Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 41Sep 14, 2014 9:21 am May I ask whether I'm reading this thread correctly; that you're going to be offering products or services or whatever based on this building method? It's too late for us; but I'm interested to know what you're planning on offering/doing? We've had to expensively modify a project-home, using completely standard materials of course, in order to get something which only goes partway towards our original goal of having a house which was "comfortable" (where natural breezes & a lack of need for heating/cooling is included in "comfortable"). The two companies which had "green" designs folded before we went far with them, and going custom was looking like an extra half a million dollars. Is this a bit of an experiment, or is there a website or other info? Or am I totally misunderstanding? Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 42Sep 14, 2014 10:51 am Hi Forg, Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) is a form of building system that has been around in the northern hemisphere since the 1950's..... for more info refer http://www.sips.org/ SIPS has featured on Grand Designs several times....as far back as 2009. Kevin McCloud is a great advocate for the system. There are 3 version of SIPS construction: OSB skins, Steel skins & more recently MgO skins. The MgO version is by far the most economical version of SIPS. An example of such a fully developed MgO system is NZ's http://www.magroc.co.nz/. The company that made my panels is Superior Panels:- http://www.superiorpanels.com.au/insula ... panelling/ This company could have made SIPS walls with steel skins, but sees the many advantages of MgO. There have been a few houses built with the current Superior Panels system, but we have learnt a lot from real life experience & will be soon offering a much improved building system. My house is not an experiment, but a case of trialing, in real life, these improvements....however:- the basic construction concept of my homes is still the tried & tested SIPS system. Many thanks for your interest. Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 43Sep 14, 2014 1:24 pm thanks ED It sounds promising. But I'd want the CodeMark stamp of approval before using the product. Plus, I'd want to see the panels installed and finished before making a decision. efficient design Hi James,.....apologies for taking so long on getting back. Here are answers to your questions:- 1) 2 people can assemble a SIPS house.....that's all I had on my project. 2) A crane is not needed & it takes 2 people to handle a panel....not because of weight, but because of shear size & bulk. 3) Panels require exterior/interior finishing....prefer flexible acrylic render to exterior but it can be painted. Interior walls can be painted just like Gyprock. 4) NO.....no additional lining is required. This is a major cost saving. Tiles can also be direct fixed....just like Villaboard. 5) Panels come with chases vertically & we're also looking at a horizontal chase at 2300. Chases are used for services. With plumbing, preference is that feed & waste is installed to the space through the floor. Where there is a shower etc, panels can be supplied without a MgO skin glued, allowing direct access to eps that can be carved out & also blocking installed. This requires forward planning of course. 6) Price is correct & includes bottom & top plate (steel profile). I prefer 90x45 timber as it's easier to work with 7) Hard question to answer as we wouldn't be in business supplying sub-standard building solutions. The MgO we use has been well researched. It is the intention to eventually have CodeMark compliance. Yes, the sound of rain is transmitted through the panel. My house has 150mm panels....heavy rain is quite muffled & would be similar to a truss roofed house with colorbond roof & excellent insulation. Garage roof is 50mm & the increase in noise is significant. Many thanks for your interest. Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 44Sep 14, 2014 1:41 pm I understand your caution James. CodeMark Certification scheme is a voluntary arrangement. There are many building systems in Australia & NZ that don't have CodeMark as the scheme is more applicable to specific elements. To Codemark a building system is a very expensive exercise. If people are interested in seeing the installed product, please feel free to ask. Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 45Sep 25, 2014 12:34 pm I have just read through this and I am very interested, I was going to build with ICF (still in the planning stage) but we keep getting talked out of it but this seems a good product, on this particular one though the link is not working. The Superior Panels site has been disabled with this message "This Account Has Been Suspended" Is this an indication of how difficult it is to get SIP established in OZ or is it just a mishap with the site? thanks Pat Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 46Sep 26, 2014 9:24 am Hi patclan, Thanks for the headsup on the website. The host server got hacked on Wednesday & SP lost emails too. Website should be up and running today. Note that SP factory is being relocated from Stayplton to new factory just up the road from Yatla Pies. If you require further info, don't hesitate to contact me......Steve Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 48Dec 24, 2014 7:45 am Hi Mark, House is going great. We leave doors & louvers open all day. If it's hot outside, then it's hot inside too. I close the house up on the 40C+ days though. We have too much glazing the the north-west & I knew that would pose a problem. We have yet to get curtains so that will greatly reduce the heat coming through the glass & aluminium framing. Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 49Jan 22, 2015 9:39 am Hi I am currently studying drafting with the plan to design and project manage builds for clients using sips, and focusing on ecological homes. I have been looking at many SIPS such as www.ozonepanel.com.au however using OSB I still need to apply External and Internal Cladding to walls. I like that the MGO does not require this. I have just finished designing my own home and will be organising quotes shortly to see exactly how much this build will cost. Like yours it has many windows and my home is large..... I have four children (3 boys) and I need the room! I am interested in more costing information. How large is your home? Budget? (sorry if too personal, ignore!) Top 5 tips when designing / building with MGO SIPS? Any Info Appreciated. Alivia Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 50Jan 22, 2015 10:31 am Alivia, if you are cladding MgO panels over a timber frame, those frames will still need to be braced with either ply or speed bracing. You have to stand all the frames up and nail them off so they are level and plumb. They have to be braced for that to happen successfully. Then you clad the outside. Stewie Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 51Jan 22, 2015 10:47 am HI ED, Looks like your build is coming along well. What a great design. We are using SIPs for our roofing on our build. Still constructing walls at the moment. Never thought to use them as walls as well! Looking forward to keep following your journey! Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 52Jan 23, 2015 10:41 am Alvia:- You're quite correct in that MgO SIPS require less work to finish compared to OSB SIPS. This makes the MgO SIP construction methodology very affordable and also provides superior insulation & air tightness. My best tip is to RESEARCH:- All SIP systems on the market vary in construction methodology. It's hard to compare apples with apples.....ALSO there is a huge range of MgO boards available, many of quite dubious quality. In fact, CodeMark on MgO sheets doesn't mean a thing.....some of those boards are crap! I've been involved in the industry for over 5 years (R&D). The Superior Wall System has been developed from the mistakes & shortcomings of SIP systems currently on the market...plus we tried a number of innovations on my project. We recently traveled to China and have ordered our own version of MgO (arrives this weekend)...it isn't cheap but the technology outstrips anything on the Australian market. Most noticeable difference is that it's coloured green....glare from the standard white board makes working with it unbearable on hot sunny days!!!! If you're keen to find out more, please PM me. Stewie:- MgO SIP panels are structural in themselves....being up to 3 times stronger than conventional framing.....no framing is required. To explain the SIP concept, here's a cute video by Grand Design's Kevin McCloud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulaW0rABwrk&app=desktop ktotherose:- Thank you for your comments....I applaud you on taking on the challenge of building to passiv haus standards. This is where SIPS (roof & walls) really shines:- this is due to the ease of achieving a very air tight structure. Increased insulation is also a benefit......I guess you're using double studs????....our 123mm SIP panel achieves R3.4 and cost is comparable to 90mm sticks with R2.4 batts....and that form of construction suffers from thermal bridging & is extremely hard to keep air tight....especially over time. Enjoy the journey! Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 53Jan 23, 2015 11:31 am ED, the only MgO I have seen have been 75mm panels that were used as cladding over battens onto a timber frame for two different builds. My knowledge of them is pretty limited. SIP's I know even less of. Stewie Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 54Jan 23, 2015 12:52 pm Thanks stewie: The purpose of this Forum is education and support. Yes MgO is gaining uses in common framed construction. As stated above, much of the MgO currently available is of dubious quality....there's over 2000 factories in China producing the stuff! SIPS technology is new to Australia, but the technology has been around some 80 years. Here's a little bit of history:- "The idea of using stressed-skin panels for construction began in the 1930s with a research program considering methods of conserving U.S. forest resources. As an