May 26, 2025

#11 - Responsibility, Energy Efficiency & Purpose with Clare Conroy

#11 - Responsibility, Energy Efficiency & Purpose with Clare Conroy
The Building Sciology Poddie
#11 - Responsibility, Energy Efficiency & Purpose with Clare Conroy

In this episode of The Building Sciology Poddie, I chat with Clare Conroy, who shares her unique journey from homeowner to project manager at 35 South Building Co. Clare opens up about entering the construction industry, overcoming imposter syndrome, and the importance of relationships and trust in building. The conversation explores the responsibility that comes with creating homes, the misconceptions around energy efficiency, and how building smaller can still mean building better.

Clare also introduces her inspiring new project aimed at making building science accessible to children through storytelling - teaching concepts like insulation and orientation in fun, engaging ways. We highlight the urgent need for better education around building performance for both professionals and the public, and the power of knowledge sharing to create meaningful change in the industry.


Show notes can be found here

Thanks for listening.  Happy healthy building!

Transcript
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Hello and welcome to the
Building Psychology Potty where

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we talk about better buildings
to live and breathe in.

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Today my guest is Claire Conroy.
Claire works for 35 S down in

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Victor Harbour, down on the
Flurio Peninsula.

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Down in the Flurio Peninsula.
Try saying that three times

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really fast in SA.
I met Claire last year at the

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Proclaimer Australia study
launch and then we followed that

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up with a presentation to 35 S
and some other local builders

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last year as well.
So thank you, Claire for coming

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on to the show to have a chat
about your your experience in

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the industry.
Thank you for having me.

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No worries.
So first question, how did you

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get into the construction
industry?

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Well I guess I'm I'm fairly new
to the construction industry.

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I've been working in the
construction industry for less

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than 12 months, but my entry was
as a homeowner.

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So I built a home in 2223 with
35 S building code and learnt an

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enormous amount through that
experience.

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As most people who are going
through that building process

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too and just formed such a good
relationship with the guys from

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35 S and at Handover, I was
showing them some nerdy

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spreadsheets that I've been
using throughout the

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construction process.
And, you know, we had a little

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bit of a joke about, Oh, well,
you know, maybe one day you

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should come and work for us.
And then about, I must have been

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about four or five months later,
I actually got this call saying,

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oh, you know how we used to joke
about that.

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Would you actually like to come
over?

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And it's been such a great move.
So I, it's not like anything

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that I've ever done before, but
there's like been a lot of

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transferable skills that I've
been able to bring and just

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really enjoying learning in this
new environment.

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That's so cool.
So you've had a complete career

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flip, a complete career change.
Absolutely.

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Yeah, that's so cool.
That's some of that's something

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that, you know, most of us only
dream of being able to go into a

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career that we really love, you
know, just by chance.

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Yeah, that's so cool.
Yeah.

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And to be able to do it without
any, I don't have any

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construction qualifications or
design qualifications.

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And so to be able to make that
move, you know, later in Korea

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without that that kind of
experience is, is really rare.

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So I'm really grateful for this
opportunity to to do that

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without having to, you know,
retrain and, and start, you

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know, right from the bottom and
work your way up.

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So yeah, it's been a lot of fun.
It's going well so far.

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So what role are you?
What role have you filled at 35

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S Building Co?
I've got a lot of roles.

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I'm, I'm not on nothing to do on
the tools.

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So it's a, it's a kind of a
project management, contract

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management role, kind of a
business system improvement

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role.
And I think that as a lot of

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people would appreciate in the,
the building industry, it's one

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thing to be able to build really
great houses.

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It's another thing to be able to
run a really great building

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business.
And so the team at 35 S are

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fantastic builders, but where I
guess I've come in is to support

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them in in, you know, managing a
great business and also

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delivering a really fantastic
client experience as well.

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I think we really believe that
building a house is like a real

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journey, a real investment of
time and effort.

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It's one of the most significant
decisions that's going to

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influence your life and your
family's life in big ways.

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And so we really want to make
that a really positive

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experience.
Yeah, that's so cool.

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Good on you.
Thank you.

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What?
What did you find like when you

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rocked up?
Brand new industry?

