Foam Walls

[elf friend]

The general contractor I work for with SIPs buys his pieces from somewhere in Michigan and the come in eight foot wide by up to 24 foot long but without any predrilled chases, as this is cheaper for him. He has a cnc machine at his shop and cuts those pieces into what will be a house. Typically the walls are six inches thick and the ceiling panels are eight inches thick. Most often there is not an attic since the roof panels have an R rating of 38 (i think).

 

[Fulthrotl]

but without any predrilled chases, as this is cheaper for him.

wonder how much it would cost to have them pre drilled
so you could just cut in boxes and fish, instead of doing
it the hard way?

but then again, as long as you have enough hours in it
to cover your time, it's money earned. if saving $100
costs him $1,000 in higher sub costs, who are we to
argue?

strike the first comment. :lol:

 

[kwired]

but then again, as long as you have enough hours in it
to cover your time, it's money earned. if saving $100
costs him $1,000 in higher sub costs, who are we to
argue?

Lots of money changes hands because of this kind of thing - and not just limited to SIP construction. Those that look at the bottom line realize you can save more by spending more in the right places, others just screw with themselves by not looking at the bigger picture, sometimes the bigger picture is pointed out to them and they refuse to look at it too. I guess as long as I get paid for what I do it is not really my problem though.

 

[laketime]

This is the product:

http://tekr.com/Home.aspx

 

[GoldDigger]

Looks like nowhere to run wires except parallel to the corrugations.

Tapatalk!

 

[laketime]

I am planning on using a "hot knife" like the product shown earlier in this thread and just cut channels vertical and horizontal as needed. Foam in the romex as support.

 

[John120/240]

Are you allowed to drill through the metal panel ? How are exterior fixtures, w-p receptacles handled ? If you were to install your exterior boxes after siding, do you take a long metal drill bit then penetrate the steel panel ?

 

[elf friend]

I usually drill a 3" hole on the inside across from where the fixture will be then drill through the exterior of the wall with a 1/2" drill bit and stick my wire out, fill the chase up with great stuff then mount a shallow 3 1/2 round metal box outside. Put the plug back on the inside as I discribed in an earlier post.

 

[elf friend]

wonder how much it would cost to have them pre drilled
so you could just cut in boxes and fish, instead of doing
it the hard way?

but then again, as long as you have enough hours in it
to cover your time, it's money earned. if saving $100
costs him $1,000 in higher sub costs, who are we to
argue?

strike the first comment. :lol:

There is some on the market that is predrilled like this. The horizonta runs are at 18", 24", and I think the verticle chases are four feet apart. There is a line there to indicate where the chase is but then the GC would need to figure all that stuff out before he made his cnn program.

 

[John120/240]

Are you allowed to drill through the metal panel ? How are exterior fixtures, w-p receptacles handled ? If you were to install your exterior boxes after siding, do you take a long metal drill bit then penetrate the steel panel ?

I usually drill a 3" hole on the inside across from where the fixture will be then drill through the exterior of the wall with a 1/2" drill bit and stick my wire out, fill the chase up with great stuff then mount a shallow 3 1/2 round metal box outside. Put the plug back on the inside as I discribed in an earlier post.

Where you penetrate the steel panel is any kind of bushing used to protect the wire from abrasion ? Do you just rely on the foam to hold the wire stable ?

 

[elf friend]

Where you penetrate the steel panel is any kind of bushing used to protect the wire from abrasion ? Do you just rely on the foam to hold the wire stable ?

There is no steel panel. Just two pieces of 1/2" OSB sandwhiching six-eight inches of styrofoam. Alot of the homes will use steel beams for support but these are usually hiden within the interior. But yes, I spray great stuff in all the chases I drill from inside to the exterior.

 

[GoldDigger]

The last type of panel linked was corrugated structural steel with foam on each side (molded?).
That was the type about which I commented that it only seemed practical to run buried wires parallel to the corrugations.


Tapatalk!

 

[Fulthrotl]

This is the product:

http://tekr.com/Home.aspx

odd... like the line from the movie goes....

"Who ARE these guys?"

you can't find a single link to the real world on their
website. no phone number, physical address, zip.

there's a LEED point for sourcing within 500 miles
of the install point, so i was curious.

from the terms of service of the website:

"this agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Washington, U.S.A.
and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of courts
in San Mateo County, California, U.S.A."

so the only physical pings are washington state, and san mateo county.

the only google hits are their website.

sure.... i want to design a project using a system that the manufacturer
and supplier of is as hard to track down as a meth lab.

waiter, check please. we're done here........

 

[texie]

odd... like the line from the movie goes....

