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A. Rossetto Construction - Fayston, Vt

When we planned and built the home of our dreams, called "Westview" for its commanding westerly view across the Mad River Valley, we also had a "world view" in mind.

By constructing Westview using environmentally friendly building practices and materials, like structural insulated panels (SIPS) and engineered lumber, we believe that we not only have a better house, but are also, "doing the right thing".

The environmental impact of this kind of building is less. Everything that everybody does affects everybody else. The process of building and maintaining a house has an impact on the air quality of the community, the waste flow of the community and also upon the energy used by the community.

Because this house is made of 76 pieces, and all the pieces are drawn and cut by the SIP processor, there was very little scrap at the site, mostly cardboard. The processor recycles the OSB and the foam that is cut during the processing. Recycling works best when handled in volume at a single location.

In addition to creating less waste, the house also consumes far fewer trees, uses much less energy…and is also healthier.

I feel that this is the emerging technology for building houses. In 10 years, most builders will be doing this. Twenty-five percent of the construction in California is now SIPs. Systems have to change or we are not doing our job as builders. We won't be prepared for the next millennium. If we continue to build with sticks, there is no change. You can't reduce the number of trees you cut down. You can make stick-built houses better and more efficient, but that is just a band-aid.

The niche I want is this: I don't want to build my father's house. I don't want to use that much material to build a house. Now, if you build with sticks, you're building the same house your father built. The biggest change in the home building industry since the 50's is Tyvek…..which is not much of a change. When you build with structural panels, you produce a non-shrinking product. With shrinkage, you can't control the changes, despite the quality of the craftsmanship. You've built a loose house. This technology allows for an airtight shell.

Don't get me wrong. I love wood. It's great stuff. But the first rule of carpentry is, wood moves. By removing wood in the shell of the building, you remove the instability. In Kobe, Japan, when that had an earthquake, the only houses left standing, still inhabitable, were structural panel houses.