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Brand new job?
What was what?

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What have you found to be your
biggest challenges so far?

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Probably a fair bit of imposter
syndrome coming into the

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industry brand new, but I think
that that was probably a like a

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bigger fear than actually the
reality.

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I think that I've been able to
pick things up pretty quickly.

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But certainly there are
challenges, just like in any

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industry with the acronyms and
terminology that you don't know

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and having to get across these
different ways of working.

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But I think I've been, yeah,
pleasantly surprised for the

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most part about how quickly I've
been able to do that and the

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like, the strength of
relationships that I've been

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able to build.
So it's actually been relatively

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smooth so far.
Good.

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I'm glad to hear it.
I'm really glad to hear it.

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So you decided to move into this
industry after building your

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house.
So yeah, that that process, was

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it construction that you liked
or was it the way that company

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did their construction?
Like what?

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What was it that actually
sparked your interest in this?

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I guess a few things.
So I was previously living in

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Canberra for about 20 years and
so I had gotten to see the work

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of Jenny Edwards Lighthouse
Architecture and Science and

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really admire the work that they
did, went along to Sustainable

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House Day and seen their open
homes, et cetera.

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And so it was really influenced
and, you know, thought that

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would be a really positive goal
was to, I would love to build a

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house and build a house come up
with that intention and with

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those values at the core.
So I was lucky enough to do that

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in 2223.
And so I guess I enjoyed like

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lots of aspects of the process,
the the design, the

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construction, but also I think
building is such a relationship

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business and so really enjoyed
forming that relationship with

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the team.
And I love the blend in

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construction design and
construction of like creativity

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and problem solving, like
creativity and science is this

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real nice, nice blend.
So I think that I don't know

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tick the boxes for me
intellectually to be able to

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play and and learn in those in
those ways.

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Yeah, yeah.
And 35 S they build high

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performing homes, do they?
Yeah.

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I mean we've done a range of
range of homes, but certainly

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have an interest in in high
performance homes.

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And so that was one of the
things that attracted me to

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working with them was that they
had had some experience using,

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you know, high performance
products and and doing that kind

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of work.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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That's awesome.
And this all inspired you to

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start your mailing list.
So you're sharing the, yeah,

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sharing the education, which has
been so great because I am

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learning so much from, from your
huge letters, honestly.

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Thank you.
And getting some really cool

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resources.
So tell us a bit about the

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Learning and Sharing mailing
list.

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Yeah, so it's, it's called like
the the build notebook.

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And it's this idea about kind
of, yeah, just sharing a a

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fortnightly capture of what I'm
learning along the way.

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And I guess there are you were a
significant inspiration for this

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in in sharing your learning as
you embarked on your new study.

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And what I really liked about
that is that he like you clearly

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have a lot of expertise in
industry, but you're doing

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something new.
And so you're not claiming to be

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an expert in this area.
And it's just this, this

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practice of kind of learning in
public.

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And I think that that idea of
learning in public is a value

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that I hold really.
Yeah, like it's really kind of

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central to, to how I like to
show up.

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My, my previous background was
in kind of HR and leadership

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development.
And I, I just think that that

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that learning is such a great
practice to do.

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And, you know, I, I think about
the work that I want to do

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ensure that it's like we're 35 S
and the impact I want to make

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there.
But like, like you, I want to

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have a bigger impact beyond the
direct kind of work that I'm

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doing today, today.
And I think just if, if, what I

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learn along the way, if I can
share that with others and, and

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makes a little bit of a impact
on their project, then that's

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great.
I think that it's, yeah, we all

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have a kind of a responsibility
to, to think about how we can

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uplift the the industry as a
whole because I don't know,

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Australia dates better houses.
It sure does.

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It sure does.
And the more I learn, the more I

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learn, the more I realise I
don't know.

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And the more I learn I realise
that.

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Holy.
Smokes Australian houses have

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got so far to go.
Yeah.

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I think and what I'm seeing
like, and obviously you've been

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in the industry much longer than
I have, but I just think there's

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just this massive acceleration
happening in terms of learning

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around, you know, high
performance and healthy homes.

