Albert Lea builder Curtis Stendel’s spec house has neighbors talking, but when it is complete it will be stronger, quieter, and more energy efficient than a traditional stick-frame home, and cost about the same, he says.

Thursday, April 12, 2001

Albert Lea builder Curtis Stendel’s spec house has neighbors talking, but when it is complete it will be stronger, quieter, and more energy efficient than a traditional stick-frame home, and cost about the same, he says.

The house, located at 604 Meadow Lane, is the first in Albert Lea to be built out of insulated panels.

The panels are not new. The first ones were used by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930s, Stendel said. They have been featured on the Discovery Channel and Home and Garden network. Stendel has been using them to build farm and industrial buildings since the 1980s. Now he is using them to build a home for the future.

The panels are made of a non-toxic plastic foam core with plywood sheeting on both sides. They lock together with tongue and groove fittings, creating a tight exterior with no insulation gaps, he said. A home made of the panels has about two times the insulation value of conventional homes, buffers outside noise, and is stronger than conventional houses.

&uot;I haven’t found any reason not to do it,&uot; Stendel said.

A Glenville man who built his home with the panels last year reported that his heating bills were less this year than last year, even though the new home is twice as big as his old home, he said.

Because the basement is made of pressure-treated wood and foam, it is well insulated, and isn’t damp or cold like cement basements, Stendel said.

&uot;It’s extremely strong, warm and dry,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s not like you’re in a basement at all. It looks different, but the biggest thing is it feels different too.&uot;

The strength of construction allows for a more open floor plan with fewer support beams. The material is also flexible to allow last-minute changes in window placement, Stendel said.

&uot;There’s very little restrictions in what we can do,&uot; he said.

Building a house with panels is better for the environment too, Stendel said. The foam core demands less raw wood. Because the panels come precut, there is significantly less waste on the building site.

The simplicity of construction allows Stendel to build a foam core house in about half the time as a conventional house, he said. On Meadow Lane, workers were placing roof panels Tuesday, just two weeks after they started the basement.

&uot;In a stick building, they have to get their interior walls in before they can put a roof on,&uot; Stendel said. &uot;Here we can put a roof on it, then if you’ve got rainy days you can still come out and work on it, that’s just a big advantage.&uot;

Stendel is using other unconventional materials in his five-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot home, like steel shingles that look like conventional asphalt shingles, but are much stronger.

The shingles, made of 60 percent recycled car bodies, are designed to withstand 125 mph winds, and last 100 years, Stendel said. They carry a 50 year warranty.

&uot;It’s a little more expensive, but it’s a one-time deal,&uot; he said.

The trusses in the home are made with galvanized metal webbing, making them lighter and stronger than conventional all-wood trusses, he said.

Some people have been concerned about the unconventional structure, but because of the superiority of the materials, the spec house has exceeded most city building code requirements, Stendel said.

Nevertheless, he plans to hold more than one open house to satisfy neighbors’ curiosity.

For more information about structural insulated panels, contact Curtis Stendel at 373-4351.