Blog
Notes from building in a cold climate.
34 articles on energy arithmetic, costs, comparisons, framing schedules, code documents and the practical questions builders and homeowners actually ask us. Written for people making a decision, not for search engines.
Windows, doors and big glass in a steel panel wall
Rough openings are made in the factory to each window maker's specification. How that works for large glazing, round windows, headers and air sealing.
An owner-builder's guide to assembling a steel panel shell
Numbered panels, bundles in wall-line order, a screw gun and a 36-page manual. What assembling a steel SIP shell actually involves for an owner-builder.
Additions and extensions with steel panels
Matching an existing house is a drawing problem. How steel SIP panels work for additions, existing foundations, walkouts and work inside existing buildings.
What arrives on the truck: inside a steel panel package
Numbered panels bundled in wall-line order, track, screws and hardware, with drawings weeks ahead. What a steel SIP package includes and how delivery works.
What steel SIP panels cost, and what actually drives the price
Why a steel SIP package costs more than a lumber package but the finished wall often costs less: labour, trades, HVAC size, schedule and a free take-off.
SIPs vs ICF: which wall makes sense for a New England house
Steel SIPs and insulated concrete forms compared on whole-wall R-value, thermal bridging, wall thickness, schedule, trades and winter building in New England.
Steel SIPs vs a 2×6 stick-framed wall: the whole-wall numbers
A 2x6 wall with batts is sold by its cavity rating and performs nearer R-15 to R-17. How a steel SIP wall compares on R-value, labour, trades and moisture.
Tiny homes, cabins and camps built with steel panels
No minimum project size. How steel SIP panels suit tiny homes, cabins and lake camps: 45 lb panels, owner-builder friendly, R-28 to R-61 walls, off-grid ready.
A-frames and cathedral ceilings with steel roof panels
Load-bearing roof panels meet at the ridge with no intermediate supports. How that works for A-frames, cathedral ceilings, snow load and ice dams.
Walk-in freezers, cold storage and farm buildings with steel panels
The thermal break that keeps a house warm keeps a freezer cold. Steel SIP panels for walk-in freezers, cold rooms, processing and farm buildings in New England.
Building on the New England coast: wind, salt air and moisture
Hurricane panels tested to 185 mph including flying debris, and nothing in the wall to rot. What steel SIPs mean on the Maine, Cape Cod and Rhode Island coast.
Carpenter ants, termites and mice: why a steel panel wall offers nothing to eat
Carpenter ants are a New England problem. Why steel and EPS panels give ants, termites, bees and rodents nothing to eat, and cut the need for pest poisons.
Mold, moisture and indoor air in a steel panel house
Steel and EPS do not feed mold, do not off-gas and contain no carcinogens or allergens. What that means for indoor air, and why ventilation still matters.
Net-zero in New England: why the wall decides how many solar panels you buy
A lower heating load means a smaller solar array and battery bank. How a steel SIP envelope changes the maths of a net-zero or off-grid New England house.
Twelve questions to ask any panel supplier, including us
If a supplier cannot answer these in writing, that is the answer.
What a 425-year wall means for a house you plan to hand on
Most stick-built houses torn down in this region are under fifty years old. That is worth sitting with.
Cladding a panel wall: siding, brick, standing seam and rainscreens
The exterior you present to the street is entirely your decision. Here is how each one attaches.
Why developers panelize the envelope on multi-family and hospitality
On a three-storey building the argument stops being about R-value and starts being about the schedule.
Ordering season: why the panels should be ordered before the foundation
The projects that go fastest on site are the ones that were slow on paper first.
ADUs, shops and small builds around the Monadnock region
The panel system is often thought of as a whole-house decision. Some of the best uses are much smaller.
Financing a low-energy build, and where lenders get stuck
The wall is the easy part. Appraisals and construction draws are where these projects lose momentum.
Why we tell people to halve the HVAC, and what that saves on day one
The upfront equipment saving is the part of the panel budget most people forget to count.
What the fire and STC reports actually say
A plain reading of the documents your plan reviewer and your acoustician will ask for.
Wiring and plumbing a steel panel house without drilling a single stud
The most common practical question we get, answered properly.
Below-grade panels: foundations, knee walls and warm walkouts
The basement is where most cold-climate houses give away their performance.
Hitting Passive House in zone 6A without building a thicker wall
Double-stud walls solve the R-value problem by getting fat. There is another way.
Concrete floor panels: fifty-foot spans and forty percent less concrete
The part of the system commercial teams usually do not know exists.
From a sketch to labeled shop drawings: how a panel package gets drawn
What actually happens between sending us a plan and a truck arriving at your lot.
Air sealing a panel shell: joints, tracks and what the blower door reads
The field of the wall takes care of itself. Every number you care about comes from the joints.
Mud season, framing weather, and building a shell in three days
The New England build calendar is short at both ends.
What a steel SIP actually is, and why it is not a foam sandwich
Most people picture OSB glued to foam. That is a different product with different failure modes.
Snow load, roof panels and why trusses can go to six feet on centre
Ground snow loads around Monadnock run high.
Choosing between 5.5 and 7.5 inch exterior panels
Two thicknesses cover almost every project. Here is how we decide which one your building wants.
What an R-61 wall actually does to a January heating bill in Cheshire County
Keene runs past 7,000 heating degree days a year.
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Ask it. If it is a good one we will answer it properly, and probably write it up.