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Like, you know, to think where
we were two years, five years

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ago, like it's just worlds
apart.

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And, and what I'm really liking
is how the learning seems to be

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coming from all parts of the
industry.

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It's not like there's some kind
of innovation lab in some

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institution and it's kind of
filtering down.

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I'm learning so much from just
what other builders are figuring

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out on site and there's
innovation happening there.

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And I from what I say, I reckon
there's more innovation in kind

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of performance detail in
happening from builders than it

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is from designers.
And it's feeding back that way.

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And then new products are coming
on the market and then you have

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kind of some research happening
as well.

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And so it, it, it's, it's
definitely not a kind of a

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linear flow of, you know, like
innovation.

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It's, it's really coming and
from, from all sectors.

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And so that's why I think the
sharing is so important because

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you can like it, it goes all
over the place that and I think

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we're going to get better
outcomes when everyone is is

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taking that kind of expansive
view and and thinking about all,

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all of the things that they can
learn in all of the places.

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Yeah, IA 100% agree.
I think that if we waited for

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policy and, you know, the the
upper levels of, you know, the

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the powers that be, if we wait
for them, we'll be waiting

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forever.
So the innovation that is coming

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from homeowners and from
builders, yeah, you know,

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differentiating builders,
differentiating themselves from

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other builders to, you know,
just deliver a, a higher level

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of product in this highly price
competitive industry.

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Yeah, there are steel builders
who are.

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They're differentiating
themselves based on those sorts

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of performance details and
attentions to detail.

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Mm, hmm.
Yeah, absolutely.

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And minus yeah.
And I just think that there's, I

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mean, maybe it's like a little
bit woo woo, but I think there's

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so much that more that goes into
a house than just the, you know,

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construction methodology.
There's a real kind of energy

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and intention that comes into a
house.

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And I think that you're working
with builders and with a team

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that I guess has that care and
intention and commitment to

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quality that's gonna infuse the
the house in like a a range of

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both tangible and intangible
ways.

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So yeah, totally on board.
Yeah, Yeah.

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Couldn't agree more.
So you're a woman, I'm a woman.

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What has been your experience as
a woman in this construction

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industry?
It's quite topical at the

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moment.
In particular, this women in

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industry is ramping up at the
moment.

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There's more women going into
trades and more and more women

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being found on construction
sites.

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So particularly as you came in
without any construction

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experience, what's your
experience been like?

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Well, I was pretty nervous about
building my house and doing it

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as a single woman and embarking
on that journey because you see

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these stories I like this was AI
was kind of doing this by 2122

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when there was that whole COVID,
you know, storm happening and it

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was almost every day you'd hop
on a news website and there's

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another builder collapsing.
There's just like these stories

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like the TikTok site inspector
guy, you know, with all of

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these, like all of these kind of
conflict in the construction

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industry.
And so I was quite nervous about

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how it might go, both because I
didn't have any, you know,

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experience and as a woman as
well.

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00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,840
But I think that's something
that I was pleasantly surprised

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00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,680
by working with 35 S is that
that was like never an issue.

224
00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,960
And that's kind of carried
through to all the trades they

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00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,200
work through.
I think that just having those

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00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:27,880
values of just like being decent
humans, actually it is it's

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00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,200
really important and really
central to to their business.

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00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,600
And then like the other thing is
35 S are part of the live life

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00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,480
field, elevate community as
well.

230
00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:41,040
So I've gotten to see and hear
from a lot of builders in

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00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:46,800
through that platform.
And again, was really pleasantly

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00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:50,880
surprised by like, oh, there are
some really good guys and, and

233
00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:56,200
women in this industry and I
have found it nothing but

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00:12:56,200 --> 00:13:01,520
welcoming in, in that respect.
So I think it's probably for me,

235
00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,320
it's about just kind of like
finding good people and like

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00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:08,840
they are there and, and making
connections too.

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00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,400
And I think that there are,
there are some women who are

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doing fantastic stuff in the
industry and women that I really

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00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:19,680
look to like you and Amelia Lee
and Jenny Edwards and Sarah

240
00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:21,680
Lebner and like all of these
people who have really

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00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:23,880
influenced me in building my own
home.

