During the lockdown of spring 2020, a customer, experienced in brick and block renovation, wanted to use SIPs for a new garden room because he had heard about their insulation properties.

The customer wanted the garden room for the whole family, but especially his two teenage boys, young adult nephew and their friends – to hang out safely, play pool and watch TV over a pint or two.

The customer was aware that SIPs offer plenty of advantages:

• superior airtightness
• quick installation
• excellent insulation qualities
• year-round use with very low heating bills 

Additional benefits:

The customer was really delighted with how clean the whole SIPs project was, in comparison to the previous brick and block work on his loft and extension. Back then, the building materials were stored on the drive and had been dirty and inconvenient for a long time. Worse, a line of concrete had been spilled which couldn’t be removed. The customer had had his driveway replaced after that and certainly didn’t want to risk a repeat. There were other benefits, too.

The panels were manufactured to order by a specific date, delivered on time and installation started the same day, instead of arranging delivery and storage of the bricks, and needing to wait whilst a bricklayer created the walls – which would have been weather-dependent. As it was, on the first day, there was a downpour, and the installer simply waited in the customer’s house until it passed. If that had been a brick-and-block build, a day’s work would probably have been lost.

The 2.4m x 1.2m x 11mm OSB/3 structural insulated panels were put up for the walls and a standard construction roof. Plastic cladding provided the external facings, each of the three sections simply clicking together. Standard bi-fold metal doors provided a wide entrance and plenty of light.

The builder, says:
“The project ran really smoothly, and the customer was pleased with the final result which means I don’t have to sort any complaints, and happy customers mean referrals. Their garden room is thermally efficient, sustainable and extremely durable. It will last the test of time, for sure. My message to any builder out there who has never tried working with SIPs is: do it. You won’t regret it.”