Material selection is a concern for green framing. The following are six ways in which material selection is considered green.
1. Use of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) certified lumber. This is lumber that is harvested following environmentally
Forest Stewardship Council Label
friendly guidelines for sustainable practices. This lumber is tracked through the chain of custody from the forest to the end user. It is labeled for identification.
2. Use of salvaged or reused material. reusing lumber minimizes the need for new lumber.
3. Use of regional material. This is material that is harvested typically within 500 miles of the end use. The value gained is from the transportation energy savings.
4. Use of rapidly renewable material. This is usually considered material that has a 10 year or less growth cycle.
5. Use of composite panels that contain no added urea formaldehyde resins. Plywood and Oriented-Strand Board (OSB) commonly use adhesives containing urea formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen. No-Added — Urea Formaldehyde composite panels are available.
6. Minimized use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs release toxins. Products such as subfloor adhesives will list the amount of VOCs that they contain.
A tube of subfloor adhesive labeled “VOC Compliant" (see “VOC Compliant Subfloor Adhesive" photo) has VOC less water, less
Sustainable Forestry Initiative Label
exempt solvent: <196g/l and <10.6% wt/wt. This makes it compliant with California ARB, which are among the strictest standards.
Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)
SIPs are a structural sandwich panel made of a foam plastic insulation core bonded between two structural facings usually made of oriented-strand board (OSB). SIPs are most commonly used for walls and roofs, but can also be used for floors and foundation systems. SIPs are considered green because of their expected energy savings. It is also expected there will be conservation of material because SIPs are made in shops.
SIPs Organized, Transit for Leveling, Sill Plate and Bottom Plate Attached
2. Check the foundation or platform for level, square and dimensions. When starting out it is important the walls have a level surface to sit on and the building is square. Where necessary, shim your bottom plates or use a power plane to make sure they are level, and when you are chalking lines for setting your bottom plates, adjust the lines so they are square and dimensioned per plan.
3. Install sill plate. If you are using sill insulation you will need to apply it before installing the sill plate. It is usually a piece of foam about 1/8" thick and the width of your sill plate. To install it just hold it in position over the anchor bolts and press down to punch a hole in the insulation (see “Sill Insulation" photo).
The sill plate will probably need to be ripped to the dimension of the full width of the panel. For installation follow the same process used in standard wall framing. Mark and drill for your anchor bolts using your chalk lines for location and then align with the anchor bolts and drop into place.
4. Install bottom plate. The bottom plate needs to be the same width as the foam area of the panel, commonly 5-1/2". It will be bolted to 6. the center of the sill plate so that the faces
the one it will be connecting to. If the panel ends with an opening or a corner, check the location and trim if necessary. Circular saws and chain saws are commonly used for trimming panels and foam scoops can be used on the foam.
Where factory-supplied electrical chases are in the SIPs you will need to make sure that any splines you install have corresponding holes to allow for running electric wire. Mark and drill the splines if necessary before you install them.
7. Seal panel to be installed. Because SIPs are meant to be energy efficient it is particularly important to continuously seal all adjoining surfaces (see “Sealing" photo). The spline details in the SIP Details illustration later in this chapter show the locations of the seal.
8. Set panel in place. Tip the panel into place hinging on the far corner of the bottom of the wall (see “Installing SIP Panel" photo).
9. Plumb and brace panel. After the panel is standing check for proper placement, plumb both directions, and then nail in place and brace if needed. Sledge hammers, crow bars, long bar clamps, and come-alongs can be used to pull the panels together when needed. Allow a 1/8” space between panel faces.
Attaching Spline
10. Nail and screw panel. Panel screws come with the panels and you need to follow the manufacturer’s suggested location for their installation. Also follow the manufacturer’s instructions for size and
spacing of the nailing. You will be using your standard framing nails. See the SIP Details illustration later in this chapter.
11. Install top and double plates. Top plates and double plates are installed to provide overlapping at intersections, corners, and splines. The top plate needs to be made of 2x wood, recessed into the panel, and nailed between the faces. The double plate needs to overlap the top plate a minimum of 2 feet and be the width of the SIP including the faces.
12. Apply SIP tape. As a last step, apply the SIP tape to the inside seams of all SIPs (see “Applying SIP Tape" photo).
The following SIP Assembly SIP Details illustrations are from a SIP manufacturer and give you an idea of what you can expect for instructions from SIP manufacturers.
See “SIP Tools" photos for examples of tools that are commonly used for SIP installation, but not often used in standard framing. Standard framing tools are also used in installing SIPs.
Most important to SIP installations is organization. If you want to have a successful and productive job, do your homework and make sure you have all the tools you will need, your foundation is level and square, and you have a good understanding of where each and every piece of the puzzle will fit.
