Pros and Cons of SIPs

SIPs or Structural Insulated Panels are becoming more and more popular in home construction. SIPs are made of two structural skins over an insulating structural core (usually expanded polystyrene--EPS). They're built in a factory and shipped to the construction site where the crew can quickly attach them to a house's framework. This can make building a home less expensive than with traditional stick-built methods, and it can also give you higher quality since everything is handled in a factory instead of on the job site. Here's a closer look at the pros and cons of SIPs:

Pros

• Since SIPs arrive to the construction site already built, building time is greatly reduced.
• SIPs are naturally resistant to mold and mildew.
• They are strong enough to resist wind, snow, and earthquakes.
• They have a high R-rating, which reduces the homeowner's energy costs.
• They're well insulated and reduce the amount of outside noise that gets inside.
• SIPs can be built to exact specifications.
• They don't warp or lose their shapes over time.

Cons

• After the panels are constructed, it's hard to make changes.
• It's hard to change wiring after the home construction is complete.
• If the factory is far away, SIPs may be costly to ship.

More on Interesting Life

New York City Beats the Housing Slump

Sounds incredible, doesn't it! Can there be a place in the U.S where you bought a real estate in the last one year and watched your savings actually grow?

The answer is yes, if you were lucky enough to buy in New York City. While new home sales fell 19% nationwide in the second quarter of 2007 in Manhattan new and existing home sales more than doubled in the same period.

As far as prices go, while the national picture almost reminds people of the Depression, in Manhattan they recorded a double digit increase on average. Property dealers feel that 2007 will probably be their most profitable year.

So what has New York City got right which others have got wrong? New York has Wall Street! Its brokers and fund managers and deal makers are simply flooded with cash.The higher the Dow Jones climbs the more money and bonuses they make. Then naturally they want to make themselves as comfortable as they can.The result is that they are buying better and costlier homes. Then there are a lot of new people moving into the city particularly wealthy foreigners from Europe, Russia, China and India. They find New York cheap compared to other international cities. This feeling is helped by a falling U.S. dollar. Then again steep rentals have prompted temporary residents and frequent visitors to invest in small apartments. Not only have they saved on rent but have made a profit when they moved out!

But will things continue to be so rosy in the future? Not all seem to agree. A stronger dollar or a slump on Wall Street not to mention a terrorist attack could quickly change things.

More worrisome is the ongoing sub prime crisis. Tightening lending standards could drastically cut the flow of new money into the market causing prices to fall. In fact experts do point to a softening in prices of late. But such declines are presently confined to particular segments of the market while luxury homes and condos have suffered somewhat, the price of an average apartment has held rock steady.

With growing indications that Bernanke may ease sooner than later it probably won't be long before the party starts all over again.

Building a House Out of Straw

A house built from straw? Sounds like something the Big Bad Wolf would huff and puff over, doesn't it? But straw bale construction has a 200-year history in the United States, and it's more fashionable than ever as people seek to build eco-friendly homes out of renewable materials.

There are two types of straw bale construction: load-bearing and post-and-beam.

Load Bearing

This is when the straw itself carries the roof load. This completely eliminates the need for wood, but it's not a system that is used often today. The lack of strong structural support limits the number and width of window and door openings. Since most eco-friendly homes are being built to incorporate passive solar strategies (which require large expanses of glass), load-bearing straw bale construction isn't ideal.

Post-and-beam Structure with Straw as an Infill Material

This method is far more common. The straw is not relied upon for structural purposes, rather it is packed into a post-and-beam frame. The straw acts as a thermal skin, which provides insulation values ranging from R-25 to R-50. Post-and-beam structure straw bale can work in most climates and has been built everywhere from Alaska to the desert Southwest to the East Coast.

When you build a straw bale house, you finish it with natural plasters (no, you don't have walls with straw sticking out all over the place) that make it look fairly normal, though some say "straw bale walls create a comforting, soft enclosure of space that is more organic in nature than formed systems."

US Housing Woes - What Lies Ahead ?

Till the end of 2005 investors in real estate had never had it so good. Bankers were only too happy to lend whatever a borrower needed. They did not go into the details like the person's credit history, whether he had a steady income or not and also if he had any other assets. Most of the time they were not even asking for a down payment. Banks were able to get away with it because they simply sold the loan to Fannie Mae or to buyers of mortgage backed securities. Buyers saw their investments appreciating by double digit figures annually. The resultant feel good factor made them go out and splurge on their credit cards.

But such good times don't last forever. With an overheating economy Bernanke was forced to raise interest rates steadily and given the fears of inflation he is likely to keep them there in the near future. The results of continuously high interest rates on the housing market have been devastating. Real Estate prices started declining since the end of 2005 and continue to decline. This decline in asset prices coupled with high interest rates and a slowing economy has hit the sub-prime market real hard. Lenders have suddenly woken up to the fact that up to 25% of the loans given by them are at risk of defaultl.What is worse is that there are no prospects of recovery in the near future.

Although the US Treasury Secretary has come out and said that sub-prime mortgages do not pose any threat to the overall economy, most investors are not so sure. Some have gone so far as to predict another depression. Although a global meltdown is not likely the risks are growing. All it needs is perhaps a couple of large hedge funds to go under and the world financial system could go into a tailspin.

With October, which is historically the worst month for the US markets, not far away every body will do well to keep his fingers crossed.