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00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:30,560
And I think are just really
positive role models for the way

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00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:34,360
that I kind of, I guess women
can kind of show up and

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00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,840
contribute and add value in this
industry.

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00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:43,040
So I, yeah, so far I've found it
really positive today.

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00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:45,840
And I know that that's not the
experience and probably the

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00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,080
onsite experience is can be
quite different for women, I

248
00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:53,000
imagine.
But I think I definitely feel

249
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,200
like there's a shift happening
and I would love to see more

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00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,680
women in construction and women
connecting with other women in

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00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:04,160
the in the sector to make it a
really positive industry for for

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00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,080
all.
Yeah, yeah, I'm the same.

253
00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:12,120
I have not had a single negative
experience with any

254
00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:15,520
professionals in this industry
or any any anyone on site

255
00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,160
either.
So I am so happy about that.

256
00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:24,760
And yeah, I just, I feel nothing
but sort of positive towards the

257
00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:28,400
industry as a whole.
I have no, no resentment, which

258
00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,120
is really good.
Absolutely, yeah.

259
00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,440
Diversity definitely brings
strength, right?

260
00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,360
And I think in, in all
organizations, not just in

261
00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,560
construction.
So I think that, yeah, different

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00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:53,080
kind of skill sets and mindsets,
perspectives, values can only

263
00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:57,120
enhance the, the industry.
And I think one of the things

264
00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,280
that Amelia talks about, which
is, is really interesting that

265
00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:05,400
when it comes to design and
decisions around home building,

266
00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,480
there's often women who are
making a lot of those decisions.

267
00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,960
So I think having in, in, in
construction, if you've got

268
00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:17,320
women on your team who, who are
kind of, yeah, like bringing a

269
00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:20,360
different perspective, perhaps a
different way of relating to

270
00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,960
clients, like I, I think that's
only going to to a belly.

271
00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:28,960
Yeah, yeah, 100% agree.
So as someone who is always

272
00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:31,560
learning in this industry, what
do you think the knowledge gaps

273
00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:36,680
are?
Or misconceptions around

274
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:38,960
construction and energy
efficiency that you think that

275
00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,560
anyone listening might might
should be aware of?

276
00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:47,120
Oh wow, where to start that more
expensive equals better?

277
00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,040
I think that that's probably a
big, you know, misconception.

278
00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:54,360
The more I spend on my house,
the better it's going to be the

279
00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,720
yeah, I think that there's
probably, or like that it has to

280
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,800
be complicated, or that it's,
yeah, that it's expensive or

281
00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,080
that it's inaccessible or that
it's unnecessary.

282
00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,240
Like it's very necessary to give
some thought.

283
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:13,120
And so if you ask people like if
they care about energy

284
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,200
efficiency, like some would say
like, no, not really.

285
00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:16,960
You know, I'm just going to have
my house in solar panels and

286
00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,880
it'll be fine.
But if you said to people like

287
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,200
do you care about having a house
that it feels comfortable or

288
00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:27,000
that it is healthy to live in or
is not going to make you or your

289
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,120
family sick, I think might as
well say, yeah, actually I, I, I

290
00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:34,960
want that very much.
So where am I going with this?

291
00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:38,320
I think it's just the, the, the,
some of the, the misconceptions

292
00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:43,200
are that it's this like extra
luxurious add on.

293
00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,280
But really it's, it's something
that can be integrated and

294
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:48,880
integrated in fairly simple
ways.

295
00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:50,840
So certainly there's a lot of
complexity in the science, but

296
00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,360
there's also some really simple
principles that I think are are

297
00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,560
worth understanding.
Yeah.

298
00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:03,680
Yeah, I think that I know in my
previous job, we, we did energy

299
00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,000
efficiency assessments and I
actually had people call me up

300
00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:09,560
and say to me, this house is not
comfortable.

301
00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,240
Why isn't it comfortable when
they've gone through the

302
00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,400
building code energy efficiency
compliance process?

303
00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:23,520
And I think that I think 1 the
from my perspective, one

304
00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,200
misconception is that the
building code means that you'll

305
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:28,440
have an energy efficient house.
Doesn't mean yeah.

