Better Construction with Sean McStay

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode of Better Construction, I talk with Luke Dolan, owner of Capital Home Energy, and a well-known airtightness expert about his career, when and how to do your blower door test and some tips for using the integrated design process to improve your airtightness score. Capital Home Energy: https://capitalhomeenergy.com/ Capital Home Energy on Instagram: https...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode of Better Construction, I talk with Reza Varzidehkar founder of OVOU and well-known marketing expert about his life, starting OVOU and how you as a person and business owner can market yourself to your clients. OVOU: https://ovou.com/ Reza on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rezavee/ My Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0czmX0jwkbkCDmJOTR5...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode of Better Construction, I talk with director at Passive House Accelerator and well-known industry expert Zack Semke about his career, how to make clients care about high-performance, and the future of the Passive House Accelerator project. Passive House Accelerator: https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/ PHA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passive...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode of Better Construction I talk with Owner of Risinger Build and well-known YouTuber Matt Risinger about his career, some of the most common mistakes builders make when starting in high performance and the future of his popular Build Show Youtube channel and production company. Matt on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MattRisinger The Netflix of cons...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode of Better Construction, I talk with Ben Bogie, Production Manager at Kolbert Building in Portland Maine. Ben is passionate about historical renovation and creating high-performance homes, and is an active member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. He specializes in building science, low-energy designs, and high-end custom finishes. Some of...

Send us Fan Mail On this bonus episode of Better Construction, I talk with Sanjeev Dhillon, Field Marketing Manager of Procore. Procore was founded 18 years ago with a vision of providing people in the construction industry with technology that makes their lives easier, safer, and more productive. Sanjeev and I talk about his journey to Canada, how Procore works, and some of the benefits you can e...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Better Construction I talk with Chris Arkell and Cinci Csere, cofounders of Sea to Sky Removal. Sea to Sky Removal is on a mission to change the construction industry’s waste disposal practices, and educate workers in the process. As part of their service, they provide recycling tutorials to crews who are used to tossing everything – plastic, wood, cardboard, carpet,...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Better Construction I talk with Aaron Miller, President, and Co-Owner at HummingbirdHill Homes. HummingbirdHill was started because they knew that they could do something to positively change the world of construction. Aaron talks about how they started by rethinking the impact of the built environment on our lives and how that impact can enhance both their clients an...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Better Construction I talk with Andrew Stiffman, Senior Business Development Manager at Kalesnikoff. Since 1939, the Kalesnikoff family company has grown a legacy of trust and integrity in the wood products sector here in BC. Inspired by forests, their wood experts have evolved through four generations of specialty timber manufacturing experience. Andrew and I talk ab...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Better Construction I talk with Michael Cairns, Architectural product representative at Innotech Windows and Doors. Innotech is a Canadian manufacturer that was established 20 years ago with the vision of manufacturing German engineered windows and doors that reach beyond industry standards. Today, they are proud to offer their customers a full line of high performanc...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Better Construction I talk with Joe Geluch, President of Naikoon Contracting. Naikoon is a high performance and Passive House builder based in North Vancouver BC that is dedicated to the protection of the environment as one of their guiding principles. On the show, Joe and I talk about how he got started in the industry, why most of their projects are now built to Pas...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I talk to Gord Cooke, President of Building Knowledge Canada. We chat about his career, building some of the first HRV's, and tips for building airtight, dryable buildings. With over 30 years of experience in the business, Gord offers his opinions on topics like Exterior vs interior insulation, the location of the air barrier layer, just how breat...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk with Sarah Gallop of SGDI. Sarah is an award-winning designer based in the Vancouver area. We talk about how her business started, the integrated design process, HGTV vs reality, and more! Sarah's website: https://www.sarahgallop.com/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahgallopdesign/ Facebook: facebook.com/sarahgallopdesign Twitter: @s_gal...

Send us Fan Mail This week I talk with Adam Corneil CEO, and founder of Unbuilders about his journey in the construction industry from flipping houses, to green builds to unbuilding. We chat about reusing materials from classic homes and how to change the way we deal with "waste" Adam's website: https://unbuilders.com/ Adam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unbuildersdecon...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk with Kim Lewis of Kim Lewis Designs. Kim is known for her work on many shows like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition as a designer and now runs her own firm that centers design inspiration around global inspiration and local collaboration. Every design should speak to the client's "Roots" (their story and where they've come from), their "Wing...

Send us Fan Mail Net Zero? R-2000? Passive House? What are some ways to pick between the different better construction standards available today? This week we discuss this and more with Andrew Oding, Vice President and Director of Building Science at Building Knowledge Canada Inc.

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk with Christine Williamson from Building Science Fight Club. On Instagram and in her practice, she makes recommendations that promote appropriate water control, air control, energy efficiency, constructability, and durability. She is also a speaker and a teacher of build science. We talk about her career, the origins of Building Science fight club, and how she hop...

Send us Fan Mail For a bonus episode this week we talk to Mark Cunningham president and founder of S I Construction systems about his Polycore building system product. High R-value, no concrete, and prefabricated system panels make for an interesting product to learn about!

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, we talk about creating a Worker Centred crew with builder and author Ian Schwandt. Ian goes over the basics from his JLC articles and talks about the differences, and similarities, between standard construction and better construction.

Send us Fan Mail Having practically grown up on a construction site, as well as in front of us all on TV, my guest for this episode knows a thing or two about Better Construction. Mike Holmes Jr. is a licensed contractor, HGTV personality and businessperson with a passion for helping people, woodworking, hands-on work, and historical fiction. We talk all this and more on this week's episode o...

Send us Fan Mail Looking to learn about some new high-performance products? How about all-natural, renewable insulation that brings down the carbon footprint of your building? Maybe a hot water system that is up to 70% more efficient and uses a refrigerant that is safe for the environment? This week we talk with Albert Rooks, CEO of Small Planet supply about those products and more! 

Send us Fan Mail What kind of questions should a homeowner ask a builder or designer before signing on with them? What are some of the benefits of the Design-build process for the homeowner? In this week's episode we talk about those questions and more with Eric Lee, founder, managing partner and design director at VictorEric Group in Vancouver BC.

Send us Fan Mail What is the best way to approach a design? Who is responsible for making sure the details all come together? In this week's special double episode, we talk about those questions and more with Steven Baczek, architect, speaker, social media personality and building science specialist.

Send us Fan Mail Are single-family homes a luxury in today's market? Is pre-fabrication the key to future affordability? In this week's episode we talk about those questions and more with Chris Hill, president of B Collective homes and board member of Passive House Canada. 

Send us Fan Mail Heating, cooling, ventilation, dehumidification, and filtration in one unit? All that in a high-efficiency unit that fits in a closet? It's not science fiction, it's this week's episode of Better Construction where we speak with Alexandre De Gagné of Minotair about his companies products and his journey into the world of high-performance building.