The essential skill of value engineering.Lumber continues to be THE big issue in home building. As we write this in May 2021, costs for framing lumber and plywood are three times what they were a year...

From RESNET: "Tim O'Brien was recently recognized by RESNET for achieving a low average HERS score of 49 for a builder completing more than 50 homes, compared to the national average HERS score of 58....

In this episode, Tim O'Brien is joined by Senior Environmental Project Engineer at Kohler, Olivia Fritz, to discuss ways in which Kohler's focus on water conservation and environmental design can cont...

Have you noticed more people you know buying new homes in the last year or so? Well, it’s not just you. With the world beginning to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing industry is still fe...

In this episode, Tim O'Brien is joined by the Program Director of  RESNET, Ryan Meres, to discuss the meaning of The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, and why new home buyers should better under...

The short answer is no, and here's why that's a good thing.Some builders are what one might call ‘order takers.’ They do anything the homeowners want within the constraints of budget, timetable, and z...