Structural Insulated Panels

Sorry this is a little late, but its been a very busy past 2 weeks. I'm just going to cover week one with this post. In less than 4 days time, we we're able to get the Dang House framed, sheathed, and insulated. This was only made possible through the utilization of prefabricated SIPS which accomplishes all three of these things in only one step.

The entire envelope of the house was delivered in pieces on the back of a truck. When we first got the drawings back from the SIPS engineering team, I wondered why they broke the roof panels up into 5, 8 feet wide pieces instead of just leaving it as 1 big panel. When the truck came I realized that it was because the truck bed was only 8 feet wide. This was based purely on the ability to deliver the panels to site. The walls are 4 1/2 inches thick and the roof is 8 1/4 inches. So the dimensions of the panels are exactly what they would have been if framed traditionally. 

We used a fork lift with a boom to lift the panels from the ground onto our subfloor which is 12 feet high. The walls dangled upright and set into place. Any fine adjustments were done by beating the panels closer with a sledge hammer or using an industrial ratchet strap to pull the loose panel tight to the one already in place.  

The roof panels had a hole pre drilled that we inserted a pin into. The hole was placed so that the panel would dangle at about the pitch that it needed to be installed at.

Each piece attached to the next with a pair of 2x splines that fit into each other tongue and groove and was nailed along seam every 3 inches. 

The breaks in the wall panels occurred at every window/door opening or 8 feet, whichever came first. You can see the breaks in the wall panels in this image, each time the sipsteamsusa.com logo is stenciled its a the beginning of a new piece.  

The framing for the openings came factory installed, the headers stuck out an 3 inches and inserted into a precut slot above a double 2x4 jack on the panel adjacent to it on either side.

Every corner was screwed together with one screw every 6 inches using special SIP screws. The first 5 inches of the screw is unthreaded so that it will grab only the adjacent and suck the panel tight to the panel being screwed through. In the top image you can also see the 3 chases for electrical wires that run the entire perimeter of the building envelope. 

I'm going to show a couple of images of one of the more important sections of the assembly, the bearing wall the runs the length of the house. On this wall the 2x6 wall, an laminated veneer lumber (lvl) beam, the inside edge of both roofs and the clearstory all meet and carry the load to the ground. On the lower roof we built a sips curb, similar to that on the walls to attach the clearstory to, the upper roof then sits directly on top of the clearstory.

This past week we had a group of volunteers come on spring break from Virginia Tech. We started many things, roofing, siding, interior framing, and decking. Amongst this was mardi gras, numerous parades, countless numbers of beads, and my first ultramarathon. An update on those things will follow.

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To the Floor

We've gotten construction up to the point where we're ready for SIPS to arrive at site, which is next week. After having piles driven we had to go through and square them all relative to each other. We then notched them all with a chainsaw and thru bolted the girders on.

After this we put the floor joists up. In the design process we opted to set the joists on top of the girders and attached them with twist straps rather than setting them at the same level of the joist with hangers. In doing this we were able to cantilever the deck out and save some costs in material. 

Another cost saving thing we did was use bridge blocking to bear the load of the walls instead of doubling the joists underneath. This also allows some flexibility to move interior walls around if we make on site changes. The below photo also shows the twist straps. One thing that really surprised me was how flexible dimensional lumber becomes when its 20 feet long. It always looks so straight and rigid when its on a drawing, it really caught me off guard the first time I tried to walk across the joist. It doesn't gain its strength until you nail the subfloor to it.

After putting the subfloor on (which we learned actually comes in 3' 11 1/2" x 8' sheets not 4' x 8'), we installed the SIPS curb. The SIPS curb is one of the most important components in the assembly because it is wall ties the SIPS panels into the floor/foundation structure. This is done through 2 2x4's (3 in the corner) glued and nailed to the subfloor/joist and then thru bolted to the girder using threaded rod. This requires using a 2 foot drill bit and a big manly drill which is measured in horsepower. 

