107 - Steve's Mantras: Go Slow to Go Fast & Identify Problems BEFORE Moving to Solutions

It's funny that Steve, a very nuts-n-bolts guy, hosts this largely philosophical episode. But all three of us agree:

  1. Separate symptoms from causes—It's easy to get distracted or engrossed in symptoms, but the causes lead to solutions.

  2. Solutions come much easier if you first identify the problem(s).

  3. Step back to move forward. It's always tempting to jump on the "obvious" solution, but it pays to understand completely before offering solutions.

This episode's strength is how each of us—architect, builder, building investigator—uses the approach above to improve our jobs.

Pete's Resource(s):

  1. Building Science Insights: https://buildingscience.com/bsc-document-type/building-science-insights

  2. Energy Vanguard blog Building Science 101 (but in the context of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) - https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/building-science-101/

  3. Stewart Brand's How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built (Brand is one of a rare few building philosophers...and his book also is expressed in a 6-part video series - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Buildings_Learn#Book & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Buildings_Learn#TV_series

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108 - Basements as Living Conditioned Space

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106 - WTF: Off-Site Building & Owner-GC?