SIPs Construction vs Traditional Construction

With so many decisions to be made when building your own home, the build method and construction material you choose will ultimately shape your self-build outcome both for the short and long-term.  

As well as looking at the obvious elements of aesthetics, construction costs and energy efficiency, you should give equal prominence to design flexibility, speed of build and space efficiency.  So, when you’re looking for a building method to deliver all of the above, then you should look no further than SIPs construction.

If you want to build a highly efficient, sustainable home with low U-values, superior airtight qualities and minimal thermal bridging, or even build to Passivhaus standards, then the advantages of SIPs construction must be considered. 

Each SIPs panel consists of two sheets of oriented strand board (OSB) sandwiched around a rigid insulation core.  As such, the panels provide ‘built-in’ insulation from the outset to create a highly insulated home that will provide low running costs for the lifetime of the property.

When compared to brick and block construction (or even timber frame), which require insulation to be fitted between cavities during the build process and requires more complex and costly solutions to achieve similar U-values to a SIPs home, the advantages of SIPs construction far outweigh traditional construction methods. 

Just like brick and block and timber frame, extra insulation can be added to a SIPs build to improve thermal performance but with much greater effect. For example, the Kingspan TEK SIPs Building System, which is supplied in 142mm and 172mm panels, gives superior U values of 0.19W/m2.K and 0.16W/m2.K respectively.  When additional internal insulation is added to either panel size, the improved U-values far exceed what can be achieved for similar wall thicknesses that have been built traditionally.

Whilst it is possible to increase the overall thermal performance of brick and block by adding extra insulation, the negative effects of thermal bridging in a traditionally built modern structure cannot be ignored.  As a significant component of heat loss, the thermal bridging that occurs in traditional construction should be carefully considered when choosing to use SIPs construction or traditional methods. 

The thermal conductivity of timber products is far lower than that of brick or block and SIPs, in particular, significantly reduce the effects of thermal bridging to deliver an energy efficient, airtight envelope. This results in superior airtight values, reduced heat loss and outstanding energy efficiency with minimal heating requirements. All of these are major factors in building a high-performance, sustainable home and make a significant contribution to achieving Passivhaus Certification if required.

Time is money and as such the build programme of your project is critical.  Traditional methods of construction are reliant on a variety of external factors, for instance, availability of trades and materials, knock on delays and of course, bad weather. Traditional builds can become seriously delayed by prolonged spells of rain, snow and freezing temperatures with interruptions to the programme creating a ripple effect that inevitably wastes time and eats into your budget. 

SIPs construction is not subject to fine weather, the availability of skilled wet trades or any other on-site delay. In fact, as the SIPs panels are precision engineered off-site and delivered to site ready for immediate erection (which typically takes between two and three weeks, depending on size and complexity of the build) a predictable and accurate build programme can be created, ensuring both timescale and budget are achieved.

There is a common misconception that SIPs structures have to be boxy and boring, in fact it’s quite the opposite. The flexibility in design and ease of SIPs construction means there are no limitations to what can be achieved and design complexity is no barrier to building your new home with SIPs. 

One of the many design benefits of using SIPs, and in particular the Kingspan TEK SIPs Building System, is that the system will always provide a larger floor area comparatively than can be achieved when using traditional build methods, due to the thinner construction components. 

This is particularly evident within the roof space where unlike brick and block builds that require roof trusses, SIPs homes rarely require trussing. This obvious benefit maximises living space by providing an additional room in the roof which will subsequently add value to the completed build.

The flexibility and simplicity of SIPs allow for practical amends to architects’ drawings prior to fabrication and a credible SIPs designer can ‘design in or out’ elements of the plans that will enhance or impede your project. It is at this stage where value engineering can be applied and cost saving efficiencies built in.  Our in-house design team use a 3D CAD system to create geometrically complex structures and we provide interactive imagery that allows customers to see exactly what their new home will look like from every angle. 

When compared to traditional construction where design amends can be costly, time consuming and will inevitably delay the build process if inaccuracies or design errors are identified, the superiority of SIPs construction really shines through.

For every house building project, whether it is a single self-build home or a multi home development project, the plot will always dictate what can and cannot be built. It defines size, shape and layout of a dwelling, its orientation and it can even be the deciding factor on the most suitable method of construction to be used.

Traditional methods of construction may immediately exclude many smaller and difficult to access plots, deeming them unsuitable for building on due to access, and if you think you’ve found the ideal site, in the perfect location, this can be disappointing news to bear. 

Every millimetre of space counts on a small site so construction, storage and waste areas need to be utilised effectively to allow maximum dwelling space and efficiency on site. The off-site engineering of SIPs means that the superstructure of a building is prefabricated in a factory environment then delivered to site ready for immediate erection. 

This not only speeds up the build process but reduces the amount of on-site labour and materials required, it minimises waste and importantly means there are far fewer deliveries required to site when compared to traditional builds, especially beneficial if access to your plot is restricted or you’re building in a conservation area for instance. 

There are many factors to consider when comparing traditional with SIPs panel construction and whilst on the face of it, traditional materials may appear to be more cost effective than the market leading structural insulated panels; overall project costs cannot be accurately compared like for like. 

For instance, shorter build programme, fewer labour requirements, lower equipment costs plus home energy costs, will all influence the bottom line. It is also important to compare the life-time costs and the energy saving benefits of building your new home with SIPs. As there are many factors that affect a direct cost comparison, a holistic and pragmatic approach should be taken. 

As you can see, SIPs offer so many benefits, including flexibility of design, speed of build and energy efficiency, all of which are critical consideration factors for today’s self builders. So, when SIPs construction is compared to traditional methods, SIPs offer an ideal construction solution to building your perfect home.