An Ottawa couple is frustrated by the long wait for a building permit after deciding to use a new, environmentally friendly material in their new basement.

Bruce Craig and Lucy Webster said they have been waiting since early June for their permit. Now that the building season is coming to a close, they are frustrated that their new basement is still just a large pit in their Westboro backyard, just west of downtown Ottawa.

"We've very stuck," Webster said.

According to the City of Ottawa, building permits can be issued in as little as 10 days, but the city makes no guarantees.

Craig and Webster were originally given permission to build a new basement and extension on their Westboro home back in May, but applied for a new building permit in early June, after deciding to use Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) as a building material. The foam-core building panels are supposed to be especially air tight, improving the thermal efficiency of the building and making it more environmentally friendly.

Christine Leadman, city councillor for Kitchissippi ward, which includes the couple's home, said it has taken awhile because the city needs to make sure the SIPs are safe to use.

She said usually manufacturers have their products tested and certified by an independent agency, but that hasn't been done for the material used by Craig and Webster. That material has been used for above-ground walls in the past, and is therefore allowed in the addition.

"But not foundations," Leadman said. "So this is new."

Webster said the panels have been used in basement walls in many other municipalities in Ontario.

Leadman said the pair should know whether they will be allowed to use the panels in their basement by the end of Wednesday.