Our first week on site was a cold and rainy one. B, Ms. Dang's dog (one of the few to survive Katrina), has been sporting a wardrobe of winter wear in order to stay warm.

We've brought a radio on site this semester, so I've stayed warm by dancing while building. 

The final image is a gift for Evan.

Competition (among other things)

While the rest of America got snowed in this week, we just got a bunch of rain down here in the bayou. So to make the most of the unfortunate weather, we had a two day design competition.

The prompt included the following.

Competition: Pavilion for the Pass Christian Farmers’ Market

Program:

Accommodate (10) 10’x10’ stalls

Vendors shall be responsible for tables, etc. w/in stalls

Provide shelter from rain for vendors and customers

Provide power to (5) stalls

Structure shall be ‘eye candy’ to vehicular traffic on Hwy. 90 and Scenic

A secondary use for pavilion may be proposed

Maximum budget w/ labor and materials shall be $50,000

Location: NW corner of E. Scenic Drive & Davis Avenue

Base Flood Elevation (BFE): 19’

Average grade on site: 18.6’

SMART Code Zoning: T-5C (single story shall be permissible by variance)

Deliverables:

One board, 18x24, mounted on foamcore

                  Minimum: Site plan, use plan, rendered depiction, detail at ¾” scale

                  Indicate materials and finishes used

Due: On conference room table by 8am Thursday, Feb. 3

Prize: There will be one

I took my point of departure from a local typology called a "shoo-fly". These are small, elevated gazebos built around the bases of large oak trees. The name comes from the fact that there are more breezes higher up than on the ground. So by being elevated one won't be bothered the flies, mosquitoes and other bugs that bite because unlike humans, they do not like the wind. 

My entry is an elongated version of the shoo fly. There is a bench that wraps around the perimeter of the gazebo. The gaezbo also includes 5 live oaks, the canopy of branches form the roof of the gazebo. For my drawings, I built a rhino model and worked out all design details on the computer. This is a way that the computer has been beneficial in the design process of both this project and ones past. I like to build computer models the same way I would build in real life. I started with the piers, then added floor girders and joist, next was the deck boards, and finally was the benches and railings. So in building the model on the computer, I can see how it will be physically built in real life. As far as the schematic design phase, nothing beats a roll of trace paper and a drafting board. After I finished the rhino model, I used it to make drawings, a section and an exploded axon. 

We began looking at LEED our second week of studio. As designed, the Dang House qualifies for LEED Silver. So we are currently pursuing certification, there is a grant that will cover most of the registration costs. For the documentation, we have 8 students this semester, so by dividing up the documentation it becomes very light work. One of the aspects of LEED is recycled materials, so research has begun to find places we can get salvaged materials to build with. Therefore, we took a field trip to New Orleans last week to look at a place called the Green Project. It was a fun place, (kind of how I envisioned my Institute of Cultural Anthropology to function last year.) There was a big collection of things, we decided to come back and look again when we're in the finishing phase, this seemed to be what they had the most of, old tongue and groove board,  trim, doors, 1x lumber, power outlets, tile, paint, ect.

In case any of you were wondering what the city of New Orleans looks like, there was a map on the wall. On the top side of the river, the garden district is on the left, the business district in the middle where the river bends down, and the french quarter is to the right.

They had just started a garden in the back.

We then went to French Quarter to go to a tacky touristy place called "cafe du monde" (though the coffee is really good). On the way we passed through Jackson Square, this is where the "statues" hang out. People, possibly homeless, like the one below who paint themselves silver and sit still with a tip bucket in front of them all day. This guy was in the same position from the time we entered the cafe until we left. My theory is that he's asleep. We also met a street magician. 

On the way out of the city I noticed this Banksy piece. After returning home I googled to discover the transformation that this particular piece has undergone.

I end with very good news. Construction on the Dang House has finally begun. Our funding was delayed because of some legal red tape, but we finally made it through to be approved. Here are the pile drivers putting our foundation in place, yesterday we started notching the piles with chainsaws and putting the girders in place.

