  our Sunlight home may be built by any local builder of your choice. We will help you qualify a local contractor for your project, if you'd like. You'll find most contractors have not built a panelized home before, but this is not a problem. Fortunately, building with panels is quite straightforward. Any experienced, professional builder has the skills to build a panel home. We will discuss the process with the builder, answer their questions and provide a manual before construction begins. We are available to consult with your builder during construction. In our experience, builders are easily able to successfully build their first SIP home with this support and guidance and have a positive reaction to the experience!
There may be a project nearby that your builder can visit before building your home. Or there may be a framing company experienced with panels in your area that your contractor may hire to erect the panels. There are usually several choices for erecting the panels, and we will help you and your builder choose the best option for your project.
The good thing is that our SIP homes have been built across the country for over 20 years, the vast majority by builders inexperienced in panelized construction and the projects have been successful. For this reason we suggest that you look for a builder who you like and trust and who you can communicate with (and who is interested in trying something new if they're not experienced with SIPs) because these qualities are far more important than finding one who is experienced building with panels. We can teach a builder how to build with panels, but we can't teach them to be honest, organized and responsive.
HOW TO CHOOSE A BUILDER
 We recommend that you wait until you have plans before you begin seriously looking for a builder. Before you have plans, your project is just an possibility to a builder, not a reality and good builders are busy.
Before your plans are compete, you can collect names and recommendations for builders and visit homes under construction. Talk to people who have recently built a house and get recommendations for builders.
Once you have plans, you will be seen as a serious prospect by the builders and they will have something substantial to discuss with you. At this point, you can begin to narrow your options for a builder. While it's not important to like the particular style of other projects they've done, you should look at the quality of their work and their attention to detail. Check their recent references and visit some of their current work. Look at their job sites. If they are neat and organized, you can expect the same level of organization at your project. We think it's important for a builder to be organized because their job is to organize and orchestrate your building project. Check out their truck! Is it clean and organized? You can tell a lot about a builder by how they keep their personal spaces and how they run their jobs.
The builder you choose should be interested in working with panels but doesn't need to be experienced. You will find some builders who want to stay with what is familiar to them and don't want to try another building method. There are always builders who are interested and want to give SIPs a go. Among them, look for someone who you can talk to easily and who listens to you. Are they responsive? Do they return your call promptly? Are they forthright? Use your intuition as well as references to decide who you want to work closely with over the next several months!
We will provide the necessary guidance to assist your builder through the process. Builders appreciate our detailed plans and 3-D model because it helps them understand the structure better and gives them the information they need to build the home without the guesswork that often occurs with less detailed plans.
If you are building a Sunlight home, it's important to us that the project be a success from start to finish. Toward that end, we act as your "professional agent" throughout the building project, communicating with your contractor and with you on a regular basis and giving our assistance and professional advice when necessary.
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