The Build Insite Podcast

Part two, and this time the house is finished, sited and lived in.

An hour out of Christchurch at Springfield, Luke and Dean walk through a 70 square metre Whio Homes build with James and Leesa Anderson. It's an adaptation of their Piwakawaka design, delivered on the back of a truck just before Christmas and livable within four days of landing.

Full Foreverbreathe spec: Terra Lana wool insulation, Magnum Board inside and out, LVL framing, a Knightons plantation eucalypt floor and thermally modified radiata cladding and decking. James explains why every fixing in the build is stainless, how a proprietary bracing panel keeps an engineer off the job, and why they stopped trying to make Magnum Board look like plasterboard and made a feature of the joins instead.

Then the numbers. Energy modelling put a Foreverbreathe three bedroom at 25 per cent less power to heat than a standard build, and overheating at 0.1 per cent of the year against 8 per cent. One small split system does the whole house. James makes the case for why this isn't Passive House: no mechanical ventilation, no chasing airtightness, natural materials doing the work instead.

What you'll learn:
- Why every nail, screw and fixing in the build is stainless
- How a finished house gets routed and trucked across the South Island at night
- What 70 square metres actually gets you, and why it isn't a tiny home
- Why they stopped fighting Magnum Board and made the joins a feature
- The energy modelling numbers behind a Foreverbreathe home
- Why Foreverbreathe doesn't chase airtightness the way Passive House does

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:20 - Springfield, an hour out of Christchurch
00:34 - A 70 square metre Piwakawaka adaptation
00:54 - Foreverbreathe spec and a Knightons eucalypt floor
01:24 - The attic space
01:38 - Terra Lana, Magnum Board and LVL
01:57 - Thermally modified decking02:20 - Delivered before Christmas on the back of a truck
02:41 - Moving houses at night and planning the route
03:46 - Getting a house to the West Coast
04:30 - Walking the house
04:51 - Gable vents and a roof space humidity vent
05:31 - Warm roof against cold roof
06:11 - The deck, the view and the client
06:45 - Ten to twelve weeks, and livable in four days
07:15 - Designing to the top of the snow load
08:26 - Why every fixing is stainless
09:47 - This is not a tiny home
10:56 - Thermally broken aluminium windows
11:09 - Bracing a big opening without an engineer
12:11 - Oil finishes against polyurethane
13:46 - Magnum Board floors, tiles and adhesives
15:00 - The V groove, and not fighting the product
17:32 - Attic storage in a small house
17:50 - What you get in 70 square metres
18:56 - A log burner for the power cuts
19:37 - Solar fitted at the yard
21:00 - When off grid beats a power connection
21:49 - One small split system for the whole house
22:06 - Full height doors
23:20 - Front doors and uPVC
24:55 - Foreverbreathe against Passive House
26:04 - The energy modelling numbers
27:14 - Why they don't chase airtightness
28:50 - Carbon, off cuts and end of life
30:46 - Wool insulation and the people installing it
31:58 - The bedrooms and the bathroom
32:40 - Hot water cylinders, inside or out
33:44 - Underfloor heating on a timber floor
38:05 - Scissor trusses and playing with volume
38:48 - Where to find Whio Homes
39:40 - What a whio actually is

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery
Guests: James and Leesa Anderson from Whio Homes

Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Explore more at: https://buildinsite.com.au/
Follow us on Instagram: @build.insite

Day two of our New Zealand road trip, and this time the build site is under a canopy.

Luke and Dean head out to Whio Homes in Christchurch, made possible by McCormacks Australia. James and Leesa Anderson build high performance modular and transportable homes out of a 100 foot container barn, and every one of them goes to the Foreverbreathe specification.

They walk us through why they detail their own frames, how a finished house gets jacked up and trucked out over the fence, and how a team of five staff turns out 12 to 15 homes a year with room to more than double that on a second shift. James makes the case against building to code minimum, and explains why sealing homes up airtight has trapped the off-gassing from petrochemical products inside with the people living there.

Then it's into the detail: LVL framing, Magnum Board as the rigid air barrier, Terra Lana wool insulation, clay-based paint, wool carpets, thermally modified cladding, and the jump in cost from aluminium to uPVC to timber windows. Leesa finishes on one of their biggest challenges: convincing clients that bigger isn't better.

