Why wouldn't you use ICF to the roof? You might want to ck out this forum. greenbuildingtalk.com They have a forum on ICF and SIPS.

We considered SIP's for our DIY build, but ultimately went with ICF, as it was easier for one old man working alone. We were going to use steel SIP's, as there is less thermal transfer at the seams. I think either method is good, with ICF being stronger and quieter. I'll second doing research at greenbuildingtalk for lots of good discussion on green building methods.

I believed that SIPs was more efficient than ICF. Off to the forums for more research! Thanks!

I, personally, prefer SIPS.
floors walls & roofline.
when done correctly this is a very
efficient system with continuous
R-values and tight construction.
less hvac needed & very efficient.

its what I'd use if building.

best of luck.

I'm not an expert, but we are building now and our contractor used ICF for the basement and SIPS for the remainder and it went up very quickly and efficiently. We are not totally finished, but I've been very impressed with our construction

harringk
Would you be willing to post pictures of your SIPS build?

Yes, pleas post pics!

We wold be using Insulspan, as it's the most local to us. I'm hoping they can suggest some crews, as I'm having a hard time finding anyone experienced, let alone openl to the idea, with SIPs.

I'm concerned about durability. What happens if a tree falls into the house? Flood? Bug infestation? I'll present those questions to the manufacturer. ..

I'm not familiar with precast concrete. How is that done? Hmmm...off to Google.

leth.....you might want to read up on these:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=icfs+vs+sips&qs=SC&pq=ics+vs+sips&sc=1-11&sp=1&cvid=c6418efee2f040bd8e927afb269c1aa8&FORM=QBLH

This post was edited by robin0919 on Wed, Aug 27, 14 at 22:26

ER....why would you pick SIPS over ICF especially where you are in hurricane territory?

simpson strong ties.
we can now strap houses down so that
they withstand hurricane strength winds.

sips, being osb on two sides with foam inside
provides a strong wall, floor, roof.
using sips for roofline creates an unvented
attic, proven to withstand uplift forces that
take the roof off vented attic homes.

I like the continous R-value with no variances
except window & door openings.

I've seen too many blow outs in icf pours
that were not fixed properly. hard to do when
concrete truck is on site & section of wall
blows out...time is money...& all that.

when everything goes well sips & icf are
probably about the same in strength &
insulation values...but sips is my personal
favorite.

besides if the bayou rises...the sips house
will float...(just kidding) but wouldn't it be
a great system for a houseboat?? LOL!

best of luck

Good points. Chasing engineered strength in home performance is similar to chasing energy performance. The more you focus on one area, the more likely you are having diminishing returns by losing focus of the big picture. I point to insulation vs air-sealing as an example. Code insulation minimums are wasteful without achieving a certain level of airtightness as measured by the blower door test.

I think one of ICFs biggest weaknesses is its blower door test results. From my research, I think that builders have a tougher time making ICFs airtight as compared to SIPS or typical stick frame construction.

ICF walls are usually stronger than SIP walls but that does not mean the house is stronger. Without addressing the windows, doors, garage, porches and roof there may not be much of a measurable difference between a house with SIP walls vs ICF walls, other than upfront costs. Most wind damage is a result of pressurization and uplift not weak walls (unless you are including windows in your wall evaluation).

Below is a pic of a SIP house from Michael Morley's book, Building with SIPS. Would an ICF wall house have withstood that tree damage? Perhaps better with a SIP roof or other upgrade in roof strength.

Sorry for the late reply. Just saw this posting. I'll will upload some photos from my phone so it may be one at a time. The first photo is the icf basement

Here is the basement with the floor joists, before the sip panels were placed on the second floor

Here you can see the SIP Panels going up, if you zoom in, you might see the insides on one section. I don't know the manufactor but we are building in Colorado and the SIP panels came from Pennsylvannia

A word to wise, that I'm sure you are all aware of. You must be very well planned to use SIP walls. All window dimensions and any other items that would penentrate the exterior wall are cut at the factory and then shipped to the site. If you look closely on this next picture, you'll see the mistake we made. We had specified a 8 foot ceiling on the third floor and when they started putting up the SIP panels, the contractor called and said, you're going to want to extend the ceiling a foot and we were worried about the energy efficiency, but they said they would be able to make it work. Hopefully they are right!

last photo of the latest with the windows in and sheathing going up outside

harringk

Thank you so much for posting the pics! So how many square feet in your main and second level? You said you paid 49k as a response to one of my posts. Did that price include SIPs for the roof as well?

Also, do you know hom much your roofing cost?

Approximately 2700 sq ft on main level with 10 ft ceilings and 1000 on the top level with 8 ft ceilings. After the panels arrived, we added another foot on the upper ceilings to make 9 ft, but the extra foot was not SIP. We did not use SIP panels for the roof. Our actual charges to Murus were $37,000 and our roof shingles are Certanteed Grand Manor and we don't have all the invoices in for that yet, so not sure of the price. Good luck with your project.

Thank you, sir.

I see that you evidently used trusses. I am likely going that route, too. What was your reason for choosing trusses? Do you think you saved money or was it required for large spans or . . . What?

I've sent "your" SIP company a request for a quote.