Most homes now are what they call stick-frame construction or light frame construction. light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping rafters (together forming a truss structure) or manufactured pre-fabricated roof trusses—all of which are covered by various sheathing materials to give weather resistance.
Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are high performance building panels used in floors, walls, and roofs for residential and light commercial buildings. The panels are typically made by sandwiching a core of rigid foam plastic insulation between two structural skins of oriented strand board (OSB). Other skin material can be used for specific purposes. SIPs are manufactured under factory controlled conditions and can be custom designed for each home. The result is a building system that is extremely strong, energy-efficient and cost-effective. Building with SIPs may save you time, money and labor.
SIPs are not a new technology in fact homes built in the early 1900s have been monitored since the 1930s by the US Government.
Here is an example of a SIPs home.
Read more at: http://www.usa-sips.com/faq.htm
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