This is the first interview in our new Builder Interview series. Join Jake and Steve as they talk with Chad Gessin of First Dunes about the challenges he faces as a builder on Long Island.

What is affordable housing? The answer is more nuanced than you would think. Tune in this week to hear Steve, Peter, and Jake talk about their idea of affordable housing.

Going Against the Grain - Permanent Wood Foundations

Seriously? Aren't the terms "permanent" and "wood" used together below-grade a contradiction in terms? Turns out that if you honor the four continuous control layers below-grade on a foundation framed with pressure-treated wood, both the science and the construction actually work. Is the margin for error probably tighter than with concrete? Very well could be, but framing below-grade seems to bring more attention to detail, as Pete, Jake, and Steve attest.

Does that home need a floor? Of course. Does it need the assembly you were planning for? Maybe not. In this week’s podcast the crew discusses alternative means of construction that Jake and Steve have executed with great success.

Is it inside or outside? That is the crawl space question to ask. How do we know? How to decide? Tune in for this week’s UnBuild It Podcast to find out everything about crawl spaces.

The boys answer listener submitted questions this week.

It may sound like a vanity move for Jake to talk about all the homes in which he has lived (and it is) but it tells a story about the evolution of residential construction in the USA since 1960. From wood foundations to leaky basements to high performance homes, listen to Pete and Jake walk you through the choices.

Will Toyota and Honda actually change the building industry? We've been promised pre-fab will change the face of the building industry for 30 years...is it really the future?

A roof assembly can be one of the simplest and most complex parts of a building assembly. In this week’s podcast Steve, Jake, and Peter give an intro to roofs.

Above grade walls are among the most exposed assemblies of a building. They have to act as all four of your control layers and therefore they must be considered. Check out walls 101.

Please excuse the audio issues, we are still learning and growing.

Also, please excuse Steve Baczek for thinking Top Gun is the best movie in history.

The Five Ages of Wood, by Michael O'Brien

https://mjobrien.com/Papers/Five_Ages_Wood_OBrien.pdf

The Efficient Window Collaborative

https://www.efficientwindows.org

Guest Travis Brungardt of Catalyst Construction talks building science, his passion for the trades, BS and Beer, and has a special announcement about the Midwest Building Science Symposium.

Guest Clayton Dekorne chats with Jake and Steve about our industry, publishing, and how the internet can get it wrong.

Peter, Jake, & Steve talk window install.

The National Fenestration Rating Council provides a window sticker that informs the buyer, installer, and code official as to what is happening with each window, door, or skylight. What does all of the information on that sticker mean?

A primer on windows from UBIP

How many Red Herrings can you name in the building industry?

Odorless, tasteless, colorless and potentially deadly: Radon is a soil gas that can end up inside our buildings. But it can be easily managed in new construction and in many areas it is required by code and federal regulation. Jake, Steve, and Pete each bring their perspectives to this podcast on the where, the why, and the how of radon mitigation in both new homes and retrofit.

Jake is joined by Josh and Cyrus from Havelock Wool. The crew chats about everything to do with wool insulation.