Installing the panels
Panels are placed by hand or with a Lull or Gradall by a rough carpentry or light-gauge steel crew, connected with galvanized angle or track and TEK screws, and can be modified in the field.
No special equipment is required. Panels can be placed by hand or with a Lull or Gradall, and can be installed by a rough carpentry or light-gauge steel crew rather than a specialized one. Unlike SIPs, which can weigh up to 800 pounds and need power lifting equipment, a Shield™ panel can be lifted by as little as one or two installers.
Wall panels are connected together with 1½ inch by 1½ inch 20-gauge minimum galvanized steel angle or track fastened with TEK screws, on the top inside and out and on the bottom outside. The inside bottom angle or track is attached to the sub-structure per the architectural plans; the outside bottom is attached with tie-downs.
Roof panels are connected to the structural members with specially shaped 20-gauge minimum galvanized steel fastened with TEK screws. Dimensional or engineered lumber, or steel members, may be used to tie wall panels together and provide structural support.
Panels are extremely friendly to field modification if required. Guardian offers on-site installation training or can recommend experienced installation teams.
What Guardian publishes
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Wall panels are connected with 1½ in × 1½ in 20-gauge minimum galvanized steel angle or track fastened with TEK screws, on the top inside and out and on the bottom outside; roof panels with specially shaped 20-gauge minimum galvanized steel and TEK screws.
Source · Shield™ Technical Product Description
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SIPs panels can weigh up to 800 pounds and need power lifting equipment; Shield™ panels can be lifted by as little as one or two installers and are extremely friendly to field modifications.
Source · Products page, how the panels work
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Guardian offers on-site installation training or recommends experienced installation teams.
Source · Products page
Watch it done
Our video, and the steps it shows, each cited to the moment it is said. The film loads from YouTube only when you press play.
What the video shows
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In the video, two workers assemble a 200 linear foot wall in one 8-hour day.
Source · Guardian video “Shield ™ Wall Panel Installation” (YouTube, September 8, 2026), at 0:13
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Installation starts by confirming the foundation's outside dimensions, snapping a chalk line for the sill plate at the wall thickness, and laying sill sealer under the sill plates.
Source · Guardian video “Shield ™ Wall Panel Installation” (YouTube, September 8, 2026), at 0:41
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A 1½ in by 1½ in angle is fastened to the sill plates on the inside of the wall, and a bead of DAP insulation about ½ in wide goes on the sill plate before each panel is set, to stop air getting through.
Source · Guardian video “Shield ™ Wall Panel Installation” (YouTube, September 8, 2026), at 0:55
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Each panel is lifted into place, fastened to the interior angle at the base with two screws into each tube, checked for plumb and braced from the outside. A second wood plate then goes on top of the pre-attached top plate.
Source · Guardian video “Shield ™ Wall Panel Installation” (YouTube, September 8, 2026), at 1:32
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Panels arrive engineered with the wire chase, beam pockets and structural components, and with the window and door rough openings the architect specified. Window and door bucks are foamed in and screwed flush with the inside.
Source · Guardian video “Shield ™ Wall Panel Installation” (YouTube, September 8, 2026), at 2:03
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Walls are set starting from a corner and working around the perimeter, with inside and outside corner angles screwed into the tubes.
Source · Guardian video “Shield ™ Wall Panel Installation” (YouTube, September 8, 2026), at 2:53
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Last, a foam gun goes 3 in into each joint between panels, about every 6 in. The foam does not need to fill the joint, only to form a barrier from top to bottom that stops air flow.
Source · Guardian video “Shield ™ Wall Panel Installation” (YouTube, September 8, 2026), at 3:26
Published by Guardian Structural Technologies. Last updated .
Drafted from our product literature and published building-science sources. Awaiting our technical review. Confirm any figure against the current product documents or ask us before you rely on it in a design.