SIP House - Slab to Cladding [Time Lapse]

Watch the process of building a SIP house up until lockup stage.

[@kelleywilliams4239]

Great time lapse, thanks! What was yout total project time from breaking ground to completion?

[@csandford]

About 9 months for builders to get to lockup, then a year for me to complete the inside.

[@dustinwiebold8647]

Looks awesome- what time-lapse camera did you use?

[@csandford]

Thanks Dustin, I used an old Sony AS100V Action Cam.

[@ashleyburton4772]

Really nice video to watch. What cladding did you put on?

[@csandford]

There was 75mm of Foam sheeting added to the outside of the SIP, then it was finished with cement render.

[@brendaa47]

thank you for this - well done. i too have done a sips build...single storey with flat roof. could you kindly identify both your internal and external cladding. thank you

[@csandford]

Brenda Addie, we’re just hanging Plasterboard straight to the sips inside. The external had an extra eps foam layer which was then rendered.

[@brendaa47]

thank you . @@csandford

[@antonylemos881]

quick question.. the house being built of SIP panels, why the extra insulation on the outside?

[@csandford]

Double the insulation equals double the goodness. The concrete render was applied to the second layer of foam. The the two separate layers also allows for an air gap between the two which was useful for electrical wiring, and moisture protection.

[@sumandas5835]

Very informative, thanks for sharing. What's the thickness of these SIPs? Did you use or recommend any floor insulation assuming raft slab?

[@csandford]

Walls = 115mm SIP + 90mm EPS Foam, Roof = 165mm SIP. You can see the 90mm Foam being delivered at 14:38 and installed at 15:03. Our downstairs floor is burnished concrete, designed to catch the sun's warmth in the winter and store it. If you put a floor covering over the concrete, you will lose the thermal mass potential.

[@plt294]

Hi Chris, I am in Melbourne and looking to build my house with sips. It’s a relatively a new product in Australia. Would you mind if you could please share your experience. Looking to hear from you. Thanks

[@csandford]

It is still relatively new. Best to find an architect who’s familiar with it, as they will likely have contacts with builders who can handle it too. We used Gruen Eco Design, who were very good with newbies like us. Be careful when picking a building surveyor, you’ll wanna make sure they’ve worked with sips too.

[@plt294]

@@csandford thanks Chris. was the cost lower than conventional build ? did you build yourself or using a builder ?

[@csandford]

@@plt294 We had a builder get it to lock up (weather proof), and we've been finishing it from there. Helped us save a lot of money by doing lots of it ourselves, but probably not suitable for most folks.

[@paulkeenan4309]

didn't see any glue or sealant being applied between panels to minimize air infiltration ... also it would be nice to see how the plumbing is done ...

[@csandford]

Most panels have sealant between them, but I'm also not convinced all panels were done. I did a lot of sealing from the inside once it was at lock-up stage. Plumbing was run along the inside of the walls and we battened out the walls for plastering. Upstairs plumbing was obviously done as norma from the floor cavity and internal walls. All downstairs plumbing was kept to just 2 walls.

[@chrisbyrnes8477]

Hi @Chris Sandford, I am interested in what your feedback is on the SIPS house now that you have lived in for a period? Have you discovered amy issues with house? I.e. mould, moisture etc? What sort of ventilation do you have? Is there anything that would change if you were to do it again? Any advice you could offer to aspiring SIPS builder in Aus? Thank you...

[@csandford]

Overall we love it. It maintains it's temperature very well. Lowest temp last winter was about 17ºC with zero heating. It's great in cold weather. Hot weather was our main struggle. Last summer we had almost no protection from the East & West sun, so that brought in quite a bit of heat. December isn't too bad because the sun is the highest, but Feb/March is harder, as the lower incline of the sun means it comes through the windows enough to heat the house very quickly. It's only a problem on really hot days where it doesn't cool down in the evening, it's very hard to expel the heat while it's still hot outside. In retrospect, we would have extended the North eves a bit more. We have just recently installed a small reverse cycle A/C, mainly for large gatherings in summer, where it's nice to drop the temp a little, or in winter, we can make it cosy. I would definitely build again with SIPs, in fact I'm very seriously looking at building some tiny houses with SIPs. Keep an eye on my other channel where I'll probably upload future building updates: kzbin.info/door/fxASZ5qjyybFCKyleuy4Cg

[@csandford]

We have a Zehnder HRV system installed for Heat Recovery and Ventilation. It's great for ensuring we have fresh air without losing the heat. In summer we open the windows in the evening if we want to quickly cool the place down, but otherwise we just let the HRV system do it's thing.

[@chrisbyrnes8477]

@@csandford @Chris Sandford thanks very much for your responses, I have been finding it hard to speak with someone who is actually living in a SIPS house. Do you mind if I ask which SIPS company you used and what the experience was like? Thanks again for the feedback

[@csandford]

Sorry for the very delayed response. Our local builder was Tuson Construction. The panels were imported from the US by a fella called Thomas Schirling. We also had some dealings with Fenster & Panel, but I can't actually remember where they fitted into the picture. We had a few dramas at the start. Our initial builder became too busy, which is how we got onto Tuson. Tuson could've imported the panels too, but we had already engaged Thomas when we had to changed builders. We also had to change Surveyor part way through due to other issues. We ended up with RedTextas who were great. Our architect was our best point of contact for finding trades that were familiar with SIPs.

[@robertvasi]

Looks European style. Where is it?

[@csandford]

Melbourne, Australia.

[@elliotcarrion1446]

Q