Frequently Asked Questions

What are SIPs?

Premier's Structural Insulated Panels (or SIPs) are a high performance engineered wood product with a super-insulating core of rigid expanded polystyrene (EPS), structurally laminated and pressure cured between two sheets of oriented strand board (OSB). When using Premier Panels for a home's walls, floors and/or roofs, the result is a highly efficient structural building system that is extremely strong, very energy-efficient, high quality, and cost-effective.

Why are more people building with SIPs now than ever before?

Increasingly strict Engineering and Building Department requirements have raised the cost of construction. More people are looking for a more efficient alternative for their building needs. Premier panels and California SIP Homes provide a system approach to construction with precision, factory-built components which creates strong, quiet, more energy efficient homes. Across the country, the list of Premier projects runs the gamut from modest to luxury homes, tract developments and multifamily buildings to churches, wineries, heath care facilities, and retail shops. There's no limit to the benefits of using SIPs.

Stick-framing has remained essentially unchanged for over one hundred years. Premier panel technology is the next step in the evolution of building!

Does using SIP panels limit my design alternatives?

The short answer is: not at all. In fact, Premier's panels may actually provide additional design flexibility due to their thermal efficiency and seismic strength. The pictures below dispel any notion of design limitations.

Using SIPs does not dictate straight walls. Note the curved walls in this home.		Virtually any exterior treatment can be applied to SIPs. Great energy efficiency with unlimited aesthetics.
Extensive design and structural flexibility let your imagination soar with SIPs.		Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Taliesin West was partially remodeled using SIPs to maintain design integrity, while using efficient, modern building technology. Taliesin West is in the desert foothills above Scottsdale, Arizona.

Why should I choose Premier Panels over stick built methods?

Quality — Have you ever looked down the edge of a stud wall and noticed how it bends, bulges, twists and cups? It does not happen with a Premier wall. Our walls are straight, plumb and square. They are custom fabricated to your specifications and measurements in our factory using precision state-of-the-art computer-driven machines. California SIP Homes uses qualified installers to erect-not fabricate-the panels.

Comfort — Without hesitation, your Premier home will be one of the most comfortable, quiet and clean structures you will ever own. Unlike a stick-frame home, in which thermal performance is an afterthought, insulation is an integral part of a Premier Panel home. Air and moisture penetrations are greatly reduced because there are so few thermal breaks.

Peace of Mind — People who consider building their dream home do so because they want it to be uniquely theirs and to be perfect for a lifetime. Too often, frightened by the horror stories that their friends have told them, they choose to buy a "spec" house instead.

In a Premier home the framer "installs" the panel sections rather than "builds" them. This minimized site work saves time, and ensures that the walls are straight and plumb.

Premier's SIPs are a modern, green building methodology that can bring you peace of mind in many stages of the building process and help you stay on schedule. Here are some of the reasons:

• The insulation is already incorporated into our panels.

• The electrical chases are factory installed in the foam, eliminating the time and labor expense associated with onsite drilling.

• The walls are flat and plum so the drywall contractor completes his work faster along with a better final finish.

• The interior finishes, including cabinetry, flooring, moldings, etc. will be installed easier due to the continuous attachment surface provided by the OSB. No more searching for studs.

• A great advantage of building with Premier SIPs stems from the benefit of being made with "factory precision." The precision enables the home to be very tight. This reduces the size of your heating and air conditioning unit (HVAC) by up to 40%, giving you immediate savings. And, over the years, you'll enjoy significantly lower energy costs too.

What is the insulation advantage to building with SIPs?

R-Value is a measure of a material's resistance to thermal movement. The higher the number the better the material is at insulating. According to the Department of Energy, thermal breaks such as corners, windows, doors, and stud walls dramatically reduce the stated R-Value of virtually every product on the market except SIPs.

As an example, a 2x6-stud wall with R-19 fiberglass batts has an R-Value of 13.7. A six-inch Premier wall has an R-Value of 21.7. Simply put, a 6" Premier wall outperforms a 6" stud wall by 58%.

The energy efficiency of an entire wall assembly has been documented by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The testing method takes into account energy losses for the structural members, corners, joints and around windows, not just the value of the insulation. Results of these tests are shown below:

So what does all this mean to me? Simply put, a well-built SIP home saves lots on energy; whether it's heating or cooling costs, the SIP homeowner enjoys significant savings and increased comfort.

How are SIPs more environmentally-friendly than other building methods?

The Effects on the World Around Us

One of the best ways to think about the impact of SIPs on the environment is to consider their energy efficiency. Because our panels are so efficient, the demand for fossil fuel consumption (such as gas, oil and coal) and the releasing of greenhouse gas emissions (like carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere are greatly reduced during the years you heat and cool your home, resulting in a cleaner environment.

Premier's panels also promote green building benefits, as they are 100% recyclable and generate considerably less jobsite waste in comparison to conventional stick-framing building methods. This means less materials being put into our landfills. Less energy, lower utility bills. Less construction site waste, fewer dumpsters and lower fees.

The Effects on Your Personal Environment

Studies linking respiratory disease, allergies and other diseases to indoor air quality have spawned an array of non/less toxic products and improved indoor ventilation. Our panels are very airtight giving you precise control over the indoor air quality of your home, which helps to keep out allergens, humidity, dust, etc.

The Materials We Use

The Expanded polystyrene (EPS) core used in Premier's structural insulated panels is manufactured using a low-environmental impact process of steam expansion that uses recycled pentane and contains no CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) or HCFCs (Hydrochlorofluorocarbons) or formaldehyde.

EPS is an inert material, so there are no issues with dust or off-gassing.

No old-growth timber is used. The oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing used on our panels is made from harvested new-growth trees which are renewable and sustainable.

Why is a Premier project completed faster?

In construction, time is money. The quicker you can complete, the lower your interest carrying charges. Complete any stage of the construction process more quickly and you're likely to lessen impacts of materials cost inflation.

The panelized portion of a structure goes up an in a significantly reduced amount of time in comparison to a standard stick frame home, and it will be straighter, stronger and quieter. California SIP Homes performs panel layouts, coordinates engineering and works closely with Premier to ensure proper fabrication of your project. Once approved, Premier cuts your panels to size, including windows, doors and gable ends. To ensure speedy installation, we then pre-number and label each panel to coordinate with your drawings.

In the real world of construction, contractors like using wood products. One attribute about panels is their consistency as an engineered wood product. Framing contractors are used to wood products, and have the tools and expertise to cut them, when necessary. Panels come with detail booklets and fully engineered shop drawings that show every numbered panel in sequence. Some have said it's like putting together a big Lego set, except the pieces are numbered and the instructions are easier to understand.