outcome of this research, in 1937 a stressed-skin house was constructed. There were many converts to the new construction method, including the esteemed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright who used this construction method to develop over 50 of the exceptionally innovative Usonian Houses . The intent of the Usonian Home was to create affordable housing, however it had limited success due to a design flaw – poor insulation. This flaw was rectified by Alden B. Dow (Dow Corning) – an architecture student of Frank Lloyd Wright – and in 1950, Dow unveiled the first structural insulated panel (SIP) and related construction method. The SIP Construction Method gained widespread popularity in the U.S. and its release from patent in the last decade has resulted in a rapid development of foam formulations and manufacturing techniques." The benefits of SIPS will see this technology rapidly gain acceptance.....that's happening in the northern hemisphere. The system is also ideal for factory production of re-worked panels. The future will see more 'flat pack' buildings....offering speedy construction, affordability, & exceptional energy efficient homes for the end user. Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 56Feb 08, 2015 10:05 am Unfortunately the jury is still out on (misnomer-Delete Structural) Insulation Panels, unless the manufacturers provides Data and substantiated Calculations/Simulation test results for eg strength , fire, durability, impact loading, etc,etc...sorry to say clients, insurance companies,Standard Certifiers,etc will always be sceptical and not accepting without proof. In reference to Solar chimneys (another misnomer) Solar has connotations to heat transfer, when properly designed they also facilitate air Flow (fluid dynamics) LOL,proof open a window on your 8 star rating and watch the calculations go out the door Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 57Feb 09, 2015 4:49 pm CORRECT, as required for ALL Alternative Solutions....appropriate enigneering certificates are provided for the design of SIPS structures. We have no issues with certifiers so I believe your statement is groundless.....and the system is STRUCTURAL......no sticks required! In addition, I had no trouble insuring my house. I think you may have your head buried in the sand in relation to this form of technology that has it's roots of development dating back some 70 years. Decades of the use of STRUCTURAL Insulated Panels & anecdotal evidence of hurricanes (Katrina,Larry,Yasi)/tornadoes/earthquakes (Kobe) demonstartes SIPS as a struturally superior building method compared to conventional sticks. The concept of the Solar Chimney is MY choice and is designed to increase air movement within the building as we desire minimal use of the A/C ....yes your'e correct:- works by heat transfer! It's an experiment but is based on the solar chimney stack effect concept that is used extensivley in high-rise develpments. I don't mind employing innovation & moving away from the 'same old, same old'. In addition, that structure provides shelter to the front door deck, the sunken garden & is meant to make a statment. In relation to SIPS compaines in Perth, I don't know of any that do MgO, but there are several offering OSB version, such as 'SIPS Industries' that have been building SIPS houses in the UK for 20 years. Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 58Feb 11, 2015 8:56 am I am a Structural Engineer..What are your Australian Standards Referenced? Not everyone can afford to experiment on their design although computer simulations now take the guess work out of natural airflow designs. There's one that Ive coupled a few physical design elements ie extreme environment-> natural ventilation-> outdoor living-> Contaminant air flow (heavy metals sands). Clients and engineers generally require proof in the form of Data/Calculations/Simulations..Artistic sketches dont cut it generally. Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 59Feb 11, 2015 12:40 pm Design has been carried out in accordance with the deemed to comply and performance requirement provisions of the BCA and its referenced SAA Codes: Volume 2 P2.1, P2.2.2. Australia Standards relied upon : AS1720.1-1997; AS1684-2006;AS1170.1-2002; AS1748 & AS4055 Currently in the process of investigating CodeMark. MgO board used has CodeMark Cert. Re: Unique Solar Chimney in new SIP construction house 60Feb 11, 2015 4:24 pm There are no codes for Sips yet in one breath you are saying Its Structural....no sticks (Timber framework) required..and in the other you are citing the timber codes AS1720? If I am mistaken all those AS codes dont reference sips? Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs The price you're seeing for a high-spec 2-storey home in Perth sounds steep, but unfortunately, it's kind of the norm these… 8 8023 I can help you with all that, you can PM me with details if you wish 3 5854 I looked into it a few years ago and my conclusion was to just build a carport that will support panels and get a system installed separately. The company I looked at had… 1 6483 |