A podcast and Youtube channel about B.S.

What does it really take to grow as a young builder today? Jake and Steve bring in Risinger Build’s Managing Partner, Tim Hill, for a fast-paced, experience-packed conversation full of practical advice for builders looking to level up their craft, business, and mindset.

Jake and Steve give Pete the boot for this one—and for good reason. Tim joins them to share real-world insights on everything from building capital and managing budgets to client communication, niche-building, and avoiding the projects that drain your time and sanity. Across the episode, there are a “baker’s dozen” takeaways that every young builder needs to hear.

A deep dive into cathedral roof design and insulation strategy. The team compares solid-sawn rafters vs. scissor trusses, smart vapor retarders vs. poly, and discusses optimal roof pitches. You’ll learn when to vent from the topside, from below, or go unvented entirely—and why those choices matter.
In the last 10 minutes, the crew unpacks one of building science’s trickiest topics: 6-sided containment of air-permeable insulation—and how it impacts attic R-values and energy performance.

Seriously? These 3 clowns are sages? The discussion includes how to select the "right” school. How much should a school include building science compared to learning it on the job? And what about even just the 4 control layers?  And all three of us stand squarely with Steve: if you want to design buildings, get out on the job site first, second, and last over the course of your prep and your years on the job. And then take what you learn at the site to improve the information transfer you accomplish with your drawings!

All of us in the industry have projects--likely early in our careers--that we just either cringe about or wonder how the heck we got away with that one? The boys wax nostalgic about stories of their naivety over the years, turning them into valuable lessons learned. Actual building topics include spray foam, sill sealer, combining blower door & IR imaging, slab-on-grade insulation, and rainscreens.

Installing windows is getting more, not less, complicated. Pete lobbies for a different, more durable, and simpler gasket installation of windows. Steve and Jake weigh in with their insights and challenges to what Pete is up to. And a bonus: with Steve and Jake's help, Pete creates a new word: "Poninions" (Pete crashed the words opinions and positions, and his "friends" just could not let it slide).

The boys start with a really cool problem-solving involving a monopoly framing, big overhangs, and thermal bridging. And the follow-up is an excellent question from Western Canada regarding the use of ZIP sheathing with a Class I interior vapor retarder. It's a great discussion involving R-values, air barriers, vapor permeability (including all Classes of vapor retarders), wetting, and drying. Whew! Good thing that Steve had a "great" joke to close this one out...(gag).

If you can't find an experienced high-performance builder, then find a professional builder who is willing to listen and learn! And add in time and money in the budget for that listening and learning. The same can go for your architect. But as Steve says: "SOMEONE has to drive the bus. Put on your big boy pants and move your business to the next level."

All 3 UBIP podcasters are fond of the Superior Wall System, but connecting the extended "foot" of the foundation wall panel to the basement slab is a bit tricky. But not for Steve, but of course. And while sump pumps OUTSIDE are a mystery to Pete, Jake & Steve walk Pete through it. And a bonus: using gravel to spread the structural load and better manage the water load. All that and a "joke" by Steve to-just-die-for...

Once again, we drive wood into the ground, but only in the context of Permanent Wood Foundations. No surprise that this discussion is all about water & drainage. And some episodes ago, the boys each revealed pivotal moments in their careers in the building industry and wrapped up with a request for your pivotal moments. We got one, but what a doozy from our buddy Carl Seville of SK Collaborative. I think we might be done now (at least for a while) with PWF, but come on now: email us your pivotal moment in our industry!