" Hi Steve. We're here at Bob Vila's energy wise house, and on this project, we're gonna be showcasing a lot of new energy efficient technologies. 1 of the technologies we're gonna be looking at and using on this project are structural insulated panels or SIP. They're gonna be installed on the 2nd floor. Now, the energy wise home selected R-Control panel. Let's go meet Mike Tobin from R-Control."

" R-Control structural panels are made of oriented strand board structural-rated skin along with a rigid, solid core of Perform Guard EPS insulation. The composite of these materials make it particularly strong because you have full adhesive along all the surfaces, structural adhesive that really adds a lot of strength and durability to the product. They R-Control panels are being used on the energy wise house because of the benefits that the product brings. It will allow the house to be extremely strong where building here in California, as you know, and earthquakes are a reality, and this type of construction really, really makes it's strong against those events. The other thing is because it's so tight in terms of its construction, you have complete control of energy consumption, which is extremely important in this project. The other aspect of a tight house is the fact that it's very quiet. If you have no air movement coming in and out from the outside, you're gonna have a very quiet interior. And, another benefit of the R-Control product is that we select various products that have benefits themselves in that the OSB skin here used in this project is made from Ox Terminator, which is a product that is termite resistant, and we matched that to our Perform Guard EPS insulation, which is also termite resistant. So a nice durability feature of the of the panel. R-Control panels are made in a factory setting. In this way, we can manage all of the quality control and make sure that we are selecting nothing but the best products, and that they stay clean and dry. That's the main reason. So we start with a rigid insulation Perform Guard EPS core made in large blocks. Then it's brought to a fabricating area where they're cut into core section for thickness and length for the various panels that we would be making for any great project. Then the cores are sent through a laminator where we use or apply structural adhesive, the same kind of adhesive that's used to make structural Glulam beams; same immaterial. Then, the core is married to the OSD skins as a composite, both top and bottom, rolled into a press, held under pressure while the adhesive crosslinks and cures, then comes out of the press, and the panels are then loaded onto a truck, and taken to our fabrication site. Here, our fabrication contractor is very familiar with the project plan. He then cuts panels to size, puts in doors and windows, puts beveled ends or plumb cuts, depending on what the job called for, reapplies some blocking and plating as needed for the job. There. Marked and labeled atypically for where they go on the project, matching a shop drawing that is also sent to the job for the contractor. The panels then show up at the project banded, stacked in sequence, and ready for installation at the job site. The 1st advice I'd give anyone using structural inflated building panels is get an experienced crew with the proper tools and equipment. As you can see from the panels here on the site, from the room are fairly large. They allow you to build a whole lot of wall surface or roof surface in a very short time, but because of their size, they're not real heavy, but because of their size, it takes some logistics and handling so get an experienced crew. Then, we start with a foundation slab, platform."

" We've got to make sure that we locate the panel as we set it in areas where we can source electrical service from the foundation or even the roof. We have those electrical chases marked and indicated on our shop drawings. With plate set and sealed, the R-Control panel is then set on the plate. It's nailed, and then, the process basically starts again. The next panel comes in series. We connect 1 panel to the next panel by means of various types of spline details, either a surface spline, a blocks spline, a lumber spline, but 1 panel to the next panel has to be connected to provide continuity throughout the wall. Then this process of setting panel to panel is repeated. Very simple, but has to be done in each step along the way. Once the wall panel is set, we reach a corner, we have a specific construction type fastener that are made of hardened steel, and are used to screw through 1 face of the panel and through the section of that panel into the next panel, which provides a tremendous amount of strength to that corner; good seismic resistance, and good wind resistance, and uplift resistance. With all of the wall panels up, we have a top plate that is put on the top pocket of the wall panels in theory. This is done to provide stiffening continuity or accord along the top of the panel. Once the wall panels are all in place, we have window openings and door openings, in many cases, we provide the bucking or the wood that surrounds the opening to provide strength with those openings at the plant, but this step can also be done at the job site."

" value of that wall. And, in addition to the plumbing and electrical cuts, we also do plating wherever necessary to include boundary members blocking for seismic hold down, and other areas of construction needing solid blockings. As you can see, our control fits. This is a very, really simple technology. We're basically taking engineered products, making large, high-quality, insulated plates, if you will, that have high strength. They come out mistake free, numbered, and designated for the very specific place on the job site, and resulting in a very good quality construction. We have higher energy efficiency, less wind and moisture, intrusion because of the tight fitting factory cuts, and in terms of energy efficiency, the benefit to the homeowner is dramatic. We have some projects where we can demonstrate 50, 60, even 70% energy efficiency because of this construction. So, our control is the nice fit to the builder, easy to work with, and a terrific, terrific, long-term benefit to the homeowner."