Most build stories get told by the people getting paid to be there. This one comes from the couple who lived in the middle of it, for nine months, with three kids and a dishwasher in the bathroom.

In this episode we're sitting at the finished marble benchtop of Callery Creek House with Zoe and Andrew, the homeowners. It's a rare thing to hear a renovation unpacked from the client's side of the table, and they don't hold back. We cover how a "bit of a tizzy up" turned into a full two storey extension, why an 18 month design process was worth every minute, and what it actually feels like to live on your own building site while it's being built around you.

Zoe brought a long held commitment to sustainable design and passive house principles to the project. Andrew brought a refusal to let her compromise on them. Between the two of them, and an architect willing to design for performance, the brief was set well before a builder was ever engaged. That timing turns out to be one of the biggest lessons of the episode.

We also get into how they chose their builder, what almost sent them in a different direction, and the one thing that ultimately got Callery Building over the line. Spoiler: it wasn't the glossy finished photos.

What you'll learn:

Chapters:

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The code is moving. Slowly. But there's a lot you can do without waiting for it.

Part two with Jess from Climasure picks up where we left off, starting with the state of the NCC and what the next update means for builders. South Australia's energy efficiency pause, the drained and vented cavity change everyone's talking about, and why blower door testing already sits in the code as a verification option that almost nobody uses.

From there, Jess gets practical. If you want to build better but can't overhaul everything on your next job, where do you start? Her answer is a step by step: benchmark with a blower door test, then get serious about membranes and moisture management, then build the team around it. Because a builder pushing high performance without the right client, trades and designer is fighting uphill.

The back half goes into the two rabbit holes Jess is currently down. EMFs, including the moment a monitor reading dropped because the electricity was travelling through her body. And mould, which she calls a silent killer for good reason, with a story from a client whose respiratory problems cleared up only after a leaking shower wall came out.

What you'll learn:

- Where the NCC is heading, and why drained and vented cavities are a game changer for moisture management

Chapters:

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You can't control what you don't measure. And in most homes, no one's measuring anything.

Recorded on site straight after the final blower door test at the Callery Creek House project (4.1 air changes an hour, for the record), this episode brings back one of Build Insite's most popular guests, Jess from Climasure. Third time on the show, and she's brought a whole new rabbit hole with her.

Jess walks us through her path from doing energy efficiency star ratings for the building code, to realising that what gets designed, what gets assessed and what actually gets built can be three very different things. That realisation set off a domino chain: blower door testing, ventilation, Passive House, hygrothermal modelling, and now building biology. We also get into her own podcast, the international guests she's landed, and the internet's very strong opinions about insulating brick cavity walls

Then things get interesting. Jess has just started working in the EMF space, taking radio frequency, electric field and magnetic field readings on a certified Passive House site before the slab was even poured. Plus the everyday stuff most people never think about, like what happens to particulate matter when you fry an egg on a gas cooktop, and why the CO2 in your bedroom is probably sitting at more than double what it should be.

What you'll learn:

Chapters

Host: Luke Callery

🎧 Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

The real test of a building business isn't the boom times. It's how you communicate, hire and hold your ground when things get tight.

In Part 2 of this conversation on the Build Insite Podcast, Dean and Luke continue the chat with Brett Way from VW Building Projects. This time, the focus shifts from heritage craftsmanship to the engine room of running a strong building business through uncertain conditions.

Brett opens up about VW Building's Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) process, how they educate clients on the unknowns that come with heritage homes, and the challenges of navigating council delays in Victoria. He also gets candid about the current pressure on pricing, fuel costs and material escalations, and how transparent conversations with trades, clients and team are more important now than ever.

What You'll Learn:

- Why Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) protects both builder and client

Chapters:

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A heritage facade with an architectural extension is one thing. Conserving Australia's oldest sandstone castle from 1849? That's an entirely different game.

In this episode of the Build Insite Podcast, Dean and Luke sit down with Brett Way, co-founder of VW Building Projects. Brett and his business partner Josh started out as childhood friends turned carpenters, working under the same mentor for nearly a decade before going out on their own. Today, VW Building operates two divisions across Melbourne and the Geelong/Bellarine Peninsula, with a sharp focus on true heritage conservation and high-complexity architectural builds.

Brett walks us through the story behind Corriell, the oldest building on the Bellarine, where his team is undertaking real restoration work on an 1849 sandstone property once owned by the founders of Drysdale and Newcomb. From six metres of underpinning beneath untouched stonework to hand-stencilled fretwork replicas, this is heritage building at its most demanding.

He also opens up about making the sea change to Barwon Heads, splitting roles with his business partner, building culture across two locations, and why VW Building hires the right people first and builds the role around them.

What You'll Learn:

Chapters:

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery 

🎧 Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Every builder has a different DNA. The way you trench plates, wrap a cavity, run your crews. It all changes the price, the program, and the product. So why are most builders still being handed a one-size-fits-all quote?

In Part 2, Dean and Luke continue the conversation with Tom Lawson from Vision 2 Estimating, going deeper into how V2E tailors every model to the way your business actually builds. From pre-model meetings and onboarding through to integrating directly with Buildxact and price book setup, this episode is a behind-the-scenes look at what makes their process tick.

Tom also opens up about where V2E is heading next, including some serious investment in AI tools, a new model viewer release, and plans for an AI chatbot built into the model itself. It wraps with rapid fire questions, plenty of laughs, and a reminder that the builders winning in 2026 are the ones treating estimating like the engine room of the business.

