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installation
guide
Suggested guidelines
for the preparation and
installation of Premier
Structural Insulated Panels
Stronger. Straighter. greener.
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introduction Premier Building System’s SIPs Installation Guide has been divided into convenient sections covering most aspects of PBS SIPs installation. Designed for carpenters, framers, contractors and do-it-yourselfers, the instructions and detailed illustrations will give you the basics of building with PBS SIPs at just a glance. Premier’s SIPs installation techniques are based on Premier Building Systems’ continuing program of independent, third-party testing and more than 30 yea
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table of Contents PBS SIPs Tips ..........................................4 Storage & Handling ..................................6 Checklist of Tools .....................................7 Spline Connection ....................................8 Lumber Connection ..................................9 I-Joist Connection.... ...............................10 Panel Basics – Assembly ........................11 Fasteners .............................................12 Field Fabrication ..............
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PBs siPs t ips • Project must meet local code. • Confirm your installation date at least two weeks prior to requesting on-site assistance. • Schedule a preconstruction meeting with your installation crew (concrete, plumbing, electrical, siding, roofing, etc.). • Inventory materials when you receive them. • Check all SIPs for proper cuts and recesses. • Double check SIPs sizes and compare to shop drawings before installation. • Engineered details take prescedence over PBS details. •
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• Make sure to drill the top and bottom plates for the vertical electrical chases in the wall panels. • Do not put plumbing inside SIPs. • Do not cut the skins (OSB) for extra electrical chases or plumbing. • Do not pick up the SIPs by the edge of the top skin. • Remove debris from sill plate before you place the SIP wall panel on it. • Use mastic on all connections as shown in the PBS details. • Make sure that both of the wall SIPs skins are bearing on the floor. • Follow p
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storage & Handling Your panels will usually arrive on a flatbed truck. Depending on the site, panels should be off-loaded to a clean, flat area with sufficient maneuvering room. (A fork-lift will speed the off-load process.) Panels do not come in any particular order. This allows for minimized shipping costs by taking full advantage of the space available on the truck. It is advisable to sort the panels as you off load them. This process will require room to shift and stack the pan
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Checklist of tools • One or two 29 oz. caulking guns • Hand saw • Pry bars • Sledge hammers • Mineral spirits • String line • Lifting eyebolts • Lifting plates • Framers square • Loose 8d and 16d sinker nails • Dunnage for supporting panels • Expanding foam • Fall arrest gear for roofs (if applicable) • Chalk line • Levels (4’ or longer) • Two 5’–6’ 3/4” bar clamps • Paint scrapers • Ladders—step & extension • Come-along with 2” trucking ratchet straps or • A d
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spline Connection Depending on the load requirements and application, Premier Panels are joined together in one of three fashions: Premier spline (Type ‘S’ panel), lumber spline (double 2x or 3x, Type ‘L’ panel) or engineered I-joists (Type ‘l’ panel). Premier splines – This is the most common connection between Premier Panels. Splines should be cut flush or slightly short (about 1/16”) of the foam in the panel ends. Parallel 3/16” beads of Premier Mastic are placed approximately 1/
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lumber Connection Lumber spline – PBS panels are designed to accept kiln dried lumber set into a standard 1 1/2” recess along the bottom, top, corners and window openings of the panels. Simply cut the plates to length, apply a 3/8” bead of Premier Mastic between plys of the dimensional spline and nail dimensional splines together. Apply a 3/8” bead of Premier Mastic along the sides and center of the recess, set the lumber into the recesses and nail off through the skins with 8d nails
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i-Joist Connection I-Joists – These are mainly used in roof and floor connections. Premier Mastic is applied to the outer edges of the flanges prior to placement in the panel recess. Expanding foam is applied on both sides of the web to ensure a proper seal with the panel. 10
