The International Code Council voted to adopt structural insulated panels with polyurethane cores into the 2009 International Residential Code at the Final Action Hearings in Minneapolis. Inclusion in the building code will allow builders using polyurethane core panels to build homes without the approval of a licensed engineer if the homes fall within the applicability limits of the code. 

In May 2007, SIPs with two other types of foam core materials—expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene—were added to IRC’s 2007 Supplement. The recent code change adds polyurethane as an accepted core material to the current prescriptive provisions for SIPs in the IRC. As a result, all three foam types will be included in the 2009 IRC. 

In order to qualify under the prescriptive requirements of the IRC, the polyurethane foam used in SIPs must meet certain minimum material properties that are described in the new code language.  These properties were developed through a collaborative effort between the Structural Insulated Panel Association, the Center for the Polyurethanes Industry, the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association and APA. W&C