Premier SIPS: Structural Insulated Panels

09/05/2026

An electrician sees a SIP project and marks up the bid, assuming it'll be more work. Usually it's the opposite.

Premier SIPS panels arrive with electrical chases already factory-cut into the foam, no drilling through studs. One electrician cut a 5,500 sq ft rough-in from three weeks down to two.

What electricians need to know before they bid →

Pre-chased panels, no drilling, faster rough-in. Here is what electrical installation looks like in a SIP structure before the bid goes out.

09/04/2026

A little SIP time-lapse from the archives. 👀

This Globe, Arizona build featured 6” SIP walls and a 10” SIP roof on a 2,000 sq. ft. home + 672 sq. ft. garage.

09/03/2026

North Shore Rescue Station, North Vancouver BC: On a waterfront site in a wildfire-prone zone on BC's North Shore, the building envelope had zero room for error. WEST-ECO SIPs, our Western Canadian distributor, supplied an airtight, thermally consistent structure engineered to withstand the region's toughest coastal conditions.

Here's what makes this one stand out even more: North Shore Rescue's own volunteers built the station almost entirely. SIPs construction is designed to be learned quickly, and this crew proved it.

See the full project → https://hubs.ly/Q04wwT-90

Architect: Nick Bray Architecture Ltd.
Contractor: Lower Coast Building Group
SIPs Distributor: WEST-ECO SIPs

09/02/2026

From shear wall testing to seismic and wind performance, how do SIPs actually stack up against traditional framing?

Here's the proof:

→ Oak Ridge National Laboratory found SIP wall assemblies deliver significantly higher racking strength than stick-framed walls.
→ APA's cyclic shear wall testing showed SIPs hold their structural integrity through repeated seismic loading.
→ USDA lateral load studies confirmed strong performance against wind and earthquake forces.
→ USDA Forest Products Lab creep testing found SIPs stay within safe deflection limits even decades after installation.

Performance shouldn't just be promised; it should be proven.

Here's the research behind why SIPs are stronger by design: https://hubs.ly/Q04wfCwd0

09/01/2026

Which Insulation Actually Holds Its R-Value?

If you've ever chosen an insulation based on the R-value printed on the label, you chose based on half the number. The other half, how much of that R-value survives the next 15 years, isn't printed anywhere near it.

Building scientists call this thermal drift: the gap between what a material tests at on day one and what it actually delivers once it's aged, gotten wet, or sat in cold temperatures. Some materials lose real performance to it. Others lose none at all. This month, we compare all seven major types on the difference.

See the comparison → https://hubs.ly/Q04vLvPv0

08/31/2026

This California home would have been brutally expensive to build conventionally; almost none of its walls meet at a 90-degree angle.

Premier SIPS changed that math. Every angle was worked out in the shop drawings and manufactured into the walls, floors, and roof panels before anything reached the site, saving significant time on both labor and materials.

The result is an award-winning, 5,111 sq ft home that exceeds California's Title 24 and Cal-Green standards, with HVAC downsized by 65% because the envelope itself does the heavy lifting.

Beautiful and ruthlessly efficient. Happy Monday.

See the full project → https://hubs.ly/Q04vM6JC0

SIPs Used: 6" EPS Walls / 10" EPS Floor / 12" EPS Roof
Architect: Arcadia Architecture
Contractor: Shell Building Systems

08/29/2026

Earn CEUs & build smarter with SIPs! From on-demand courses to personalized Lunch & Learns, our AIA-accredited education helps you master high-performance design—on your schedule.

Start learning today:

Join the list to be notified when our Online Education courses are ready for registration.

08/28/2026

This house in Billings, Montana is stunning, and honestly kind of a marvel: no furnace, no air conditioner, no gas hookup, and no city water or sewer connection. It still produces more energy every year than it uses.

Designed by High Plains Architects around passive design principles, none of it works without the envelope holding up its end. SIP walls create a continuous, thermally efficient assembly with no gaps or thermal bridging for the swing between Montana's sub-zero winters and 90-degree summers to sneak through. That's what lets solar heat gain and everyday activity keep the house comfortable year-round, no backup furnace required.

The house became a Certified Living Building and earned LEED for Homes Platinum, one of the most rigorous double certifications a single-family home can achieve.

See the full project → https://hubs.ly/Q04vG5m10

08/27/2026

A commercial building in Downey, CA needed a quick install to meet local regulations and get operational fast.

The full structure (roof + walls + insulation + sheathing + WRB) went up in just 11 days with a 7-person crew and a crane—total dry-in: 13 days.

Speed wasn’t the only advantage. SIPs’ ability to span long distances with minimal support members let the structural engineer reduce steel and other structural elements across the design, simplifying one of the harder parts of navigating L.A. County’s strict code and permitting process.

Pre-planning between the design team and Premier from the start is what made both the speed and the engineering efficiency possible.

SIPs Used: 10” SIP Roof & 8” SIP Walls
Architect: IDA, Inc. (Innovation and Design in Architecture)
Contractor: Shawmut Design and Construction

08/26/2026

How important is ventilation in an airtight structure? Critical enough that it's not optional.

Since SIPs provide an extremely tight building envelope, there's less air moving in and out on its own. That's great for energy efficiency, but it also means the building can't rely on gaps and leaks to bring in fresh air anymore; mechanical ventilation has to do that job instead.

Controlled ventilation systems bring in fresh air and expel stale, moisture-laden air in managed amounts, filtering allergens and controlling humidity along the way.

Learn why controlled ventilation is key to superior indoor air quality in a SIP structure → https://hubs.ly/Q04vb1yW0