Featured Project: The SIP Monster Project Notes

Day 6,  With a beautiful morning on the mountain, the crew started off with a great view of Pike’s Peak still showing its white top. A great view but if you’re not used to the high altitude at that elevation in the world, you may be like me and have a hard time breathing.  The view also came with a headache, sick stomach and thoughts of a mild heart attack. And the SIP Monster project continues on…

We gave the crane operator a break today, this allowed us to go back to our starting point at the front corner of the house where this study will be.

Jobsite Quality Control

As the install was started, panels sections were braced as the panel sections were installed.  However they did not complete all the screws that were required on each wall section. They are using this day to catch up all the final attachments including the SIP screws on all corners which will be 6 inch on center.  SIP Supply always sends extra screws so they can be added for additional support.

 Bottom Plates

Each panel is sitting on a bottom plate that has been precut to fit the recessed opening of the panel section. These bottom plates also have a 45 degree angle on each side to allow the panel to slide over them which make installing the panels much easier.   A Greenix Panels order always  includes top and bottom plates precut to fit on all of our orders delivered.

SIP Screws

The outside skin, in this case OSB, is attached to the bottom plate using screws or staples.  As you see in the picture below the screws were attached at the bottom of each section as well as up the joining area of each panel 6 to 8 inch on center. (Note: This is typical on the inside of the panel as well as the outside of the wall sections. You can also see where we used the 7.5 inch SIP screws at each corner)

7.5 inch and 9 inch SIP screws were also used at the bay window area pictured below.  In some bay window sections and other areas a longer screw is needed to reach the attaching panel that allows for the fastener to be properly attached.   Notice that holes were drilled in the bay window section to get the correct angle needed for the SIP screw.

Bracing SIP Panels

Also notice the bracing attached to the wall sections throughout the project. Proper bracing is required to ensure that sudden wind gusts will not interfere with the levelness as well as a safety measure that allows for regulated construction procedures to be met. You can also see in picture 1 that the windows still have OSB on the inside, you can remove as needed to attach bracing material for the wall section. In most cased you can leave the OSB in place until you are ready to set your windows and doors.

Filler SIP Panel Materials

Most all SIP projects require some filler materials, most of this material is sent in standard sizes and need to be cut on site to meet the requirements of the sections to be filled. Material fillers are used in various areas. On this project we had structural steel in several areas, the filler material was used to frame around the steel beams and at the end walls butting up to the steel beams.