What Your Builder Needs To Know
We have a deep appreciation for homebuilders. Sure, their work helps to keep our company strong and growing— but we share their pride and satisfaction in seeing rough drawings become beautiful new homes. We know how it feels to drive past a home and know that you've made the good life possible for its residents.

Because we understand how builders think, we understand their skepticism about "unconventional" methods, such as the use of Thermo-Steel construction. However, once a builder puts up a house using our technology and products, he or she appreciates the advantages Thermo-Steel Walls provide. It comes as no surprise that much of our business is repeat business.

If you believe that Thermo-Steel construction is the best choice for your new home, ask your builder to call us or visit this website to learn more. You may even want to print out this page. As he or she investigates, your builder will find that:
- Thermo-Steel is a proven, successful system that stands up to time and testing and ensures long-term satisfaction.
- Thermo-Steel is a faster, easier way to frame a home. You can erect the    complete walls for a 2,000-square-foot house in just two days.
- It's a customized approach that's designed with the builder in mind — from preinstalled electrical boxes and conduits to 4-inch thick panels that accommodate standard window jambs.
- Building with Thermo-Steel helps make costs more predictable and minimizes the impact of temperature and precipitation.
- Thermo-Steel houses start great and stay great, with fewer problems like out-of-square walls and windows, or annoyances like nail pops.
- Our technology is right for today's buyer — with energy efficiency, fire safety, mold resistance, better soundproofing and far less environmental impact.
- Thermo-Steel is backed by a limited lifetime warranty, so your builder can install it with confidence.

The Thermo-Steel Advantage
Thermo-Steel Construction Systems  has spent countless hours talking with builders and architects alike to determine what can be done to make structural panels easier to design and build with. What Thermo-Steel Construction Systems came up with is simply revolutionary. On the design side, Thermo-Steel Construction Systems unique manufacturing techniques allow for complete design freedom while eliminating all of the waste-either at our plant or at the job site- associated with customized panels. With Thermo-Steel Panelized Walls, you can design for any shape or size with the confidence of knowing that your customers will only be charged for the panels that go on their house-not in a dumpster. For the first time, Thermo-Steel allows for efficient customization and fantastic energy efficiency.

For the builder, Thermo-Steel Construction Systems is truly revolutionary. First, it offers the industry's first pre-configured panel that will accommodate standard window jambs. Thermo-Steel Construction Systems even throws in the window and door bucks to go with it. Secondly, and just as important, is Thermo-Steel 's inclusion of all electrical components installed custom to your prints. You won't have to worry about the handling of electrical in panels by subs on the job. With Thermo-Steel Construction Systems 3/4" conduit and electrical boxes already in the panel, the only thing your electric sub has to do is pull the wires. These features alone will cut hours off of your electrical rough-in time. Other STANDARD features include:
• All sill and top plates included
• All corner nailers included and installed
• All header and post pockets pre-installed
• The accuracy of CNC cutting
• R- value of 30 for walls

THE REAL COST OF BUILDING
What does it really cost to build a house? Most people think of that cost in terms of the lot price, the cost of the materials and the builder's fee.

But the cost of building a house doesn't end when you take occupancy. In some ways, it just begins. One obvious example is the cost of your mortgage. Typically, a mortgage will total two to three times the initial cost of your house by the time you pay it off.

ENERGY COSTS
As the cost of lighting, heating and cooling a home continues to rise, it makes sense to look at energy costs over the long terms. Take two identical 2,200 square foot homes — one stick-built, the other built using Thermo-Steel Construction. Although the Thermo-Steel home has a slightly higher initial cost — what amounts to a $10 increase in the monthly payment — its energy costs are between $80 to $120 per month less than those of its stick-built counterpart. Which house is really the better value?

LIFESTYLE COSTS
Your new home should be a dream in every way. It should allow you enjoy the kind of life you want. That involves more than finishes and furnishes — it includes safety for your family and peace of mind that the home will serve your needs for many years to come. Homes built with Thermo-Steel construction have superior fire resistance. Their materials are far more mold- resistant than traditional materials, so you'll have fewer worries about health. They offer much greater sound insulation, so the unwanted noises of the outside world will stay outside. And, because they are so energy-efficient, you'll be comfortable all year long. What kind of price would you put on those factors?

ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS
Whether you consider yourself to be an environmentalist or not, you know that environmental issues carry a high cost for today's society. Thermo-Steel construction is more environmentally friendly, using non-toxic insulation foam and wood from renewable new-growth forests. Our unique production method minimizes waste, both at the factory and on the jobsite, too. And again, better energy efficiency means you'll conserve energy.

BETTER RETURN ON INVESTMENT
If you think of your home as the largest single investment of your life, using Thermo-Steel construction is an effective, proven way to ensure that you'll receive a higher return on that investment.

