Update on Habitat Woman's Build with SIPs

Here is the update you have been asking for.  Wednesday I went to the site to drop off some tools for the Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and snap a few shots of the site.  This is where five Habitat for Humanity homes are to be built.  Three of them will be finished before the end of the year and two more in spring.  All of these homes are being built with R-Control Structural Insulated Panels provided by Cardinal Building Systems (yes I just gave myself a plug but you know I don't do it often). 

These panels were originally only going to be used for the woman's build due to the limited supply of skilled labor.  Once we were able to work with Habitat they realized that these could save them money elsewhere with speed of construction, even with unskilled labor, and they chose to use SIPs on each of these houses.  Here is a shot of me putting in my volunteer hours at the Woman's Build site.  It isn't a good shot but it proves that I do more than just sit behind my computer.

These homes are going to help the recipients to be able to afford to live in them.  There is more to living in a house than just paying your mortgage.  There are also energy costs.  The SIPs create a tight envelope that will drastically reduce energy leaks and eliminate on average 2 to 3 tons of CO2 emissions per year per house.  These houses will also be quieter inside than their conventionally built neighbors due to the fact that the foam is a sound barrier.

R-Control SIPs are non toxic and recyclable.  We even took the scrap from cutting out the doors to cut down into sample pieces to give to our builders so that they can educate their customers.  There will be more updates as this project moves along.  Below is another example of unskilled labor.