What Do You Want (or Not Want) in Your New Build? Just Tell Your Builder You Want SIPs

What are some key things you should consider when planning for or designing a new residential or commercial building? I mean, besides the obvious, like the overall size, location, rooms, etc. Better yet, what are some key things you DO NOT want your new building to include?

I went to a sandwich shop recently. One that I go to often. And the person working the counter blew my mind. I ordered a roast beef sandwich, like always. And when I order this sandwich, I always ask for the same extras, which are cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I started to tell the clerk what I wanted on the sandwich. I said, “I would like cheese, lettuce …” Then the clerk cut me off. He looked up at me and said, “why not just tell me what you don’t want on the sandwich?” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what all came on their roast beef sandwich. So I responded, “I don’t know. I know I don’t want any alloy or rust on it. Preferably nothing sharp or pointy.”

What if all customer service was like this? What if your builder didn’t ask what you want in your new building, but instead they ask what you don’t want. I do not want low, flat ceilings. I do not want to use a bunch of lumber that is twisted and warped. I do not want to pay a great deal for my heating and cooling. I do not want it to take months to build. I do not want a great deal of waste going into landfills. I could keep on going. There are so many things I would not want in a new building. And an easy, affordable way to make sure I don’t get these things in my new building is to build with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs).

Save with SIPs

SIPs allow you to save time, energy, environmental resources, and – everyone’s favorite – money, all while offering one of the highest-performing building envelopes available today. You do not want a low, flat ceiling look? When used for roofing, SIPs can span great distances, virtually eliminating the need for trusses, and leaving a cathedral or vaulted ceiling, which makes the space look bigger. SIPs require over 60% less lumber.

Typically, lumber must be picked through to find pieces straight enough to use. Also, later, you won’t have to deal with trying to get your builder to come back and fix issues like stucco cracks and drywall nails popping because the lumber is twisting and cupping over time. With SIPs, you can save up to 60% on your heating and cooling bills. SIPs have a solid, insulating foam core, and because there are no studs required, thermal bridging (the movement of heat across an object, like lumber, that is more conductive than the materials around it) is greatly reduced.

SIPs are installed quickly, much faster than lumber, as they are fully fabricated in a controlled environment (each panel cut to the proper length and width, window and door openings cut out, all rake cuts, and bevel cuts done in the factory). Also, when you install SIPs, you are installing the structure, the sheathing, and the insulation all in one step. And because all the fabrication is done in the factory, that leaves little to no job site waste that must be paid for and thrown in our landfills.

What if you were at the airport and asked for a coach class ticket to Las Vegas, and the person working the counter asked, “Is there anything you do not want on your flight?” “Yeah, I do not want fire on my flight. I do not want a pack of wild dogs running up and down the aisle nipping at the passenger’s ankles. I do not want the pilot to come running out of the cockpit screaming, ‘I hate my job.’” Okay, maybe it is better to ask what you do want, instead of what you don’t want. But that clerk at the sandwich shop made me think about it. Just tell your builder you want to use SIPs and you won’t have to think about it!