Global Building Solutions

Global Building Solutions now offers NAHB Green Building Award winning FrameGuard®

As part of its Structural Insulated Panel system, Global Building Solutions now offers FrameGuard® mold-resistant wood, developed by Arch Wood Protection, Inc.

Factory-applied by either spraying or dipping, the FrameGuard® coating provides protection from mold, termites, and fungal decay when applied to trusses, lumber, plywood, OSB, wood I-beams, SIPs, and other wood products that are used in interior applications. FrameGuard® wood is GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® for its low emissions.

Not only is FrameGuard® wood green in color (due to a colorant added to make the product easily identifiable), it’s ‘green’ from an environmental perspective too.

By enabling wood to last a long time and resist mold, FrameGuard® wood extends forest resources and reduces the need for replacement lumber. Plus, it has all of the environmental advantages associated with wood itself. Its source is a renewable resource grown on managed timberlands. It requires less energy to produce than alternative building materials. Wood offers greater insulation value. It serves as a sink for greenhouse gases. And, because of its lighter weight, wood can often be installed with lighter equipment which has less environmental impact.

FrameGuard® wood has been certified to meet the stringent requirements of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI). The GREENGUARD Certification Program(SM) is an industry independent, third-party testing program for low-emitting products and materials. GREENGUARD certification indicates that the wood has been tested and evaluated by an approved laboratory, and that the product meets the GREENGUARD chemical emission standards. Some green building guidelines, including those of the National Association of Home Builders and Green Guide for Health Care, require this certification for credits.

For complete details on the FrameGuard® system, please click HERE.

Structural Insulated Panels Adopted into the International Residential Code

May 23, 2007 - Rochester, NY – The International Code Council (ICC) voted to adopt structural insulated panels (SIPs) into the International Residential Code at their Final Action Hearings, May 22, 2007. The prescriptive specifications and installation details submitted by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) and APA –The Engineered Wood Association will be included in the 2007 supplement to the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC).

An overwhelming majority of code officials voted to accept the proposed Public Comment, revising the original proposal that was denied by the IRC Building & Energy Committee in September of 2006. According to SIPA Executive Director Bill Wachtler, the revised Public Comment addressed the issues posed by the IRC Building & Energy Committee and other industry groups at the September Code Development Hearings.

“SIPA has worked closely with SIP manufacturers and other interested industry groups to come up with code language that provides a solid alternative to stick framing using structural insulated panels in residential construction,” Wachtler explains. “Completing this has been a major milestone for the SIP industry and will lead the way to further code acceptance and industry standards.”

Builders using SIP walls in residential projects will no longer be required to conduct additional engineering to show equivalency to the International Residential Code, facilitating the use of SIPs in residential construction.

“This will have a significant impact on SIP home construction,” said Tom Williamson, Vice President of Technical and Quality Services at APA –The Engineered Wood Association, who conducted the testing that supported the code change proposal. “Structural insulated panels will now be side by side with other forms of construction in the residential building code and builders will have SIPs as a code-recognized option.”

Support for the Public Comment was provided by testimonies from Dow Chemical, the Polyisocyanurate Molders Association (PIMA), the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Research Center, and APA–The Engineered Wood Association. Funding for the testing was granted by the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) program, a division of the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development dedicating to improving housing technology for American families.

Contact: Chris Schwind chris@sips.org 253-858-7472

EPA: No Blower Door Test Needed

Builders using SIPs will find it easier to achieve an ENERGY STAR rating with EPA's release of the SIP Visual Inspection Form. The Visual Inspection Form replaces the blower door test and the energy modeling calculations normally required to meet Energy Star qualifications for homes built with SIP walls and an SIP roof.

"An SIP house has fewer joints, less-complicated interfaces between conditioned and unconditioned spaces, and it is dramatically easier to make it tight," says Sam Rashkin, the National Director of Energy Star for Homes. "Conventional wood frame construction does not have this advantage and requires a pressurized blower door test to check the airtightness of the home. The airtight qualities inherent in SIP construction allow the leakage of the home to be verified by a visual inspection from a certified Home Energy Rating System (HERS) inspector. By eliminating the blower door test, the new SIP Visual Inspection Form means less work for HERS raters and savings for SIP builders."

"Because hundreds of tests have documented the airtightness of SIP homes, the ENERGY STAR program has waived the blower door requirement," says Bill Wachtler, executive director for the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA). "Proper sealing is essential to building performance, so SIPA strongly supports the visual inspection process."

In addition to the required inspection by a certified HERS rater, an SIP manufacturer field representative will need to check the sealing details between panels to ensure airtight construction. The SIP Visual Inspection Form is available at www.energystar.gov/homes.

Source: Building Systems