What you'll learn:

- Why a canopy and shipping containers can do the job of a multi-million dollar factory
- How a house leaves the yard fully finished and ready to connect on site
- What goes into a Foreverbreathe wall, floor and ceiling
- Why code minimum is the bare minimum, not the cost-effective option
- Why the window frame matters as much as the double glazing
- Why a smaller, better-performing home can be the better investment

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:42 - Day two in New Zealand: Whio Homes
01:00 - Inside the 100 foot container barn
01:24 - Detailing frames for a vertical sheet install
02:16 - Build height, transport and getting the house out
03:18 - Turnaround time and locking in selections early
04:21 - Why code minimum is the bare minimum
05:00 - Airtight homes and trapped off-gassing
05:39 - The Foreverbreathe materials list
07:19 - The dry bathroom from day one
07:53 - A small team and managing growth
08:41 - 12 to 15 homes a year, and scaling up
09:25 - Why a barn beats a multi-million dollar factory
11:02 - Piles, transport and setting the house on site
12:43 - Fully finished before it leaves the yard
13:23 - Delivered Tuesday, moved in by the weekend
14:04 - Second dwellings and granny flat enquiries
15:13 - Log burners and heating in the South Island
16:27 - Magnum Board, silica and finishes
18:04 - Cladding options
21:01 - Windows: aluminium, uPVC and timber
23:34 - Why bigger isn't better
25:03 - Floor plans and designing with the client
26:42 - Wrap up

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery
Guests: James and Leesa Anderson from Whio Homes

Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Explore more at: https://buildinsite.com.au/
Follow us on Instagram: @build.insite

A running shower, no fan, and a mirror that won't fog up. That's when the ForeverBreathe system stops being theory.

We're still in Christchurch with Kelly and Andrew from Premium Homes for part two of our New Zealand road trip, made possible by McCormacks Australia. If you missed part one, go back and listen to that first.

This time the conversation moves from the wall build-up to what it's actually like to live and work with the system. Kelly and Andrew unpack where the ForeverBreathe specification came from, why HealthBased Building owning it takes risk off the designer, and what the air quality monitors in their homes are picking up. A box of door handles, a courier bag, a bench being wiped down: all of it sends TVOC readings spiking, which raises the question of why we keep building with those materials in the first place.

There's also an honest look at the hard part: getting plasterers and painters to follow a process that's slower and less forgiving than gypsum and acrylic, and why they now certify trades before letting them near the product. Plus the bathroom demo, the carbon numbers, and the answer to the question everyone asks: what does it cost?

What you'll learn:
- Why a tested specification shifts risk away from the designer and builder
- What everyday items are doing to the air inside your home, and why Green Star and Homestar don't measure it
- How to get trades on board with a product that won't tolerate shortcuts
- Why a ForeverBreathe bathroom stays warm and dry without the fan running
- How Magnum board and wool insulation keep pulling carbon for years after handover
- The real cost premium over minimum code, and where the payback comes from

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:21 - Where the ForeverBreathe specification came from
01:44 - Performing homes vs healthy homes
02:33 - Live air quality readings inside the home
03:45 - Off-gassing paint and the four-week sore eyes
04:42 - Door handles, courier bags and TVOC spikes
06:05 - Why Green Star and Homestar don't test for this
07:25 - Getting plasterers and painters to follow the process
09:20 - Why trades need certification to work with the system
11:50 - Keeping installation in-house
12:28 - The bathroom test: no humidity, no fogged mirror
16:05 - Why the bathroom is never the cold room
17:13 - Free heat from moisture: 1.4 watts per square metre
18:38 - Homes that keep sequestering carbon after handover
20:40 - What does a ForeverBreathe home cost?
21:53 - Life away from the tools
22:45 - Advice for young builders and apprentices
24:35 - What's next for Premium Homes
25:46 - Wrap up

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery
Guests: Kelly and Andrew from Premium Homes NZ

🎧 Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
 Explore more at: https://buildinsite.com.au/
📸 Follow us on Instagram: @build.insite

First time the Build Insite Podcast has left Australian soil. And we've landed in Christchurch for a good reason.

