Structure Talk

Christine Williamson, building scientist and the person behind Building Science Fight Club, joins the show to talk about the different ways to integrate new knowledge into building durable and efficient structures and designs with the help of building science. She also discusses how this is a tool to solve specific problems and what those problems are.

The show starts off with Christine explaining what Building Science is and how it is a little bit more complicated than other sciences. She explains how it specializes in the layers that separate the inside from the outside, and how those layers ought to be arranged to get the best out of any buildings built. She also shares how she got into this and how her father, Joseph Lstiburek, taught and mentored her throughout her career.

Tessa shares how her interest in houses led her into building science as well. She explains how her thought of becoming an architect accidentally fell into becoming a building scientist. She shares how she re-evaluated her decision and how her mind was opened into the fascinating world of science that looks at the systems of buildings and designs so that there will be no failures, to have more energy efficiency, durability, and occupant’s health, safety, and comfort.

Reuben asks Christine about the name “ Building Science Fight Club.” He also introduces Christine as a member and former chair of the ASHRAE Technical Committee on Moisture Management in Buildings, and asks the following questions:

• What types of houses would you never buy?
  
• Why would you prefer buying an old house?
  
• Why do we build some of the buildings the way that we do?
  
• Why design a roof that funnels water to the front door? Or up against a wall or a window?
  
• What percentage of houses are actually designed by an architect?
  

Lastly, Bill explains the role of home inspectors. He says that they are to give the buyers the tools that they need to make an intelligent decision and not to tell them to buy it, He says that these tools will make them decide what’s good for them just like a framework to think through.

For this episode, we will be learning different ways to add value to our homes with home improvement tips from the gang through some of the projects that they’ve been working on.

The show starts off with Bill sharing his experience on how he tried to fix his house on his own in the past and how he shifted from fixing it by himself to letting the experts do it. Tessa then talks about how important it is to do things right so that you don’t make your house worse.

Then, Reuben describes what a solar tube is and how he installed it in one of the darkest rooms in his house. Tessa then states the PROs of having solar tubes in one’s house and the CONs or potential problems if it is not installed properly. Reuben also shares his experience in replacing his old water heater with a power vent water heater.

Tessa then shares different air sealing options for attic trusses and how to properly control the air layers and prevent leakage. Also, she shares her knowledge on how to prevent thermal bridging by putting a little sleeper in-between the foam layer and the roof deck. She mentions Pat Huelman’s research entitled “Project Overcoat: An Exploration of Exterior Insulation Strategies For One-and-a-half Story Roof Applications in Cold Climates” which she considers as a robust system. She discusses a little bit about this program which is called “Building America” which is funded by the US Department of Energy, researchers working towards improving the energy efficiency of our housing stock.

Michael Conrad II, the CEO of Diligent, a Home Inspection and Environmental Testing company in Nashville, joins the show to talk about how home inspections have evolved over the years.

The show starts off with Michael explaining how the company began, and how it grew into a trifecta of home inspections, energy auditing, and environmental testing. He shares about leadership development, the common care for employees, creating stability, and giving people the life that they want. He talks about his purpose which is to educate and help as many people that touch his sphere. He loves learning and helping people learn about how the business works. He also shares how the business is doing, especially during the pandemic, and digs into things he is working on for 2021.

Tessa shares a tool called the ACUMAX, by BERGflow, which offers some great training on how to build a business, hire, and how to onboard. She also discusses how ACUMAX is helping Structure Tech.

Reuben discusses hiring the right person, and how this is such a huge thing for the growth of a company. He also shares how he wanted to gush with everyone and tell them about the training he and Tessa went through this year with Pivot-Ready Teams.

This podcast was recorded in the studio in mid-February of 2020, pre-covid. We brought on a special guest for this episode, residential Realtor® Michael Bartus of Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty. The topic was buying a house in the winter, and how to deal with a roof that’s covered in snow, because of course, it can’t be inspected. The weather warmed up before we had a chance to post this podcast, so we’ve kept it on ice until now.

Now that the Minnesota winter snow is likely here to stay for a few months, it’s a good time to tackle this topic. The show starts off with Michael sharing a little bit about himself, and Michael shares all of his industry tips and tricks for negotiating a purchase of a home when the roof can’t be inspected.

Michael digs into the seller’s disclosure, inspection permits, and receipts from contractors. Michael also digs into some other tips and tricks that he uses to help his clients get exactly what they’re looking for when they’re buying a home during the winter. Michael explains how he has learned a lot over the years from his mistakes, and the rest of the gang relates.

Reuben also discusses what steps home inspectors can take, even when a roof is completely snow-covered, to help try to sniff out potential problems.

Since we are nearing the end of the year, today’s episode is a little bit of a recap about what the year was like here at Structure Tech.

The show starts off with the gang expressing their appreciation and gratefulness that in spite of how challenging the year was, the business is still running and everyone is busy. Then, they bring up all the changes that took place in the company.

The owner and founder of Complete Building Solutions, Robert Vassallo, joins the show to talk about his expertise as a structural engineering consultant.

The show starts off with Rob explaining about his company and what they do to find problems and how to solve them. He then answers some specific questions:

• What’s the most common problem in attics that leads to ice dams?
  
• How was sealing an attic bypass required?
  
• What do you do for ventilation in the attic?
  
• What’s a dead vent?
  
• When would you recommend turbine vents?
  
• What kind of expense are you adding to the job cost when you design a project through your engineering company and pass it through the contractors? How about doing the engineering and setting it up so the contractors know the scope of work?
  
• Why does it take nine months to build a normal home?
  
• Why is taking the moisture out of the lumber inside a newly built home before it’s closed up so important?
  
• How would you describe settlement cracks?
  
• Would you recommend a vapor barrier paint in a humid climate?
  
• What’s the average cost when you’re going out to a house to check out a problem for a homeowner?
  

Nate Ericson with Omega Force Appliance Repair joins the show to talk about appliance issues. This episode was brought up because of how appliances make up a disproportionate number of complaints with home inspections.

The show starts off with Nate sharing how he got into the business and what sort of training programs exist for this field. He then answers some frequently asked questions:

What appliances fail the most often?

Why do dryers make clunky noises? What causes ventilation issues with dryers? What do homeowners need to do to prevent this?

Why do front-loading washers stink?

Do refrigerators always break down, too? What are the causes of refrigerators and freezers which are not cooling the way they should be?

What is the average lifespan for a front load washer versus a top load washer, and old versus new?

What do you think about appliance warranties that can be purchased from the gas company?

Are warranties a scam?

What about dishwashers, what’s their average life expectancy, and what goes wrong?

For today’s episode, we have John Williamson, Operations Supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, join Structure Talk for a second podcast on electrical updates.

The show starts off with John talking about the recent adoption process for the 2020 National Electrical Code. The following topics are covered, among other things:

• How NFPA matters to the NEC?
  
• Why does the code about GFCI protection not include outdoor lights?
  
• Who are these people submitting proposals or public inputs to have the code changed?
  
• Are we making things safer or more dangerous with these code updates?
  
• How big of a deal is it buying a house that has a live knob-and-tube wiring in it?
  

In this episode, the team talks about home inspection ethics. This was brought up because Bill got a call from somebody in the company who had a question about doing business with a real estate agent who was hoping that we would support their business with monthly financial contributions. And that raised the question, “Is that ethical?”

The show starts with Reuben saying that inspectors should avoid conflicts of interests or activities that compromise or appear to compromise professional independence, objectivity, or inspection integrity. He also shared his thoughts when somebody says, “we’d like to pay to play.” Then the team talks about the codes of ethics as an ASHI member and answers some questions:

Does getting referrals from an office or a real estate agent because of supporting them on a monthly basis compromise professional independence?

What can you say about inspectors building relationships with real estate agents by bringing some food, doughnuts, or providing lunch for them?

Is there an ethical question when we recommend to a client to do another test or service that also benefits our business, and we’re referring them to use us?

Is it ethical to self-refer your company’s services?

Who looks out for the customer when they’re unknowledgeable to the inner workings of a service that they are purchasing?

The owner of Eco Shaylee, Shaylee Oleson, joins the show to talk about how important environmental testing is. She talks about Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), and anything that would make a person sick in their homes, workplace, and even in commercial buildings.

The show starts off with Shaylee explaining about her company and its background. She then answers some specific questions:

          What is Building Biology?

          Where do we get Certification Courses for Building Biology in the US? Who does the certification?

          What is VOC? What is EMF? How do these affect us?

          What is low VOC insulation?

          How do you feel about electric blankets and grounded sheets?

          How often do you do EMF testing?

          Should we be concerned about overhead power lines, too?

          What is the Blue smoke theory?