What You'll Learn:

- Why your "Builder's DNA" should drive every estimate, not generic plan notes

Chapters:

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery

🎧 Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Explore more at: https://buildinsite.com.au/

"A builder who doesn't estimate properly in 2026 is going under." Tom Lawson didn't sugarcoat it, and what follows is a masterclass in why the old way of pricing jobs is leaving builders exposed.

This week, Dean and Luke sit down with Tom Lawson from Vision 2 Estimating (V2E), fresh off the Build Insite Hub Launch and Live event at Circa and Bowens in Port Melbourne. Tom flew in from Adelaide to unpack how 3D construction modelling is reshaping the way builders price, plan, and deliver projects.

From his early days bouncing between structural engineering and architecture, to seven years detailing roof trusses at K&B Timber, Tom walks through the path that led him to co-founding V2E with Michael. What started as a "why can't we do this for the whole project?" idea has grown into a 17-modeller team helping builders nationwide resolve plans before they hit site.

If you've ever been buried under conflicting documents, frustrated by square metre rate guesswork, or burned by design issues that only surface mid-build, this one's going to hit home.

**What You'll Learn:**

- Why traditional estimating is setting builders up to redo work twice

**Chapters:**

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery

🎧 Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

 Explore more at: https://buildinsite.com.au/

What if you could find out your dream home was a million dollars over budget before you spent a cent on design fees? That's exactly the problem Saxon Hall set out to solve.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Saxon Hall from Align Architecture, we dig into the part of the build process where most projects quietly start to fall apart: the gap between what a client thinks their project will cost, and what it actually costs to deliver.

Saxon walks us through his fixed-fee Sketch Design Service, a transparent early-stage process that pairs the architect and builder together from day one, presents two schematic options (one budget-focused, one brief-focused), and ends with a pre-build feasibility document that gives clients real numbers before they're locked into months of design fees.

We also get into the bigger picture: why builders and architects still struggle to trust each other, how the industry's old-school teaching shapes that dynamic, and what genuine early contractor involvement actually looks like on a real project.

Saxon also opens up about how Align is rethinking contract administration, getting creative with materials to fight rising costs, and why he believes more transparency in the early stages is the single biggest fix the industry needs right now.

What You'll Learn

How a fixed-fee sketch design process protects clients from spending tens of thousands before knowing if their project is even viable

Why presenting two designs (budget vs brief) is the fastest way to find out what a client actually values

How a pre-build feasibility document breaks down site costs, construction costs and consultant fees into one clear total project investment

Why early builder involvement saves more than money; it saves buildability headaches on site

A smarter alternative to traditional contract administration that cuts admin hours without losing oversight

Practical examples of using materials creatively to reduce waste and keep budgets in check

Chapters

00:00 - Recap and Welcome Back

00:17 - Managing Design Costs from the First Conversation

01:00 - Inside the Sketch Design Service

02:00 - Two Designs: Needs vs Wants vs Reality

03:22 - The Pre-Build Feasibility Document Explained

05:30 - Why Walking Away Early Is a Win, Not a Loss

06:42 - How Builders Can Plug Into the Process

08:00 - Why Clients Still Get Burned (The $1M Story)

11:21 - Trust, Ego and How Architects Are Taught

12:29 - The Real Value of Builder Input in Design

14:55 - Relationships as the Foundation of Every Project

16:07 - Reinventing Contract Administration

19:11 - Getting Creative with Materials and Budget

22:38 - Mentoring the Next Generation of Architects

24:28 - Rapid Fire

26:30 - Wrap Up and Where to Find Saxon

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery Guests: Saxon Hall from Align Architecture

📸 Saxon on Instagram: @saxonhallarchitecture 📸 Align Architecture on Instagram: @align.architecture.au

Listen, Watch & Follow

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Architects get blamed for blowouts. Builders get blamed for misreading plans. But what if the old way of doing things is the actual problem?

In this episode, Dean and Luke sit down with Saxon Hall, Lead Architect at Align Architecture, who made the trek over from Tassie to share how his team is flipping the traditional architect-builder dynamic on its head. From growing up on construction sites in regional Tasmania to leading a six-person team across Hobart and Victoria, Saxon brings a unique perspective shaped by both high-end traditional architecture and hands-on building experience.

We dig into the rise of AI in the design industry, why architecture is more than just a floor plan, and how Align is pushing Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) as a smarter, more transparent way to build. Saxon also shares a behind-the-scenes look at what could be Tasmania's first architecturally designed Passive House Plus project, and why having the right people around the table changes everything.

If you've ever wondered why some projects run smoothly while others spiral into variation hell, this one's for you.

What You'll Learn:

Chapters:

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In this second instalment of the live panel recording, hosts Dean Backman and Luke Callery continue the conversation with Jesse Raeburn (FRP Group), Dale Cheeseman (The Melbourne Builder), and Matt Minichelli (Elevate Building). This time, the focus shifts to the long game: building the right team, navigating growth speed humps, and learning when to say yes (and when to set boundaries).

The panel opens up about what it really takes to find team members who align with your vision, not just your skill requirements. Dale shares his philosophy on looking for loyalty and longevity in hires, while Jesse reflects on the biggest lesson from his first two years in business: communication is everything. Matt gets honest about being mid-transition right now, pulling back from 60-90 hour weeks and trusting his team to step into bigger roles without losing the company's DNA.

Then come the audience questions, and that's where the gold drops. The builders share their proudest business moments, the strategic value of taking jobs at cost for the right opportunity, and the hard-earned wisdom around client boundaries. It wraps with a personal look at what success means to each of them in five years (spoiler: it has very little to do with revenue figures).

What You'll Learn

Chapters

🎧 Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.