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Our expectations of the performance of houses has changed faster than how we build to achieve that performance. So, at the beginning of a conversation in the construction industry, when I hear, “I have been building for 30 years” I think to myself, there are only two outcomes from this conversation. First, the person is putting up a guard and will not be receptive to an applied building science approach.  You know, houses have to breath or you’re telling me to tighten up the house and then punch a hole in it for ventilation. On the other hand, the person may have amazing insights and experiences to share.

When I step back, I realize that I’ve almost been working in this industry for 30 years. With an emphasis on sustainable high-performance building, I still struggle to integrate what I do into mainstream building, yet I tend to learn something new every day that takes me one step closer. Having these difficult yet enlightening conversation is often where I learn the most.

At BuildTank, my mission is to use what I learn by applying building science in the field to affect meaningful change in the construction industry. This buildCAST is the next step. By having broad conversations with different players in the industry I learn something new from their story that will move us forward toward taking sustainable buildings to mainstream building.

I hope you will learn something as well. Enjoy!

#20 -2003 Matt Everson Defining the damage, a builder’s guide to Insurance scope of loss reports.

September 21, 2023

A Scope of Loss Report is the insurance industry term for an estimate of the rebuilding cost of a lost house due to a severe event like fire, hurricane, or tornado. It does not reflect the cost of the house that will be rebuilt. It reflects rebuilding the specific house that was lost, exactly as…

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#19 -2003 Steve Baczek bridging between architecture and sound building science.

September 10, 2023

Steve Baczek is a nationally recognized architect, who has been designing and developing custom residential structures for over 28 years. After architecture school he had the opportunity to work with Joe Lstiburek and Betsy Pettit at Building Science Corporation. But since then, he has really honed his unique perspective, knowledge, and ability to be a…

Read More

#18 -2003 United Policy Holders, Marshall Fire, Natural Disasters, and the disaster of dealing with insurance.

August 28, 2023

Amy Bach, Executive director of United Policy Holders and Lisa Hughes Marshall Fire Survivor and Marshall Fire Local Liaison for United Policy Holders are my guests on this buildCAST.  We discuss the impact of fire specifically, but natural disaster and the destruction of home, its impacts on people and the insurance nightmare that they face.…

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2023 – #14 Building Better with Karen Benner

July 6, 2023

  Karen Benner is a GREEN Realtor and founder of Clayton Avenue Consulting. She brings her 20 years of experience and a large builder perspective and discipline to her new Offsite Dirt show called “Building Better with Karen. Offsite Dirt is a media and an event company that showcases all the current news, techniques, technology,…

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2023 – #13 Mike Missimer Principal Owner MGI Mechanical Services and Rockview Designs

June 20, 2023

Mike Missimer principal and owner of MGI Mechanical has almost 30 years of experience in the HVAC industry, he has used his engineering background and love of learning to question the rules of thumb that are interwoven into the HVAC world. He has learned firsthand that you get what you inspect not what you expect,…

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2023 – #12 Gayathri Vijayakumar Principal Mechanical Engineer at Steven Winter Associates

June 4, 2023

Gayathri Vijayakumar is a Principal Mechanical Engineer at Steven Winter Associates. For over 17 years, she has specialized in evaluating residential and multifamily buildings with an emphasis on high-performance construction and renewable energy systems. Early in her career, Gayathri provided technical assistance to sustainability projects by performing energy modeling and conducting cost-benefit analyses of energy…

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#20 -2003 Matt Everson Defining the damage, a builder’s guide to Insurance scope of loss reports.

September 21, 2023

A Scope of Loss Report is the insurance industry term for an estimate of the rebuilding cost of a lost house due to a severe event like fire, hurricane, or tornado. It does not reflect the cost of the house that will be rebuilt. It reflects rebuilding the specific house that was lost, exactly as…

Read More

#19 -2003 Steve Baczek bridging between architecture and sound building science.

September 10, 2023

Steve Baczek is a nationally recognized architect, who has been designing and developing custom residential structures for over 28 years. After architecture school he had the opportunity to work with Joe Lstiburek and Betsy Pettit at Building Science Corporation. But since then, he has really honed his unique perspective, knowledge, and ability to be a…

Read More

#18 -2003 United Policy Holders, Marshall Fire, Natural Disasters, and the disaster of dealing with insurance.

August 28, 2023

Amy Bach, Executive director of United Policy Holders and Lisa Hughes Marshall Fire Survivor and Marshall Fire Local Liaison for United Policy Holders are my guests on this buildCAST.  We discuss the impact of fire specifically, but natural disaster and the destruction of home, its impacts on people and the insurance nightmare that they face.…

Read More