Award-Winning SIPs Home

When Bill and Caroline Nesbitt bought a poorly-designed bungalow in a superb location in the heart of the Cotswolds, they were determined to replace it with something special.

The new house is built with Kingspan TEK structural insulated panels (SIPs) – supplied by Glosford SIPs – and finished in stone externally. The result is a characterful house, known as Springfield, that picked up the 2015 Build It Award for Best SIPs Home.

The site is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), so it was vital for the design of the new house to blend in sensitively. That meant using stone cladding and dressings, along with a steeply pitched roof and dormer windows.

On top if that, it needed to be light-filled, comfortably to live in and great for entertaining – not to mention affordable to build and cheap to run.

“We decided the main shell should be in structural insulated panels,” says Bill. “We liked that the system offers good airtightness and U-values (great for energy efficiency) and is quick to build with.”

He’d initially spoken to Glosford SIPs in summer 2013, and signed a contract with the company in March 2014. Building work got underway that June.

“The entire carcass of the house is manufactured, delivered and installed to a contract price by Glosford’s specialists in just 10 days,” says Bill.

The SIPs panels have been cleverly employed to deliver on the couple’s goals. Key features include open-plan living areas and vaulted ceilings to all the upstairs rooms.

The efficient 142mm-thick SIPs panels have been used for both the walls and roof, resulting in a well-insulated, airtight home that allows the Nesbitts’ chosen heating system to work at optimum performance.

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