R-Value

When it comes to keeping moisture from destroying a home, it's all in the details. That's what Jamie Kaye is focused on. He's a Building Science Practitioner and Healthy Home Professional at Elm Energy Group and he joins us today to discuss how to prevent moisture intrusion and increase energy efficiency at every step of the build process. 

In this podcast...

1:38 - How Jamie became interested in the building science behind mold

3:41 - "The New Big Holes"

10:50 - "You can always improve even a great job."

13:20 - The 3/4" hole that ruined an entire set of stairs

15:40 - Yeti vs. Igloo: the small difference that makes a huge impact

17:30 - Can you ever build a house "too tight"?

22:20 - The top violations and places missed in a build

Various economic pressures are leading businesses to make creative decisions on supply of product and supply of people. How do you balance business realities with customer satisfaction? Today’s guest, Joe Arrigo, has the latest data and strategies to help you navigate these difficult questions.

Joe Arrigo is the President/Owner of Resource Development Partners, a company that provides training, certification, and education for building material manufacturers. Joe specializes in building science education for residential and light commercial builders and trade contractors.

In this podcast...

2:13 - The increased demand for insulation

6:12 - How do you adjust your company in a way that deals with the supply challenge, keeps your people and continues to make money?

12:09 - There’s no scheduling silver bullet BUT there are some best practices

16:16 - Getting creative with scheduling

22:27 - Business in the front, recruitment in the back

26:00 - Looking for talent in every corner of your community

People think starting a business can be hard, but building a business on the other hand can be even more challenging, ESPECIALLY if you don't anticipate simple obstacles that can sink your best-laid plans.That's why business development education is extremely important and why we're talking to one of the best voices in building business education, Joe Arrigo. 

Joe Arrigo is the President/Owner of Resource Development Partners, a company that provides training, certification, and education for building material manufacturers. Joe specializes in building science education for residential and light commercial builders and trade contractors. On today's episode, Joe reveals 5 elements that have the potential to sneak up on your business and turn it upside down.

In this podcast...

3:30 - The crunch of cash flow

10:00 - "In God We Trust, but in all others we bring data."

13:17 - The dark side of inventory management

17:33 - Accurately pricing bids based on market conditions

23:00 - The true cost of onboarding a new employee

26:55 - Why you can't miss on job costing

We’re well into 2022 and a lot has already changed in the building industry, codes, regulations, legislation, and COVID guidance just to name a few. We’ve called in one of the leading experts in insulation, Dr. Joe Lstiburek, to help you understand these changes and prepare your business for the next 3 quarters and beyond. 

Joe Lstiburek is the founding principal of Building Science Corporation. His work ranges widely, from providing expert witness testimony to overseeing research and development projects, to writing for the ASHRAE Journal and buildingscience.com.

Dr. Lstiburek’s commitment to advancing the building industry has had a lasting impact on building codes and practices throughout the world, particularly in the areas of air barriers, vapor barriers, and vented and unvented roof assemblies.

In this podcast...

2:33 - The changes to the 2021 codes and if they will stick

5:00 - Is net zero next?

9:31 - What would the perfect insulation contractor ALWAYS Do?

12:27 - Are we building too tight?

15:59 - If you stop putting in bad stuff, you won’t have bad things happen to your house

18:03 - The new bad habit: over-ventilation

21:56 - Where are the biggest opportunities for retrofits?

26:19 - How important is sealing the rim joists?

31:34 - How will Build Back Better affect the industry?

34:51 - Current suggestions for COVID mitigation could kill houses

It’s not just your phone, technology is improving rapidly in every facet of our lives including the tools we use to get the job done. Today we pay special attention to one of the most vital and complex pieces of your operation, the spray foam rig. 

Our guest this week is Nick Pagano, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Graco’s Contractor Equipment Division. Nick has been in the spray foam industry for over 20 years With focus on spray foam and polyurea equipment. He’s now in product line management, new product development, and new business development. Nick has served on boards of both the SPFA and the Spray Foam Coalition.

He’s here to discuss the latest and greatest from Graco, the Reactor 3 Spray Foam System. Reactor 3 pairs revolutionary hardware improvements with software that reduces maintenance costs and helps you to ensure the quality of your projects. 

Interested in the new Reactor 3? Reach out to your local IDI branch today!

In this podcast...

1:54 - When do you know it’s time to upgrade your equipment?

