SIPs Panels stats that may or may not surprise you.

SIPs save a third on build cost

Let’s be honest, few people will build with SIPs panels unless the economics makes sense. The performance would have to be off the charts compared to brick and timber frame to tempt people to look at more advanced and greener construction methods. So let’s check it out and compare. Is SIPs panel construction off the charts? Quite possibly. We’ve assembled some stats to show just how good SIPs panel builds are compared to bricks and sticks, and we’ve started with build cost. 

They are typically a third less costly to build than older methods. Want to know how? Read on.

SIPs builds need only half the construction time

Time is most definitely money in the building trade. With a large percentage of the work done pre-fab in the factory, simply assembling the pre-fabricated SIPs panels onsite means that construction time is halved. 

There are any number of reasons why there could be delays, be it the weather, being let down by the build team, or some unforeseen stroke of misfortune that happens from time to time. There is often a window of opportunity to get the structure up and weatherproof. The build team have an opening in their diary, the weather plays ball and everything comes together, now imagine needing only half a window because SIPs builds are so efficient to construct. Now that’s a massive benefit compared to bricks and sticks.

SIPs builds provide around 30% reduced labour cost

It’s far easier to build with SIPs than bricks and sticks. In fact, a lot of the tricky stuff is done by the planner on a computer aided design (CAD) package, with most of the intricate cutting also done in the pre-fab factory stage. This means that once the structure arrives onsite in sections, putting it all together doesn’t require high-level traditional trade skills. Therefore because SIPs kits are easier to build, less specialist trades are required and the build team costs come down. Our source estimates that labour cost for SIPs builds is around 30% less than traditional methods. Are the economics beginning to make sense now?

1/3 reduction in landfill waste with SIPs builds

So, you are constructing a property the traditional way. First you order the timber for the frame, in standard lengths and you start measuring, cutting and assembling. All the off-cuts, and there are usually quite a lot, have to be picked up, sorted to see if they are useful and the vast majority end up in the skip. And the skips have to be paid for and the contents dumped to landfill, or maybe burned, but either way all that timber is wasted. If we can find a way to create less waste, fewer skip loads will be needed and unnecessary cost can be taken out of the project.

Compare onsite frame construction to a SIPs kit factory, where 6-7 SIPs builds are simultaneously being planned, cut and packed for shipping. Very little timber gets wasted, because there are more opportunities to use off-cuts on other kits. It’s in nobody’s interest to waste materials, because we run an efficient SIPs factory and we want to keep our prices as competitive as possible. We win because we run an efficient operation , the client builder wins because they only have the materials they need when they need it, and the environment wins because we are all creating and disposing less waste. Win win win.

94% less timber used in framing and 75% less other timber used with SIPs

SIPs panels are a dual purpose designed building material, because they form both the rigid outer structure frame of the building and also the insulation layer that keeps the warm in and the cold out. Therefore traditional wooden framing is simply not needed, which is why so much timber is saved compared to bricks and stick framing construction. If the span of the roof is over 3m wide, then steel framing is advised, but for the vast majority of extensions and garden rooms, steel framing is not required. Furthermore, the wood panels (OSB boards) that are used to create SIPs, above and below the insulation layer, are a composite wood sheet made younger trees. It takes many years to grow mature trees to produce long straight lengths of timber for traditional frame construction, but OSB composite panels and made from younger trees that can be harvested and replanted much quicker. SIPs construction as a whole is far more advanced and efficient, which saves the client builder cash and has much less negative environmental impact.

SIPs provide 15x better air tightness leading to 50% reducing in heating costs

We all try to do our bit for the environment and if we can, leave the planet in better shape than we found it. Often there are times when our desire to keep costs down are in direct conflict with our best environmentally conscientious efforts, so it’s refreshing to have an option presented to us where what is best for us is also best for the environment. SIPs is one of those deals.

The SIPs construction method is designed to create a draft free environment, to keep the cold out and the warm in. This means that the homeowner benefits from a 50% reduction in heating bills, due to the density of the insulation foam layer and the roof and floor also being equally as thermally efficient as the walls. We are not talking rolls of candy floss loft-type insulation, the foam layer in the SIPs panel is a high performance urethane fireproof polymer, that is as tremendously strong as it is thermally efficient. 

It’s tricky then to argue that the SIPs panel construction method isn’t totally off the charts compared to older construction methods.

Contact us today for a quote, to get some SIPs technical advice, or even just a chat about SIPs and how they can build with them.