306
00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:32,240
And secondly, the other
misconception or not

307
00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,840
misconception, but mistake, I
guess that I think people make

308
00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,480
is not thinking about how
they're going to feel once

309
00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:39,000
they're in the house.
They're thinking about how it's

310
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:42,240
going to look and entertaining
their friends on a Saturday

311
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:46,440
afternoon in the outdoor area.
And that's that's a massive

312
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,120
priority because that affects
how you feel in your house is

313
00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:53,760
how you move in.
But in as far as the Peace of

314
00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,840
Mind that comes along with
comfort and health, I don't

315
00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,640
think that that is integrated
into people's thought process as

316
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,400
much as it should be or needs to
be at the start.

317
00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:07,400
Totally agree.
I think that's a big learning

318
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:13,720
for me that I, I probably over
kind of indexed on the, on the

319
00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,400
energy efficient thing, energy
efficiency thing because it's,

320
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,640
it's the thing that's most
prevalent in public and there's

321
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,600
a star rating and there's a, you
know, the, so that's what that

322
00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,360
was certainly my, my focus when,
when you're thinking about like

323
00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:27,840
a high performance building that
the energy efficiency was front

324
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:29,400
of mine.
But one of the things I don't

325
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,640
think I quite, quite right in my
build is that you've got all of

326
00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:38,480
these levers to pull around like
energy efficiency and like an

327
00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,680
air tightness and you know, and
like condensation management,

328
00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,160
etcetera.
Like there, you can't kind of

329
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:47,360
just do 1 without the other.
There's a real kind of system

330
00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:49,640
that needs to be.
And I know that you've posted

331
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,360
and spoken about this a lot that
you, you need to kind of

332
00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:54,560
consider that, that, that system
holistically.

333
00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,400
So I think that's probably one
of the misconceptions that, like

334
00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,200
you said that, you know, I, I
get a decent energy rating and

335
00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,880
everything will be fine.
No, actually, there are a whole

336
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:09,120
range of things that you need to
consider both in design and in

337
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:11,720
construction.
And they really need to work

338
00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:13,680
together.
And that's why having like a

339
00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:17,440
good team is so important.
And, and, and just really taking

340
00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:20,520
the time to, to learn about how
all of those things work in

341
00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,360
conjunction.
And because if you overemphasize

342
00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:28,000
1, you could be unintentionally
causing compromises somewhere

343
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,000
else.
It's time for a quick sponsor

344
00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,800
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345
00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,840
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346
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347
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349
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I actually went into a house

353
00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,240
that I, I did the energy
assessment for this house and

354
00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,360
then I met, I actually got to go
inside it just by pure chance

355
00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:07,200
and I remembered it and I tell
the story a lot because this is

356
00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,920
one of the things that spurred
me on during my like earlier

357
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,680
years in this industry to go
into this high performance

358
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,280
space.
So I've done this energy

359
00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,560
assessment.
And we'd use an alternative

360
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,280
solution because another massive
misconception that people have

361
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,640
in building a house is that the
only way to get through the

362
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,120
building, the building code,
energy efficiency requirements

363
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,960
is using a star rating.
There are, there are in the

364
00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,600
particularly in the older
building codes, There are, there

365
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,000
are alternative solutions that
do not equal star rating

366
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,840
performance.
So we use an alternative

367
00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:47,160
solution on this house.
And I remembered this particular

368
00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,840
space in the house where there
was a window overlooking the

369
00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,240
pool and there was a bench.
And in the plans that I had

370
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,160
assessed, the window was above
the bench level.

371
00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,080
It stopped at the bench level
and you could just see over into

372
00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:00,360
the pool.
And then when I went into the

373
00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:02,560
house, the window had been taken
all the way to the ground.

374
00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,880
So it had been extended down
about 900 millimeters to the

375
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,040
ground because the homeowners
decided they wanted floor to

376
00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:14,720
ceiling blazing and and that
looked fantastic.

377
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,360
But the knock on effect of that
is a massive amount more heat

378
00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:24,640
loss, massive amount more heat
gain and probably a lot less

379
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,520
comfort in that in that space.
And that was leading on to like

380
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:33,520
the main living space as well.
So just, yeah, just all of

381
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,920
those, all of those little
things that get changed on site.

