Want to learn more about building sustainably, and also building with structural insulated panels, or SIPs?

Hamish White, registered builder and director of Melbourne-based building company, Sanctum Homes, tells us more about building sustainably. And he also shares fantastic information about building with SIPs or Structural Insulated Panels.

This is Part 1 of my conversation with Hamish White.

Hello! This is Episode 239, and in it, I’m speaking with Hamish White from Sanctum Homes, a Melbourne-based building business specialising in passive house, sustainable and high performance homes.

If you’re considering a Passive House or you’re already designing one, or you simply want to know more about the non-negotiables in building a high performance, comfortable and sustainable home, you’ll find this episode really helpful.

And, if you’re interested in building with Structural Insulated Panels, or SIPs, or you’ve been investigating Hempcrete as an alternative, then definitely stay tuned.

Plus, you’ll also hear how powerful it can be to have a builder involved in the pre-construction phase, as Hamish talks through the way they make this work with their clients.

Before we jump into Part 1 of my conversation with Hamish, let me introduce you to him, and Sanctum Homes

Hamish White, director of Sanctum Homes, is registered in the class of Domestic Builder (Unlimited), the highest domestic building licence available. This enables Sanctum Homes to manage all responsibilities and aspects for carrying out all components of domestic building works for clients.

Hamish started his education at La Trobe University with a business and marketing degree. After completing this, he quickly realised that being stuck in an office was not for him, so he started his carpentry and building journey at age 23.
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With a wide variety of domestic building projects behind him and a keen interest in sustainable building, Hamish brings to any project years of experience and an excellence in project management covering workflow, quality control, cost management and viable, sustainable processes.

Sanctum Homes take a collaborative approach, working with you to create an innovative space tailor-made to your needs. They build, extend and renovate beautiful, high performing, energy efficient homes. They also specialise in awesome relationships with their clients, architects, designers, trades, suppliers – and their own team!

Sanctum Homes are Passive House Certified Tradespersons, HIA Greensmart Professionals, and they’re based in Warrandyte, Victoria.

Hamish is also a founding member of Builders Declare. Builders Declare is a collection of building industry professionals who acknowledge the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency, and the impact that the construction industry has on the environment.

Build Declare members pledge to raise awareness, advocate for faster change, and work with clients to create buildings that are high performance, require minimal energy input, are low in carbon and use ecologically sustainable development principles in their construction practices and finished projects.

As a founding member of Builders Declare, Hamish is hoping to encourage other builders and tradespeople to build better homes and be more mindful of the environment.

I first came across Hamish and Sanctum Homes via social media, and specifically their instagram account. The posts do a great job of describing various building practices, and why Sanctum Homes use these in their homes, especially when seeking to achieve high performance, thermal comfort and long-term durability.

Hamish and I struck up a conversation over social media over a shared goal to educate and increase sustainability in the built environment. It’s been awesome to see the work he and other builders are doing as part of Builders Declare.

Also, earlier this year, Hamish joined Live Life Build’s group mastermind program, ELEVATE. So I’ve got to know him better there as he’s been learning what we share in how to improve projects and building businesses.

I’m really looking forward to sharing this conversation, as Hamish shares a lot of detail about building for climate, building with SIPs and achieving great outcomes in your project, and in the relationship you have with your team.

In this episode, I ask Hamish questions such as:

• How he became a builder and started Sanctum Homes
• Why he chose to become a Passive House Certified Tradesperson
• What he sees are the deciding factors for choosing fully certified Passive House, vs a Passive House approach but not getting certified
• What are his top tips when building with SIPs or Structural Insulated Panels

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW.

RESOURCES:

Sanctum Homes
Website >>> https://www.yoursanctum.com.au/
Instagram >>> https://www.instagram.com/sanctumhomes/?hl=en
Post on Weather Resistant Barrier used on roof >>> ​​https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc5EGKzFmvo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Builders Declare
Website >>> https://au.buildersdeclare.com/
Youtube (great seminars on sustainable building practices and businesses) >>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5HfEeeKfjUmmYVhuGfq5A

Season 8 of the podcast ‘A Simple Guide to a Sustainable Home’ which includes specific episodes on Passive House >>>
https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast/season-8/

Designing for climate >>> https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/design-climate

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program >>> HOME METHOD https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/

Learn more about how to get started with your home design with the Happy Home Design mini-course >>> HAPPY HOME DESIGN

Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” >>> FREE WORKSHOP https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan