value is a rating which measures how well insulation can resist heat flow) . That is two of the many reasons we picked Sips.

This is a picture of Sips that I got of the website so you can get the idea..



Sips is also a very strong structure and has a good spanning ability and has its own bracing, it has  2 to 6 x better insulation than standard build code stick and fluff (timber frame and batts) and yes Sips is a bit more expensive and the reason is because the cheapest panel you can get from Sips get is far more superior than the current building code requirements and when we tried to get the equivalent performance out of the more traditional stick frame  method it worked out more expensive than sips!! No brainer!!

The one down side for us is it will be the first time Gav has built with Sips but we have chosen to go with Sips Direct from Hamilton and they are nice and close for support and advice ect.

Did I mention Sips Direct actually factory make the panels here in the Waikato!

I will put a link up to Sips  Direct. Rod Yeoman is the owner, he is super easy to talk to and very helpful.

SIPS Direct - Structural Insulated Panel Systems

Any way its late and past my bedtime so bye for now if you have any comments or questions dont hesitate to go on the comments button.



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