382
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,320
And I don't even think when I
mentioned it to the builder, he

383
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:41,080
didn't even know.
I said, did you get an amendment

384
00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:42,880
on on your energy assessment for
this?

385
00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:46,400
And it looked at me like, no,
how did I do that?

386
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:49,600
Yeah.
And you know, that may have made

387
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:51,560
the difference between passing
and not passing the building

388
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:52,800
code, because that was a big
change.

389
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,440
Yeah, that's huge.
And I think that this is where

390
00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,040
good design can really come into
play, especially around glazing

391
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,880
and natural light.
I think that when it comes to

392
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:08,920
like optimizing your your home
and getting best performance and

393
00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,120
best outcome generally, like
glazing is such an important one

394
00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:16,160
to consider and it has a massive
impact on the feel of the house

395
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:20,040
and the natural light, but also
obviously on the, the energy

396
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:21,760
efficiency and cross
ventilation.

397
00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:26,360
And so I think that like that's
something that's really worth

398
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:31,680
working closely with because it
doesn't like sometimes you don't

399
00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:34,880
need more glazing in order to
get, you know, better natural

400
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,240
light or a great view.
You can really transform the the

401
00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,920
feel of the space and the
function by like putting windows

402
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:46,440
in good spots and, and making
them operate in in ways that

403
00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:50,680
that work well.
So yeah, that's yeah, I think

404
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,640
that's overglazing is a massive
problem and it probably doesn't

405
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,440
need to be so bad if people just
thought more intentionally about

406
00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,720
where their windows go. 100%
because windows are expensive

407
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,000
and bigger the windows, you
know, the better performance

408
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,880
they need to be to keep the
energy efficiency of that house

409
00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:12,880
in check and more expensive they
get something that my old boss

410
00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,240
used to say was it costs, it
costs the same to put a window

411
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:19,200
in the right place as it does to
put it in the wrong place.

412
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,920
So this is all just about
playing with with orientation,

413
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,960
with speed, you know, just
working with your sights,

414
00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:31,800
working with the sun and just
making sure that those openings

415
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,080
are in optimal places.
And knowing that that even

416
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,920
matters.
Knowing even knowing that the

417
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,480
sun moving across the sky makes
a difference to the heat that

418
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,280
comes into your house.
Like, I don't actually think

419
00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:46,960
that occurs to some people.
Yeah.

420
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:48,640
And it's hard to get a handle
on.

421
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,520
Yeah, it's hard, really hard to
get a handle on like with a like

422
00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,720
when you're not in the house,
like how the sun moves.

423
00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,880
And something that I've really
noticed here and that that

424
00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:03,080
actually on a lot of my like
even like my Southwestern

425
00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:06,280
windows, like in summer when
you're actually getting quite a

426
00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:08,800
bit of gain through through
those.

427
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,680
So I think that's the other
thing that in a, in a climate

428
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,920
that's changing, we're gonna
want a lot more flexibility in

429
00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:21,000
the homes that we're designing.
So it's, it's about having like

430
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,280
flexible shading solutions and
all of these ways so that that

431
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:29,840
we can I guess like use our
house and really respond like

432
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:31,880
we're getting heat waves in late
March.

433
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:34,960
So if you've designed your house
with, you know, overhangs that

434
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,200
are great in January, in in
March, you're going to be

435
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,240
getting a whole heap of solar
again that you don't want.

436
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:43,120
And yeah, so having that like
that kind of flexibility in in

437
00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:45,040
design, I think is, is really
important as well.

438
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,120
Yeah, for sure.
And another thing that I don't

439
00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:50,360
know is, is super well
understood is that you need to,

440
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,680
you need to sail a house the way
you sail a ship.

441
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:56,920
You need to actually open it up,
have adjustable shading based on

442
00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,720
the time of year, you know, have
windows that are openable based

443
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,160
on when you know the prevailing
winds.

