These drawings here depict each of the wall sections for the project. You’ll notice the blue lines on the plans—those indicate the electrical chases built into the panels. As shown in earlier examples, there are vertical chases positioned at 16 inches and 45 inches above finished floor height, along with horizontal chases placed every four feet on center. So the SIP system includes both horizontal and vertical pathways for wiring.
When assembling the structure, it’s best to build starting from the furthest point away from you and work toward yourself. Corners are a critical starting point because they allow you to establish true plumb and square for the building. Once the corners are set, the rest of the wall sections are easier to align and install. Since the SIP panels are larger sections compared to traditional framing, you don’t have to constantly stop to square up each piece as you build.
In preparation, the team spent about half an hour pre-assembling some of the panels. Now comes the lifting phase. They have three big panels to lift into place. The lifting is made easier because they pre-drilled holes in the panels for the lifting straps. After the panels are set, those holes will be foam-filled as part of the sealing process before siding, drywall, and final finishes are applied.
One of the pre-assembled panels includes three windows, a header, two side panels, and mullions between the windows. When lifting that panel into place, they strap around the header for support. The panel numbers are clearly marked to distinguish the inside and outside surfaces, and these numbers correspond to the shop drawings that guide the assembly.
When setting each panel, they wiggle it slightly to ensure it seats properly over the bottom plate. Once positioned, they plumb the wall and use a nail gun to secure it—nailing every six inches on center down both sides of the plate line. Finally, they tie everything together by installing the top plate.
To speed up installation even more, the crew uses multiple pre-assembly tables. They install three or four wall sections together at a time, prepping them in groups. Then, they use the crane to lift and install these large sections all in one go, streamlining the entire build process.
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