"Who ARE these guys?"

you can't find a single link to the real world on their
website. no phone number, physical address, zip.

there's a LEED point for sourcing within 500 miles
of the install point, so i was curious.

from the terms of service of the website:

"this agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Washington, U.S.A.
and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of courts
in San Mateo County, California, U.S.A."

so the only physical pings are washington state, and san mateo county.

the only google hits are their website.

sure.... i want to design a project using a system that the manufacturer
and supplier of is as hard to track down as a meth lab.

waiter, check please. we're done here........

I don't know who these guys are. Looks like some oddball SIP style product. The panels that "elf friend" and I were talking about are standard SIP that are pretty well known in many extreme cold areas. Look here: http://www.sips.org/about/what-are-sips In fact I have a rather large installation of SIP going right now for the roof of an assisted living facility in northern Wyoming.

That said, I think the OP may have been asking about ICF (insulated concrete form). Here is an example of ICF: http://www.buildblock.com/?gclid=CK7T3v3ezrwCFQ-DfgodGUsA_Q

 

[Fulthrotl]

I don't know who these guys are. Looks like some oddball SIP style product. The panels that "elf friend" and I were talking about are standard SIP that are pretty well known in many extreme cold areas. Look here: http://www.sips.org/about/what-are-sips In fact I have a rather large installation of SIP going right now for the roof of an assisted living facility in northern Wyoming.

That said, I think the OP may have been asking about ICF (insulated concrete form). Here is an example of ICF: http://www.buildblock.com/?gclid=CK7T3v3ezrwCFQ-DfgodGUsA_Q

absolutely on all of that.... but usually, someone manufacturing anything
will do anything include putting a traffic cone on their head to make it
easy for you to find them.....

these metal in the middle guys.... i get a mental picture of two guys
in a back yard with a plasma cutter, some plywood forms, and a foam
gun.....

and a cellphone... prepaid.... :lol:

 

[Fulthrotl]

I don't know who these guys are. Looks like some oddball SIP style product. The panels that "elf friend" and I were talking about are standard SIP that are pretty well known in many extreme cold areas. Look here: http://www.sips.org/about/what-are-sips In fact I have a rather large installation of SIP going right now for the roof of an assisted living facility in northern Wyoming.

That said, I think the OP may have been asking about ICF (insulated concrete form). Here is an example of ICF: http://www.buildblock.com/?gclid=CK7T3v3ezrwCFQ-DfgodGUsA_Q

yeah, sip by another flavor is cold box panels, with powder coated aluminum textured sheets on either side of foam....
it's what they use for blast chillers, and refrigerated rooms, everywhere. a 6" panel of that is amazingly strong.
most food packing plants, at least on the left coast, are tilt ups with prep areas made out of foam panels, and
all the support equipment outside of that.

that's where i really got into the festool track saws, when you have to cut holes in walls for stuff, and you can't have
styrofoam blowing all over the place. nary a bit escapes the dust collection.

 

[kwired]

absolutely on all of that.... but usually, someone manufacturing anything
will do anything include putting a traffic cone on their head to make it
easy for you to find them.....

these metal in the middle guys.... i get a mental picture of two guys
in a back yard with a plasma cutter, some plywood forms, and a foam
gun.....

and a cellphone... prepaid.... :lol:

Many big companies started out in someone's garage, back yard, home office.... moved to a bigger building, then they out grew that, and maybe moved a few other times before building a place that really suits their needs the best:happyyes:

 

[chris1971]

Fein tool or a sawzall.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Many big companies started out in someone's garage, back yard, home office.... moved to a bigger building, then they out grew that, and maybe moved a few other times before building a place that really suits their needs the best:happyyes:

quite so... and a number of us run a service truck out of our garage.... including me.

but when apple was a handful of guys in a garage, i'll bet you could find a phone
number to jobs if you wanted to buy one of their computer kits, or sell them.

when in this media soaked world, you have a company claiming this:

"The tekR Structural Thermal Envelope System has been utilized in over 500 commercial,
religious, municipal, and residential projects. The system?s design flexibility and structural
capabilities, for both curtain wall and load bearing applications, makes it the clear choice
for your next project."

and you can find ZERO anchors to the real world, it makes one pause and wonder why.
that's all i'm saying.... :angel:

 

[kwired]

quite so... and a number of us run a service truck out of our garage.... including me.

but when apple was a handful of guys in a garage, i'll bet you could find a phone
number to jobs if you wanted to buy one of their computer kits, or sell them.

when in this media soaked world, you have a company claiming this:

"The tekR Structural Thermal Envelope System has been utilized in over 500 commercial,
religious, municipal, and residential projects. The system?s design flexibility and structural
capabilities, for both curtain wall and load bearing applications, makes it the clear choice
for your next project."

and you can find ZERO anchors to the real world, it makes one pause and wonder why.
that's all i'm saying.... :angel:

Well they do say 500 projects in there, which really isn't that big of a number, add a few more zeros to that number and they will have more credibility even if you can't find contact information, dealers or whatever.