40 BUILDING FABRIC
most important benefits that SIPs bring to construction, there are a number of further, highly significant benefits.
IMPROVING QUALITY Poor housing is costing the NHS in England £1.4bn a year, according to a report produced by the Building Research Establishment and highlighted by ITV News correspondent Dan Hewitt. While there are many factors which influence quality throughout a house, having a simple SIP superstructure gives major benefits: Industrially manufactured, SIPs are
not subject to the inconsistencies of man-made construction such as hand- built, hand-rendered walls, therefore the results are straighter and flatter walls. There is less to go wrong with reduced
requirements for onsite adjustments with fewer components; often ‘Data Sheets v. Actual’ as well as the inevitable user error, mean considerable additional work onsite. However, with precision- engineered SIPs from a reputable manufacturer delivered to site, what you order is what you receive. High quality SIPs are very strong load-bearers, and come in a variety of thicknesses depending upon whether they are being used for the walls, floors or
roof. As well as having insulation built-in, even the thickest SIP is very narrow. This gives a significant amount of additional space, particularly in a property with a small footprint. The strength of a SIP means that
roof spans can be much larger than in a traditionally built property, allowing for additional living space and light. A further benefit is that many SIPs have been fire tested to BS476-21 and can achieve a fire resistance of FR60 in a full build up. Hemsec SIPs also hold LPS 1208. SIPs create an extremely tough, durable barrier, and a property built with a SIPs
envelope is capable of resisting extreme weather. For example, in Kobe, Japan in 1993, an earthquake devastated a large area of the city, but houses built with SIPs came through it virtually unscathed.
FURTHER BENEFITS Positively, architects and construction workers are learning to design and build with SIPs, and are becoming increasingly skilled and creative in their use. For the developer, the envelope is much
quicker to install than the majority of other building methods, which means faster builds with fewer unforeseen delay costs and therefore a faster return on investment. For the builder, the speed of construction saves time, money and the need for highly paid skilled labour. With fewer components to cost, order and work with, there is less management and less to go wrong. With so much positive change being driven in the construction industry, the pressure to attain a variety of new standards is getting stronger. SIPs are tried and tested, and are one of the best ways for the industry to meet this challenge.
Jim Nolan is operations director at Hemsec Manufacturing
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
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