3:13 - How Graco gets feedback from contractors that shapes new solutions

7:28 - How Reactor 3 makes it easier to find the person to run your rig every day

10:52 - How many engineers does it take to make a revolutionary new product

12:20 - How Reactor 3 completely re-thinks every aspect of the spray foam system

14:30 - Instead of constantly fixing hose cables…what if we got rid of the cables all together?

17:07 - Putting Graco’s products to the test

20:00 - What are the differences between the Standard, Pro and Elite models of Reactor 3?

24:15 - Revolutionizing a constant source of problems: the drum pumps

28:00 - A hose made for the all-day contractor

31:25 - A pump system that actually reduced maintenance costs

34:12 - How Graco’s new software can monitor your system AND the product coming out of the gun

It's the Super Bowl of spray foam conventions, SprayFoam 2022, and it's live and in-person this February. Today we're talking to the man who is helping to put it all together, Rick Duncan. He is the Executive Director of the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA), the industry’s leading organization representing contractors, material and equipment manufacturers, distributors, and industry consultants.

Rick is here to tell us about the exciting updates from SPFA and the SprayFoam 2022 convention in San Antonio, Texas on February 28th. The convention will include many exciting opportunities for training, new technologies, and even a huge giveaway. Also, don’t forget to check out IDI Distributors at booth 417 during this year’s SprayFoam 2022 convention! Our booth will feature hourly demonstrations of our new bidding software, BIDIT, as well as have brand new products on display and much more!

In this podcast...

1:41 - The exciting new innovations on the SPFA website

4:00 - The wealth of knowledge in the SPFA Document Library

7:00 - The SPFA SprayFoam 2022 Conference and Expo is ON in San Antonio and full of amazing opportunities for contractors

10:34 - The SPFA SprayFoam 2022 Conference and Expo breakout sessions, industry excellence awards, and show attendance

11:34 - Is there a rig being given away at this year's convention??!

There's an adage in writing for the stage and screen: show, don't tell. That's an adage that has led to big business for our guest today, DeWitt Driscoll of Positive Energy Consultants. He's taking on the hardest jobs and using cutting-edge technology to make sure customers understand what they need and how he can help.

In this episode...

1:10 - Building performance is a family affair in the Driscoll household

4:40 - Multiple ways to use sensors to give customers power, earn their trust and ensure the long term success of your install

11:05 - Getting active with a "passive house"

14:07 - Taking on the hard jobs

We have news from the capital city, Washington D.C. that can help you keep more of your capital. Host, Ken Allison, speaks with Kara Saul Rinaldi, the President and CEO of the AnnDyl Policy Group, LLC, a clean energy policy group that works on the federal and state level. Her organization is a driving force behind the Hope for Homes legislation, a bill that would fund training for work on clean energy improvements including insulation, air sealing, and other building performance enhancements.

In this episode...

3:41 - Hope For Homes Act explained in-depth

6:17 - How will the Hopes For Homes Act become a reality?

10:15 - How rebates could play a factor in retrofit jobs at every income level

12:02 - Other legislation that could impact your business soon

14:12 - How contractors can be part of the solution

This one goes out to all the women out there breaking down glass ceilings and insulating buildings. We're discussing women in the insulation industry with four of the brightest minds at IDI distributors and the entire industry; Rachel Perry, Commercial Sales Specialist, Daja Oliver, a Branch Manager in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jessica the Attic Queen out of Tampa, Florida and Chelsea Whitley, SPFE Product and Solutions Manager in Atlanta, Georgia. Each of these industry experts share their unique experiences entering a traditionally male-dominated industry and how they feel like women have changed it for the better. 

2:49 - "I feel like a mama bear to some of these guys."

4:10 - How the Attic Queen claimed her throne

10:58 - "They knew I was organizing, knew I was going to be truthful and honest. And I care. That was the biggest thing when they knew I cared."

13:38 - Managing the organized chaos for your customers

17:38 - Is this a viable career path for college-educated women?

20:00 - Fighting imposter syndrome

22:48 - The social media advantage

27:44 - "If a woman truly understands the building science behind things, and...loves challenges and loves working out...you can do this job."

Bryon Adamczyk, President of AI Building Products, knows what it takes to hire, train and manage multiple teams of contractors. In this episode, he shares his no-nonsense insights into obtaining, retaining and training talent that will save your business money and reputation. 

AI Building Products was founded in 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida and has been providing service excellence in Fort Myers and South West Florida ever since.

In this episode...

• 2:00 - Hiring multiple crews and avoiding the "Gypsy Effect"