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Two Semesters, Two Benches

Each semester at Southcoast begins with a brief design project. I just realized that I never showed the completion of the fall semester's project so I will do that now.

As you may remember we began last semester building seating around the studio's outdoor fire put. However, the first hint of progress was quickly quenched by mother nature when a tree fell on the post we had just set in the ground. About a month and half later building resumed.

When finished the bench featured both firewood storage below on the right side and a built in smores storage unit on the left side. Flowers were also put into the planters.

This semester the project was building benches to go around the studio's big table we use for potlucks. The theme of this project was "quick and dirty".

We made 8 of the benches, so mass production was key to this design. Jig's we're made and the lumber was prepared in an assembly line style of production.

The only materials used we're 2x4 and 2x6 dimensional lumber joined with pegs. Each piece was fed through a planar to turn the once splintery framing studs into a grade A furniture making material. Note the color of the legs. I have always been morally opposed to painting wood because it covers up the beautiful grain, but during this project I learned a new technique called "white washing". This allows the wood grain to show through the white paint. Tom Sawyer did this to paint his fence because it made a bucket of paint stretch farther. To prepare a white wash dilute a water based paint with water (I used a ratio of about 1/3 paint - 2/3 water). It will be runny so to get even coats we hung the legs on a laundry line so they could be painted all at once.

Also, among other things, this week included my first trip to the roller derby.

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The end of the beginning.

I come bearing both good news and an apology. First I am very sorry I have been such a slacker about updating. I will do a much better job next semester because one of the requirements of my extended stay in Mississippi next semester is that I document progress on a weekly basis. That leads me into the news, rather than returning to Blacksburg in the Spring I will be continuing to work with Southcoast Design/Build. (The fourth year faculty asked me to make it very clear that my extended stay is a very special exception.)

Now allow me to get you more acclimated to life in the small coastal town of Pass Christian, MS.

This is the apartment where Kyle, Julius, and I lived this semester, located 3 miles (a short bike ride) from studio. I think it looks like a nintendo. My guilty pleasure of the semester was going on midnight, barefoot runs on the golf course behind the apartment.

This is studio, located in a house in "downtown" Pass Christian. 

This is the house where we will be living next semester, located just three doors down from studio. It has already begun to be affectionately referred to as the "Speed Square Manor". I am very excited about the large front porch.

This is Ms. Dang, the client we designed for this semester. Construction will begin on her home first thing in January. In this photo she is teaching me how to gut and filet fish. 

Here is the Green's home we were building this semester. It is completely water tight and leak proof. The end of the semester included metal panel roofing and fiber cement cladding.

I spent my final day of the semester making camera obscuras in one of the studio bedrooms. 

In other news, do you ever wonder what happens to your models after the semester is over? Do they become relics preserved in time or something else entirely. I came home to find my rainmaker site model has been ranked as one of the more interesting places in the house.

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a taste of home?

I found this today and once again was reminded of both of you. This is a new project by Studio Gang with an expected completion date of 2012 and is sited in the one and only Greenville, SC. Perhaps we'll have to make a visit after graduation?

while i keep you waiting...

I thought I'd share something I found while perusing this morning. This is a project entitled "bunker 599" by two Dutch firms: Atelier de Lyon and Rietveld Landscape. I'll let you read more about the project specifics on your own, but I couldn't help but think back to our third year competition entry when looking at this. This idea of place re-contextualized as well as the duality of vulnerability and strength of materiality inherent in the tectonics are both themes I find particularly provoking in this piece as well as our own project. The fact that a former site of impenetrable fortitude and isolation will now become a space for public gathering and introspection is really invigorating.

Here's the link: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/11873/rietveld-landscape-atelier-de-lyon-bunker-599.html

Hope you enjoy,
e

Outside Desk

We are currently in the phase of doing construction documents so that we can begin construction on November 1st of the house we've designed. (More will be posted about that soon) Since working on CAD for extended periods tends to impose heavily on one's soul, we came up with an idea that we call "Outside Desk". This has greatly boosted moral.

-Tray