our home > system > structural systems > sips

The floor, exterior walls, and roof surfaces are all SIPs. Each SIP is composed of 7/16 in. thick Oriented Strand Board OSB sheathing that is glued to expanded polystyrene foam. At the edges of each SIP, dimension lumber or laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is used as blocking. The OSB is glued and nailed to the lumber blocking.

The floor is constructed of six inch thick SIPs. Exterior walls and roof SIPs are ten-inch thick panels. The floor and wall SIPs all use dimension lumber blocking.

In the case of the roof SIPs, dimension lumber was used as the interior blocking and LVL was used as exterior blocking. The LVL was used to strengthen the SIPs and create large contiguous roof panels that could be folded to allow the houses to meet height limitations during shipping. The SIPs are sufficiently strong to resist the various loads placed on the roof, walls, and floor.