444
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,680
You know, you actually have to
interact with your house in

445
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:08,960
order to keep it comfortable.
It's not a set and forget

446
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,160
situation unless you build a
certified passive house, but

447
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,080
even then there's there are
certain things you need to do to

448
00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:17,560
keep it comfortable throughout
the, you know, the whole way

449
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,560
through the year.
So yeah, having, having

450
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:25,000
adjustable shading and things
like that are really, really

451
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:26,920
important.
Yeah.

452
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,480
So in your let's move to the
next step.

453
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:33,720
Let's move on to the next
question.

454
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,440
The perception around balancing
energy efficiency and

455
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:42,720
affordability can be tricky.
So in your experience, what

456
00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,320
would your advice be for anyone
out there, whether it's

457
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,160
homeowner, builder, architect,
anyone who's looking to achieve

458
00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,280
both of those things, what would
your advice be?

459
00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:57,400
Build smaller, absolutely, and
that's your biggest lever that

460
00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,800
you've got to pull when you're
wanting to reduce costs but

461
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,720
maintain quality and
performance.

462
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:09,960
Build smaller and, and, and you
can you like that is very doable

463
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:14,480
with good design.
And so that yeah, that that

464
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:15,720
would be my, my number one
thing.

465
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,960
And then to think about like,
what are the three things?

466
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,320
Like you said, you know, it
costs as much, but the window in

467
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:25,280
the right spot as the the wrong
spot in terms of like the

468
00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,920
orientation of your your home.
That doesn't cost any different.

469
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,000
Like you can have the same house
and just, you know, twist it

470
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,320
and, and that can have a big
impact on the the performance of

471
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,840
your home.
So yeah, build smaller and get

472
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,600
the orientation right.
And I, I think that those two

473
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:48,040
things will carry you a
significant way in, in getting a

474
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,520
great and affordable outcome.
Great answer.

475
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,560
So your career construction,
your career construction, your

476
00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:01,360
construction career, where,
where do you want to take that?

477
00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,600
That's such a good question and
I feel like I'm so new in it at

478
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,360
the moment.
So I'm still learning lots.

479
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,840
But I think that like my
previous work has been as a kind

480
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:15,160
of a coach and a trainer and
facilitator.

481
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,000
So it might be nice to to see
how I might be able to bring

482
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,480
more of that to the work that
I'm doing.

483
00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,960
So I don't have a defined idea
yet, but I think that I want to

484
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,800
continue to support good people
to do great work.

485
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:35,120
And they're a great builders and
designers and homeowners and

486
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:39,280
people in the industry.
And yeah, finding ways that I

487
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:43,760
might be able to help elevate or
shine a light on or, you know,

488
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,520
contribute my, my activities in
some way to, to facilitate and

489
00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:49,880
kind of amplify that work would
be great.

490
00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:54,840
I mean, I'm also keen to just
build some more houses too,

491
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,480
right?
So maybe even doing some my, you

492
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,120
know, certain development down
the track would be right.

493
00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:06,200
I'd love to be involved in
designing and building another

494
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:07,880
home.
Yeah, nice.

495
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:10,680
That's exciting.
I've never built a house before.

496
00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:13,960
I've only ever lived in in
crappy houses that other people

497
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:15,280
have built, and they've all been
crappy.

498
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,600
Yeah, it's, I mean, it's a bit
of a wild ride, but it's it's,

499
00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:23,680
it's pretty fun, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I would love to do

500
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,600
it one day.
Yeah, I feel like it might be

501
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,320
like tattoos like that you once
you get one, then like you get

502
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:30,920
addicted to it and just want to
keep.

503
00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,000
Doing Oh, there was something
else I had in my mind.

504
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,920
I wanted to I wanted to ask you
and it's gone.

505
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:46,680
What were you talking about?
You were saying about, Oh, I

506
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:48,760
think I was just going to say
about the learning what we were

507
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,000
talking earlier about
information sharing and your

508
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:58,120
newsletter and everything.
I think like Injury Builders who

509
00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:03,760
I work for, Justin Digny is an
extremely generous person with

510
00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:05,960
his knowledge.
So he will go and he'll go into

511
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:09,120
any building site and talk to
any builder about how to how to

512
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,360
do what he does.
And he was the first builder I

513
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,240
saw do that.
And since I joined Injury

514
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:19,560
Builders or Climber Shore three,
3 1/2 years ago, I cannot

515
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,160
believe it's been that long.
But since I joined Enduro

516
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:25,000
Builders, I have seen this
absolute groundswell.