FACT OR FICTION
FICTION: Polyurethane may be hazardous to health
FACT: Polyurethane is a material that has been proven safe again and again. A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 245, No. 3) reported that polyurethane foam is fully cured before being used in construction, and that fully cured polyurethane panels present no bleed-off of toxic products. The study further stated that there were no reports of toxicity occurring to people in homes insulated with polyurethane. Simply put: you can use our panels with confidence.

FICTION: The R-value in Thermo-Steel Construction Systems  is not stable.
FACT: Independent tests have confirmed time and time again that Thermo-Steel Construction Systems panel R-values remain constant. In fact, Thermo-Steel Construction Systems sends aged panels out to be tested on an annual basis. All of our panels are tested in accordance with ASTM C518 and are done in a laboratory setting. Our most recent test on a panel in excess of three years old confirmed no loss of R-value. Studies at Oak Ridge National Laboratories on various panels made with polyurethane foam cores confirmed no measurable loss of R-value. Polyurethane foam continues to be the product of choice for refrigerators, freezers, water heaters, coolers and many other common household products. If polyurethane lost most of it's R value why would companies like GE continue to use it?

FICTION: Polyurethane panels collect moisture.
FACT: Polyurethane is so resistant to moisture that it serves as its own vapor barrier, unlike EPS and other materials that require the addition of a separate vapor barrier. In addition, polyurethane foam does not promote the growth of mold. That means you're assured of a drier, healthier home.

FICTION: Panels aren't as sturdy as stick-built construction.
FACT: Thermo-Steel Walls use the same construction principles found in steel I-beams, making them two to three times stronger than today's stick built walls. The foam core and the two skins form an I-beam matrix that is extremely strong and lightweight. Unique tongue and groove joints locks the entire house together, making it a structural system rather than separate wall sections.

FICTION: Thermo-Steel Construction Systems  contain formaldehyde
FACT: NO, Thermo-Steel Construction Systems  do NOT, nor have they ever contained formaldehyde.

FICTION: Thermo-Steel Construction Systems  contain CFC's
FACT: Thermo-Steel Construction Systems  do NOT contain any CFC's

FICTION: Thermo-Steel Panelized Wall Panels outgass.
FACT: Thermo-Steel Construction Systems  have never been connected with off-gassing and have never been labeled a breathing or health hazard. A clinical study done by physicians that appeared in the January 1981 issue of The Journal of The American Medical Association studied this very issue. The study focused on structural insulated panels used in residential construction. The results of this study showed that structural insulated panels used in residential construction "present no bleed-off of products" and further stated that they could find "no knowledge of toxicity to occupants of polyurethane insulated houses." The facts and the science are very clear here. Thermo-Steel Construction Systems  do not present a health risk! Period. If you are hearing or reading differently, you need to consider the source or ask for the science to back up these claims.

FICTION: Polyisocyanurate (Polyiso) and Polyurethane are the same.
FACT: Polyiso and polyurethane are two distinctly different chemicals and are classified as such by the Federal Government. Although the two are both used as building insulation, they are as different as Chevrolet and Cadillac. Be sure that the information you are reading applies to Polyurethane and not Polyiso.

BASIC SPECIFICATION FOR HOMEOWNERS
Thermo-Steel Panelized Walls™ structural insulated panels are high-quality foam core panels that may be used in
exterior wall and roof systems. They are a one-piece product that is designed to enclose timber
frame structures, log structures and other types of conventional home. These panels provide
superior support and insulation properties while reducing installation time.

BASIC STRUCTURE
We custom-manufacture each panel to house plans or architect's drawings by injecting high-
quality polyurethane between two sheets of oriented strand board. The polyurethane acts as its
own adhesive, providing a strong, consistent bond across the entire panel. We design the panels
to include features like preinstalled corners, door bucks, window bucks, subfacia and electrical
conduit boxes to ensure the quality of construction while drastically reducing the time involved.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
OVERALL THICKNESS
Thermo-Steel wall 7_1/4" (When combined with 1/2" drywall, accepts standard window jambs with drywall return.
allowing faster, better-looking installation.)
Structural wall 7 1/4"
Roof 12"

INNER/OUTER SKIN
7/16" Oriented strand board (not required).

INSULATION CORE
We use a Class I fire rated closed-cell polyurethane foam that contains no formaldehyde or CFCs.
Polyurethane foam is a thermoset plastic which does not melt and maintains structural integrity
until consumed. It is far more fire-resistant than most conventional building materials.
Polyurethane foam does not promote the growth of mold, and serves as its own vapor barrier.
It's a common, proven building product that is found in most homes and on store shelves.

MINIMUM R-VALUE
Wall: R-30
Roof: R-52