The BS* + Beer Show

Discussions about high-performance homes disproportionately center around single-family projects in suburban or rural areas—where there is space to spread out, regulations are often lax, and commercial and institutional buildings are rarely high-performance structures. When you compare that scenario to working in major cities like New York or Minneapolis, how do priorities change?

Commercial construction projects are often much larger and more complicated than residential builds, with different priorities and stakeholders involved. Are there lessons residential designers, builders, and clients can learn from the commercial building industry? Our panel says yes and identifies some. 

This week we discuss the science of concrete: what are the components that go into this durable yet brittle material? Guests Helen Watts and Trevor Acorn, both structural engineers, and precast expert Christopher Genest share their knowledge.

This episode of the BS* + Beer show features Alan Gibson, Ace McArelton, Steve Hessler, and Ilka Cassidy discussing off-site panelization. The group touts the method's benefits as applied to both single- and multi-family projects. They address questions that include: Is panelization the solution to the trade skills gap? What are the site considerations when planning for panelized construction? And...

This week we take a look at wood fiber insulation, a product class relatively new to the market with many unique features. Our guests, Scott Dionne, Shaun St-Amour, Will Grupenhoff and Jim Muhaw, each representing a different manufacturer, share their expertise about the various wood fiber insulation products available and their properties, applications, sources, costs, and current and potential f...

This episode of the BS* + Beer show features engineers Sonia Barrantes, Kristof Irwin, and Brian Ault discussing the topic of indoor combustion—particularly wood-burning—in super-tight homes. Their bottom line? Don't do it. However, if unavoidable, you'll want to see their presentation, as it explains the finer points of doing it right.

Builder Andy Engel, architect Alexandra Baczek, and Tstud representative Mark Wille join the Brew Crew to discuss the industry's progression from timber framing to balloon framing to platform framing to advanced framing, including related materials.

Steve Baczek, Peter Yost, and Jake Bruton, the hosts of the Unbuild It podcast, take over the BS + Beer Show to impart their building science wisdom with guaranteed shenanigans.

This week we hosted a Book Club discussion of Jacob Racusin's Essential Building Science: Understanding Energy and Moisture in High Performance House Design. The book is aimed at anyone looking to gain a basic understanding of green building principles; the level of information is meant to be comprehensive but approachable.

The Kansas City chapter of BS* + Beer is co-hosting the 2nd Annual Wall Assembly Design Competition for students. Guests Connor Malloy, Joe Cook—both founders of the competition—and Christine Williamson, who is one of the judges, explain how the contest came to be, what it entails, and how the submitted projects will be judged.

How do aesthetics affect building performance? How do performance goals influence design decisions? Three architects—James Hartford, Meri Tepper, and Robert "Bob" Swinburne—join the Brew Crew to discuss their approach to creating good-looking high-performance homes.

This week, the Brew Crew is joined by Kohta Ueno, Ben Bogie, and Doug Horgan. They discuss building sensors and data logging. The conversation centers around two key questions: What should we be measuring? And how should it be measured?

Our last lighting episode was so popular that we wanted to continue the conversation with practical applications in mind. This week features returning guests David Warfel and Jeff Calkins, as well as Ben Parra. We hear about affordable strategies for improving what we are doing with lighting. Suffice to say, it's packed with solid nuggets of information. Types of lighting discussed include disc li...

Join us this week for a discussion of deep-energy retrofits with Jesper Kruse and Anna Heath from Maine Passive House ( mainepassivehouse.com ). They share two projects—one is the Oxbow Brewery, a 200-year-old barn that they turned into a high-performance structure while preserving historic details; the other is Jesper's own home.

This week we are joined by an all-star Fine Homebuilding magazine guest list. Mason Lord, founder of the Connecticut chapter of BS*+ Beer, came up with the idea to celebrate FHB's 40th Anniversary with a look back at the industry, the magazine, and the people who have helmed it.

It's no secret that builders are regularly frustrated with the drawings they are handed. Often there's either not enough or too much information, which leads them to working through the details on their own. Our guests Steve Baczek, Armando Cobo, and Barry Price take a more hands-on approach to their projects. They explain why and share a few common building details in their respective climate zon...

Roof venting is a perennially hot topic in building science, starting with whether a roof should be vented at all and with many fine points to consider depending on climate, assemblies, performance goals and other variables. Martin Holladay, Ben Bogie, and the Brew Crew will delve into the hows, whys and why-nots of roof venting.

The Brew Crew is joined by lighting expert David Warfel and Jeff Calkins for a conversation about energy-efficient lighting options, design strategies and best practices, and how lighting affects occupant health.

Brew Crew is joined by John Siegenthaler, Albie Barden, and Patrick McCombe for a conversation around the idea of heating with wood, which is something of a loaded topic in the green building community. The discussion revolves around making the most efficient use of wood as a fuel source, and because our guests bring to the table such varying approaches to wood heating, this episode has broad appe...

The hosts of The Modern Craftsman Podcast join the Brew Crew to discuss the idea of craftsmanship in conjunction with building science. They will share a bit about their professions and how they have woven building science methods, technologies, and products into their work as craftsmen.

Michael Klement, Amanda Webb and Bob Burnside, the team behind Burh Becc at Beacon Springs Farm, the world's second Living Building Challenge−certified home, give us an in-depth look at the complex project. In this episode, learn about what earning a LBC certification entails and the ways in which the team innovated to meet its stringent requirements.

This week, we thought we'd share the Pretty Good House presentation from the Fine Homebuilding 2020 Summit. Mike Maines walks through a way to use the Pretty Good House concepts to design and build a high-performance home, and architect Bob Swinburne shares a recent project that meets Passive House performance and Pretty Good tenets for the other aspects of high-performance homes.

Learn a bit about The Brew Crew. Michael Maines, Emily Mottram, Travis Brungardt, and Kiley Jacques share their personal and professional backgrounds, explaining their interest in building science, how they landed where they are, and where they hope to go.

Whether or not you've already read Healthy Buildings by Allen and Macomber you're sure to gain some perspective and insight into the role our indoor environmental conditions play in human health and performance. This week we are joined by an excellent panel of guests with backgrounds in writing, sustainability, architecture, energy, materials, passive house and podcasts

Anyone buying/building a new house or doing remodels wants their home to perform as well as possible, but money is always tight. So, what are some things any homeowner can take on when remodeling/building their home to boost their performance but still manage their budget? Guest hosts Nick Burger and Dan Hines join us with a number of their local BS* + Beer members to discuss DIY and Home Performa...