This is particularly important at the ridges and valleys. SIP's are lightweight at about three and one-half pounds per square foot and panels in widths up to 4 foot can be hand installed. This is particularly true for walls. Roof panels of up to 4' X 16' may also be hand installed at low elevations or when sufficient scaffolding and manpower is available. Panels having widths of 8 foot generally require the use of powered lifting equipment of some type such as cranes or hoists.
Cranes are particularly useful in setting roof panels to upper floors.
SIP walls and roofs can be erected quickly and made weather-tight early in the construction sequence. This means that when used in a load-bearing application, both skins need to be supported. In wall to floor applications this means setting the bottom plate in correctly from the edge of the floor, so that the outer skin can rest on the edge of the subfloor. In wall to roof applications, it is important to design the connection so that all roof panels and trusses rest fully on both wall skins. Roof connections require support under the bottom skin so that all loading is carried on the entire panel unit.