Building Consensus

It’s always good to listen before you speak, learn what you can from others and maintain humility as we move through the world. That said, can you defer too much or spend too much time communicating praise of others when you should be positioning yourself as the valued expert? Sometimes we need a confident take-charge general in pursuit of productivity.

Are we able to turn trade partners loose on are clients homes based purely on their track record of charging fairly or do we need that quote in writing first? It stinks to have to do all the admin and front end confirmation but it’s the only way to protect ourselves and our clients - except when it isn’t.

On the Building Consensus Podcast, Travis Brungardt and Brandon Jones open with a nod to longtime sponsor Huber Engineered Woods, reflecting on field experience with products like ZIP System sheathing and AdvanTech subflooring, and why performance and durability matter on real job sites. They’re joined by framer Wolfgang Clapper to discuss the transition from trade contractor to general contractor. The conversation covers contractor licensing, pulling permits, and navigating municipal requirements, along with structuring proposals, defining scope of work, and choosing between cost-plus and lump-sum contracts. They also examine subcontractor relationships and the operational shift from hands-on construction to managing risk, budgets, and business systems.

When Brett Rindt reached out with number of questions about the proper Building Science approach to employ at his home renovation in Golden, Colorado we thought that his questions could be answered to broader benefit. It’s a Building Consensus strategic advisory for Brett’s WUI zone deep energy retrofit that allows air sealing and insulating from the outside in!

The fellas decide what from 2025 should be left behind and what change they will push for in 2026. From celebrating growth to making some strategic contractions, new materials that worked great or hard lessons learned that will now never be repeated, this is your end of your Building Consensus wrap up.

While it’s frustrating to be mistaken it absolutely maddening to be right when you think “this is going to be a problem”. Finding a way to work with a subcontractor who you knew was going to be a problem seems like an unfair burden to bear but perhaps we have only ourselves to blame.

Many view the Passive House building standard as the pinnacle of high performance building but so often that view gets tied to specific products. While some make it easier than others, the technique is really the key so we discuss that with self-performer Jeremiah Sommer. Wether you certify with PHIUS or just build a Pretty Good House the strategies make all the difference.