This one's a special episode. Luke and Dean have packed the mics and headed across the ditch for a New Zealand road trip, made possible by McCormacks Australia. Huge shout out to Glenn and the McCormacks team for getting us over here. We're recording inside the Premium Homes display home in Christchurch, and a lot of the products you'll hear about are already available in Australia through McCormacks.

Our guests are Kelly and Andrew, school mates turned business partners who started Premium Homes nearly 20 years ago after Kelly, a sparky by trade, got sick of wiring houses that weren't plumb or square. They walk us through what the Christchurch earthquakes did to the local industry, how New Zealand's leaky home crisis unfolded, and why the push for airtight homes is setting up the next round of problems: sweaty walls, hidden mould and what the Americans have called sick building syndrome for two decades.

Then it's into the ForeverBreathe system itself. Magnum board inside and out, wool insulation in the middle, breathable paint, and no vapour barrier at all. It goes against everything most builders were taught, but the numbers on moisture handling, R value stability and energy performance are hard to argue with.

What you'll learn:
- Why individually approved products can still fail as a system
- How wool insulation holds moisture without losing its R value, and why fibreglass doesn't
- What Magnum board does that plasterboard and building wrap can't
- Why a breathable wall keeps timber drier than a sealed one
- Who carries the risk when a designer specifies a wall build-up, and how a tested specification changes that

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:33 - Build Insite lands in Christchurch
01:26 - Meet Kelly and Andrew from Premium Homes
02:42 - How the Christchurch earthquakes changed construction
03:56 - Approved products, untested systems
05:37 - What caused New Zealand's leaky home crisis
07:38 - Sweaty homes, mould and sick building syndrome
09:36 - Inside the ForeverBreathe wall system
11:07 - Wool insulation vs fibreglass: moisture and R value
14:05 - Letting moisture move through the wall
16:16 - Why there's no building wrap
17:28 - Putting Magnum board to the test
18:50 - Where's the education on moisture and mould?
20:26 - Getting designers and builders to change
21:58 - Who owns the risk in a wall specification
23:08 - Wrap up

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery
Guests: Kelly and Andrew from Premium Homes NZ

🎧 Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
 Explore more at: https://buildinsite.com.au/
📸 Follow us on Instagram: @build.insite

Two years out of his time and Jake's already running boys on site. Matt reckons the trick isn't finding good tradies, it's giving them a reason to stay.

Part 2 with Matt and Jake from MS Constructions picks up on what happens after the apprenticeship ends. Jake talks about stepping into project management, learning the construction manager's side of the job, and copping the odd older tradie who walks straight past him to talk to someone who looks the part.

Matt gets into the systems side of the business. He's brought WonderBuild and AI into MS Constructions with help from Adam at WonderOps, and his crew are now running site diaries, photos and timesheets from their phones. His reasoning is simple: automate the background so the office team can spend more actual time with clients.

There's also a solid stretch on why builders need to stop hiding. Matt's built a network of builders around Australia he can ring about anything, and both he and the hosts make the case that asking the same question to a different person is often what finally makes it click.

What You'll Learn
- What the first few years after qualifying actually look like on site
- How incentive structures can keep good carpenters in your business
- Why upskilling your trades matters as much as upskilling your own team
- How site diaries, photos and AI are changing rural building operations
- Why Matt says business coaching changed his business tenfold
- What both blokes would tell someone thinking about picking up the tools

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction
00:18 – Life After the Apprenticeship
01:33 – Earning Respect as a Young Leader on Site
02:22 – Incentives and Keeping Good People
02:53 – Building Team Culture Outside of Work
03:51 – The Four Hour Drive and What It Says About Education
05:13 – Upskilling Your Trades, Not Just Your Carpenters
05:51 – AI, WonderBuild and Site Systems
08:28 – How WonderOps Helped Matt Get Started
09:35 – Knowing Your Strengths and Asking for Help
10:46 – Why You Should Ask the Same Question Twice
12:24 – Life Outside the Business
13:52 – The Changes Exciting Them Most Right Now
14:31 – Advice for Anyone Starting Out
15:38 – Where to Find MS Constructions

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery
Guests: Matt & Jake  from MS Constructions

🎧 Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
🌐 Explore more at: https://buildinsite.com.au/
📸 Follow us on Instagram: @build.insite