Structural Insulated Panel Houses: Save 50% of construction costs.

Structural Insulated Panel Houses: Save 50% of construction costs.

Structural Insulated panel houses are houses made of Structural Insulated Panel walling and Roofing-see Wikipedia on Structural Insulated Pane Housing.
SIP houses are rapidly replacing the traditional brick and mortar type of houses worldwide. In developed countries such as Australia and U.S.A, this is the preferred mode of construction and is the new ‘buzz word’ around the construction industry world.

The SIP panel is made of two thick metal plates with polyurethane insulation sandwich in between. Polyurethane is the material used in heavy duty industrial air conditioners due to its superior insulation capabilities.
The SIP hoses are designed to withstand heavy wind load, earthquakes and extreme weather conditions such as snow and high temperatures.
In Kenya, this new technology is already here with us. The Chinese roads construction company offices at Kasarani directly opposite Warren Concrete are a good example of this.

Advantages.

1. Cost Saving.
The use of SIP panel in construction saves over 50% of the total construction costs.
There are several ways that this cost saving is achieved.

[a] Foundation.

SIP panel houses are light weight. This means that there are no expensive excavations and concrete footings in this method of construction. This cuts the cost of a traditional foundation by 75%.
[b] Wastage.
Since these panels are made in the factory, there is zero wastage. unlike in the traditional method whereby there is wastage of materials.
2. Finishes.
Factory construction ensures that the workmanship is excellent. With this method, days when someone would leave the contractor doing the plastering only to come back later and find the corners are all crooked are now in the past. In SIP house construction, the panels all fit excellently –like a jig-saw puzzle.

3. Time.
A 3 bedroomed SIP house can be fitted by 4 men within 10 days to completion.

There are very many other advantages of this method of construction.

The house below designed by www.a4architect.com using the SIP Panel technology can be erected anywhere in East Africa.

Structural Insulated Panel[SIP] House

Frank Gichuhi.
www.a4architect.com
+254721410684