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Panel Basics – assembly When assembling wall panels, whenever possible, use a scissor-like motion to place the panels. To do this, push the bottom corner so that the skins touch. While holding the top of the panel out about 24” brace your foot on the bottom of the panel, then push the top into place. Be sure to watch your fingers. If you have difficulty getting the panels together, use either trucking straps, bar clamps or dunnage and a sledge hammer with enough force to bring the
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Fasteners Typically, an 8d nail 6” (o.c.) is used to connect panels to top and bottom plates at spline connections and for dimensional plating. Staples are permitted, provided they meet the following criteria: Minimum length = 1.5” 14 gauge @ 6” o.c., 16 gauge @ 4” o.c. Field Fabrication Field fabrication will be necessary on the site if you ordered stock panels. Even on factory fabricated panels, slight field modifications may be necessary to allow for panel growth
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Metal straight edges can be helpful. For fast, accurate cuts that are close to a panel edge, use ripping guides for circular saws. If you are using a circular saw, lay out one face and then square it across the panel skins to transfer your mark to the opposite skin before making your cut. Use the maximum depth of cut setting on your saw and make a nice straight cut. Flip the panel over to layout that side and make a similar cut. The remaining foam between the panel skins can be cut
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Field Fabrication Rake/gable Walls Rake/gable Walls – are easily calculated and laid out on the panels. First, establish the short side dimension. Next, mark this measurement on both edges. Draw a line horizontally across the panel. The rise across the panel will be determined by your roof pitch. If your panel is 4’ wide, multiply the roof pitch by 4’ to get your rise (in inches) on the other side of the panel. For example, a 6:12 pitch will gain 24” (4’ x 6” = 24”). An 8:12 pitch
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Use the long point of one panel to establish the short point of the next adjoining panel. Add a small amount to this measurement to allow for the required 1/8” gap as determined by the roof pitch factor. Continue on to the ridge or highest point. After all rake walls are erected, small adjustments can be made to make the plane of the rake flat: either plane off the high spots on the rake panel skins and re-cut the foam, or just raise the plate slightly to get a straight line along t
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Use only one nail into each 4’ spline to hold it in place. Do not nail off the spline until the next panel is in place. Refer back to the connections section for proper mastic placement. Before placing the panels on the floor support beams, tack a dry-line spaced 1/2”–3/4” out from the entire length of the support beam. Use temporary bracing to help hold these beams in place. When setting the panels, make sure the beam stays straight by checking your string line. Start by placing
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8d NAILS @ 6" O.C. OR EQUIVALENT U.N.O. PREMIER SPLINE OR OTHER PANEL CONNECTION AS REQUIRED BY DESIGN FULL BEARING BLOCKING PREMIER SPLINE REQUIRED UNDER OR OTHER PANEL POINT LOADS CONNECTION AS REQUIRED BY DESIGN CONTINUOUS RIM BETWEEN SUPPORT MEMBERS PANEL TIP > Stagger your panel placement with two panels on one side of the beam, four panels on the other side, and four back on the first side of the beam. This will help your beam stay straight. Assemble floor panels using a scissor acti
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sill Plates Check your bottom plates to see if they are all the same dimension in width. Install all of the sill plates level ( ± 1/8”), square (within a 1/4” of being square on the longest diagonal), and to the exact dimensions of the layouts on the shop drawings. When placement of the wall panels is directly on top of a concrete foundation, remember that because the panel skins cannot bear directly on the concrete, a capillary break and solid bearing is required. One of the best
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If the plates are not laid out to the exact desired dimensions and within 1/8” of level, extensive panel modifications may be required later. Dimensions for the foundation and sill plates (and the walls that follow) are usually the same as the exterior of the wall panel skins—not the lumber plate that is inside them. This is different from stick framing where the dimensions usually refer to the outside edge of the framing member. 19
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Walls Time should be spent to organize the job site. Set out the panels in the order you are going to use them. Get all your tools onto the floor deck, including: • Foam scoop • Marker • Flat dolly—for moving panels around the deck (A come-along or truckers ratchet straps is not needed, but may prove useful.) steP 1. BottoM Plate Wall panels are placed over a dimensional bottom plate that fits in the recess in the wall panel. Refer to your panel layout drawings for the locatio
