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#13: Why Buildings Still Fail (And What To Do About It) — Dr. John Straube
Despite decades of knowledge, buildings continue to fail for many of the same predictable reasons. Why? In this episode, Matt Copeland sits down with world-renowned building science expert Dr. John Straube to explore why gaps in knowledge about high performance construction still remain—and how we can fix it.
From air barriers vs. vapor barriers to the myth of industry-wide know-how, this conversation peels back the layers on why "better buildings" still aren't the norm.
Whether you’re a builder, architect, engineer, or just a curious problem-solver, this episode will change how you think about construction, education, and the future of the built environment.
🔍 In This Episode
Why sub-sill flashing still isn’t standard practice in 2025
The "grade school" gap in building science knowledge
How conferences create echo chambers
Dr. Straube’s 12-step plan to fix the industry (Step 1: Admit we have a problem)
Why bad buildings rarely get talked about—and why that’s a huge problem
The misunderstood role of air barriers vs. vapor barriers
Why architects don’t want to delegate enclosure design—and why that matters
The real reason prefabrication keeps cycling in and out of fashion
- Why education—not tech—is the real silver bullet
🧠 Notable Quotes
- “We haven't even got past the grade school level of building science.” — Dr. John Straube
- “When I first entered this industry, it was presumed by engineers and architects that most of the problems that were experienced were because of workmanship. And the more I've worked on forensic investigations and failures, the more predominant the proportion of failure I attribute to design.” — Dr. John Straube
📚 Resources & Mentions
- RDH Building Science
- Building Knowledge Canada Spring Training
🎧 Listen If You...
are tired of seeing the same mistakes on every job site
want to know why building failures happen—and how to prevent them
are looking for practical insight from one of the industry’s leading educators and practitioners
are passionate about improving the AEC industry
👋 Connect with Us
- Matt Copeland — CopelandBEC.com | LinkedIn
- Dr. John Straube — University of Waterloo | RDH Building Science | LinkedIn
Please subscribe, rate, and share if you got something out of this conversation—we’re building a smarter industry, one episode at a time.
John Staube Bio
John Straube, Ph.D., P.Eng., is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, where he is cross-appointed between the School of Architecture and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is the author or co-author of over 100 published technical papers, author of the book High Performance Enclosures and co-author, with Eric Burnett, of Building Science for Building Enclosures.
Dr. Straube’s leadership as a building scientist and an educator has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award in Building Science Education from the National Consortium of Housing Research Centers (NCHRC). As a Principal at RDH Building Science and RDH Building Science Labs, he conducts forensic investigations, assists the design of new high performance buildings, and leads research projects in the areas of low-energy building design, building enclosure performance, hygrothermal analysis, and field performance monitoring.
He has been involved in the development of dozens of new building products, and sat on several product standards committees.
🔗 Keywords
Building science podcast, John Straube interview, air barrier vs vapor barrier, building envelope design, building failures, building science education, why buildings fail, architectural detailing, sub-sill flashing, building performance, construction knowledge gap, building science for architects, enclosure consulting, offsite construction, prefab risks, Matt Copeland podcast
View all episodes
By Matt Copeland
5
22 ratings
Despite decades of knowledge, buildings continue to fail for many of the same predictable reasons. Why? In this episode, Matt Copeland sits down with world-renowned building science expert Dr. John Straube to explore why gaps in knowledge about high performance construction still remain—and how we can fix it.
From air barriers vs. vapor barriers to the myth of industry-wide know-how, this conversation peels back the layers on why "better buildings" still aren't the norm.
Whether you’re a builder, architect, engineer, or just a curious problem-solver, this episode will change how you think about construction, education, and the future of the built environment.
🔍 In This Episode
Why sub-sill flashing still isn’t standard practice in 2025
The "grade school" gap in building science knowledge
How conferences create echo chambers
Dr. Straube’s 12-step plan to fix the industry (Step 1: Admit we have a problem)
Why bad buildings rarely get talked about—and why that’s a huge problem
The misunderstood role of air barriers vs. vapor barriers
Why architects don’t want to delegate enclosure design—and why that matters
The real reason prefabrication keeps cycling in and out of fashion
- Why education—not tech—is the real silver bullet
🧠 Notable Quotes
- “We haven't even got past the grade school level of building science.” — Dr. John Straube
- “When I first entered this industry, it was presumed by engineers and architects that most of the problems that were experienced were because of workmanship. And the more I've worked on forensic investigations and failures, the more predominant the proportion of failure I attribute to design.” — Dr. John Straube
📚 Resources & Mentions
- RDH Building Science
- Building Knowledge Canada Spring Training
🎧 Listen If You...
are tired of seeing the same mistakes on every job site
want to know why building failures happen—and how to prevent them
are looking for practical insight from one of the industry’s leading educators and practitioners
are passionate about improving the AEC industry
👋 Connect with Us
- Matt Copeland — CopelandBEC.com | LinkedIn
- Dr. John Straube — University of Waterloo | RDH Building Science | LinkedIn
Please subscribe, rate, and share if you got something out of this conversation—we’re building a smarter industry, one episode at a time.
John Staube Bio
John Straube, Ph.D., P.Eng., is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, where he is cross-appointed between the School of Architecture and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is the author or co-author of over 100 published technical papers, author of the book High Performance Enclosures and co-author, with Eric Burnett, of Building Science for Building Enclosures.
Dr. Straube’s leadership as a building scientist and an educator has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award in Building Science Education from the National Consortium of Housing Research Centers (NCHRC). As a Principal at RDH Building Science and RDH Building Science Labs, he conducts forensic investigations, assists the design of new high performance buildings, and leads research projects in the areas of low-energy building design, building enclosure performance, hygrothermal analysis, and field performance monitoring.
He has been involved in the development of dozens of new building products, and sat on several product standards committees.
🔗 Keywords
Building science podcast, John Straube interview, air barrier vs vapor barrier, building envelope design, building failures, building science education, why buildings fail, architectural detailing, sub-sill flashing, building performance, construction knowledge gap, building science for architects, enclosure consulting, offsite construction, prefab risks, Matt Copeland podcast