UnBuild It Podcast

Do high-performance homes have to be expensive? Steve and Jake tackle one of the most persistent misconceptions in building science: that better-performing homes are only practical for wealthy clients with luxury-home budgets.
Yes, Steve and Jake work on plenty of high-end custom homes. But the price of those projects shouldn't be confused with the cost of applying good building science. Better water management, airtightness, insulation, durability, comfort, and energy performance aren't inherently luxury features—and many of the principles behind them can be applied across a wide range of budgets.
The conversation gets into where the real costs of high-performance construction come from, how builders and architects can prioritize decisions that deliver meaningful value, and why better performance doesn't require throwing expensive products at every part of a building.
With Pete absent this week, Jake also gives Steve some room to respond to the social-media criticism they receive about designing and building for wealthy clients. Fair warning: the conversation gets a little spicy.
Ultimately, the question isn't simply how much more a high-performance home costs. It's where the money is being spent, what the client gets in return, and how building-science principles can deliver better performance without turning every project into an unconstrained luxury build.
PETE'S RESOURCES:
WolfWorks - How Much Does High Performance Cost?
PNNL - Literature Review of Data on the Incremental Costs to Design and Build Low-Energy Buildings
GBA (PRIME) - Achieving Affordable High-Performance Homes

R-value is only part of the story. In the final episode of the Back to Basics series, Steve, Jake, and Pete tackle the thermal control layer—and why good insulation means very little if the rest of the building enclosure isn't working with it.
The boys break down heat flow, insulation, thermal bridging, and the importance of maintaining a continuous thermal control layer throughout the building. As with water, air, and vapor, continuity matters: transitions, penetrations, framing, windows, doors, and other interruptions can undermine an otherwise well-insulated assembly.
But thermal performance isn't simply about chasing higher R-values. The conversation gets into making intelligent decisions about where insulation belongs, how different materials and assemblies actually perform, and why the thermal layer has to be considered as part of the whole building rather than as an isolated specification.
And that brings the four-part series full circle. Control liquid water first. Control air movement. Understand vapor and drying potential. Then manage heat flow. The best-performing buildings come from getting all four control layers continuous—and getting them to work together.
This is Part 4 of the Back to Basics series covering the four fundamental building control layers: Water, Air, Vapor, and Thermal.
PETE'S RESOURCES:
BSC - Thermal Control: Insulation & Thermal Bridges
BSI-062 - Thermal Bridges Redux
Building America Solution Center - Continuous Rigid Insulation Sheathing
BSI-001 - The Perfect Wall
GBA - Thermal Bridging

Vapor is one of the most misunderstood parts of building science—and in many assemblies, it helps buildings dry rather than making them wet. In Part 3 of the Back to Basics series, Steve, Jake, and Pete break down vapor control, vapor permeability, drying potential, and why decades of confusing code language created so much fear around vapor.
As Steve puts it, “Vapor is not a liability, it is an asset.” Buildings get wet. In most climates and assemblies, the ability to dry through vapor diffusion is an important part of keeping moisture-sensitive materials safe.
The crew explains why you need to understand the vapor permeability of every layer in an assembly, where to find reliable material data, and when to go directly to manufacturers for standardized test results. They also get into indoor humidity measurement and why accurate hygrometers are more important—and more expensive—than many people realize.
This is Part 3 of the four-part Back to Basics series covering Water, Air, Vapor, and Thermal control.
Pete’s Resources:
Water in Buildings: An Architect’s Guide to Moisture and Mold
Vapor Profiles Help Predict Whether a Wall Can Dry
ICC R702.7 – Vapor Retarders
BSC Building Materials Property Table
Measuring and Understanding Humidity
ASTM E96: Explaining Water Vapor Transmission Rate Testing
Building Science Advisor

Airtightness is one of the most important—and most measurable—parts of building performance. In Part 2 of the Back to Basics series, Steve, Jake, and Pete break down how air control layers work, why continuity matters, and how blower door testing exposes the difference between theory and reality.
The crew starts with several principles that apply across multiple control layers: staying in one plane makes continuity easier, simpler details are more likely to succeed, and combining control functions in a single material can reduce opportunities for failure. They also revisit one of their favorite ideas: eliminate “confused spaces.” Attics, crawlspaces, and other areas should clearly belong either inside or outside the building enclosure.
Then the conversation gets specific to airtightness. Blower doors do not lie. ACH50 provides the quantitative result, but finding the actual leaks—their size, location, and number—is just as important. The boys discuss why one blower door test is rarely enough, how wind, stack effect, and fans drive air leakage, and why two mediocre air control layers do not equal one good one.
For renovations, the sequence is simple: blower door test first, air seal second, insulate third.
Pete's Resources:
EPA – Moisture Control Guidance for Building Design, Construction, and Maintenance
ENERGY STAR Thermal Bypass Checklist
A House Needs to Breathe...Or Does It? An Introduction to Building Science by Allison Bailes

Water is the number one enemy of building durability—and the first control layer every builder, architect, and designer needs to understand. In Part 1 of a four-part Back to Basics series, Steve, Jake, and Pete break down the principles of water management that every high-performance building depends on.
The conversation starts where most rain begins: the roof. From roof design and drainage to flashing strategies and capillary action, the crew explores how liquid water moves through buildings and why good design is the first line of defense. They also discuss how patterns of water damage in both historic and modern buildings reveal timeless lessons about moisture management.
One of the episode's most interesting discussions comes when building science theory meets real-world practice. Steve approaches water management from an architect's perspective, while Jake explains the practical realities builders face every day. The result is a thoughtful conversation about balancing ideal building science with constructability in the field.
This is Part 1 of a four-part series covering the four fundamental building control layers: Water, Air, Vapor, and Thermal.
Pete's Resources:
Joe Lstiburek – Moisture Control for Buildings
EPA – Moisture Control Guidance for Building Design, Construction, and Maintenance
Water in Buildings: An Architect's Guide to Moisture and Mold