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Anyone have any experience with SIPs (structural insulated panels)? The claim is that their use reduces waste and labor, but I'm not aware of any independent an

• R0b0t1 5y ago
  I tried to price them out. They definitely save on labor but they are not particularly cheap. Depending on area your codes may not permit them and/or your local PEs may not want to sign off on them, even though they're fine. (This usually comes about by the local codes only assuming a finite set of valid structures, and some structure you wish to build not neatly fitting into those classifications.) They could nebulously reduce "waste" but with how much more you're paying for them, it seems economically unviable to use them. In the sense that money is a signal, the waste is still there, you're just not seeing it and being put at an economic disadvantage for paying more.
• twothamendment 5y ago
  I worked with them twice and loved it. But three times I've built my own house and passed them over. By my math, it makes sense to spend on a really good envelope like SIPs or a very efficient HVAC like ground source heat pumps - but buying the best of both is only for bragging rights and never pays off. Pick one or the other to go all out on and your bills won't be that much different if the other is just above average. The downside of spending extra on anything that isn't seen by the buyer is that they done want to pay extra for it. To bring it back around to SIPs, if two similar houses are for sale, nobody picks the more expensive one because it has SIPs. (ok, not nobody, maybe I would)