What are Structural Insulated Panels and how do they work in Alaska? Structural Insulated Panels, or SIPs, are prefabricated building panels that combine structural elements, insulation, and sheathing in one product. SIPs can be used for the walls, roof and floor of a...
What’s the REMOTE wall and how does it work? One of the great conundrums of building in a cold climate is how to achieve an energy efficient building envelope that is safe from moisture trouble. Why do they so often go hand in hand? Because in cold climates, you have...
The integrated truss home was born as an emergency housing solution for Alaska’s many natural disasters. When ice-jam flooding on the Kuskokwim River devastated the village of Crooked Creek in 2011, CCHRC was hired to design a fast, simple, low-cost home that could be...
What are ICFs? Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) are hollow blocks that consist of two pieces of foam board separated by plastic spacers, often used to build walls, foundations, and roofs. They are stacked like interlocking Lego blocks to build the outline of a wall....
Furring in your exterior walls While a standard 2×6 wall is a good choice in many regions of the country, it doesn’t quite cut it in Interior Alaska, where heating fuel is expensive and winter temperatures dive to 50-below-zero. That’s why many homeowners in...