517
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:27,760
There's been new podcasts,
there's been industry bodies

518
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,920
started up.
There's just been like Instagram

519
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:32,520
accounts going absolutely
bananas.

520
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,200
There is so much industry
sharing going on.

521
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,240
And I am just, I'm so encouraged
by it all.

522
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:44,880
And it's like we're all, we're
all in businesses, we're all out

523
00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:51,040
to make profit and build, build
a good product, but we're also

524
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:54,880
out to help each other.
And I I'm really, really happy

525
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:59,200
to be part of it.
Yeah, I, I agree.

526
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:03,840
And I think that the idea that
holding onto knowledge and

527
00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:07,840
expertise is important because
you need to like from a

528
00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,240
competitive advantage point of
view, I think that that like

529
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,600
that that ship has sailed a
long, long time ago.

530
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,440
I think that what we're seeing
now is that there's a real

531
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:20,000
competitive advantage by by
sharing and being very public.

532
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:25,600
And I mean, I assume, like
Jackson probably wouldn't do all

533
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:28,240
of that stuff unless it actually
was good for his business as

534
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:32,760
well.
And yeah, it attracts people.

535
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:37,200
And the podcast that we've seen
is that I think builders and

536
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:42,000
designers who are doing this
learning and sharing are being

537
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,280
really clear in their values
that like they, it's an

538
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:47,920
opportunity for them to state
what they care about, to

539
00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,360
demonstrate their expertise.
But probably more important than

540
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,280
demonstrating their expertise is
demonstrating a, a willingness

541
00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:56,280
to learn and collaborate and
share.

542
00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:00,320
And I think like they're the
kind of values that people want

543
00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,160
in, in their builder.
And so it's such a great way to

544
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:09,160
yeah, to, to, to see that and
kind of to get to know people

545
00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,920
because when you're building a
house, like, like you're in a

546
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,720
long term relationship with this
builder, like the, the, the

547
00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,880
building part might be, you
know, 12 to 18 months, but then

548
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:22,040
you've got a builder's warranty
for several years and decades

549
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:24,320
afterwards.
It's like you want to have a,

550
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,600
you want to trust this person,
you want to be able to

551
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,560
communicate with these people
and have that really, really

552
00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,480
strong foundation.
So I think all of this, this

553
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,400
sharing is a really important
part, I guess of the build a

554
00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:39,920
dating process, right?
Or the, you know, the industry

555
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,520
professional dating process in
that like you, you want to know

556
00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:46,440
who these people are before you
give them so much money and

557
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:48,680
enter into this this
relationship that's going to

558
00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:52,320
have a significant impact on
your wallet, your health.

559
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,520
Yeah, yeah, like psychology,
like a whole range of things.

560
00:31:57,320 --> 00:31:59,400
So I'm I'm really encouraged by
it, but too.

561
00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:02,960
Yeah, for sure that old saying
rising tide floats or boats.

562
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:07,520
And as we said earlier that we
can't wait for the the

563
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,160
legislation to push us.
It's all self driven.

564
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,960
All of this learning that we're
all of us are doing is all self

565
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:17,600
driven.
And yeah, it's, it's the

566
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,000
outcomes are, are really good
for Australian homes.

567
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,000
So Claire, you've got a little
idea, a little project in the

568
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:24,440
works.
What's that about?

569
00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:28,800
Well, this is just kind of a
little seed of an idea, but

570
00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,320
I've, one of the things that's
been actually really helpful for

571
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,600
me is in, in kind of getting
into construction and

572
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:38,200
understanding new terminology
and how the systems work is

573
00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,160
actually using ChatGPT to
explain things in, in metaphor

574
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:42,640
for me.
So, you know, explaining how a

575
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,720
house wears a raincoat and, you
know, tries to keep warm.

576
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:50,760
And these kind of visual imagery
and, and metaphors are actually

577
00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:53,120
really helpful for me for
understanding systems and it,

578
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,640
and it made me think about how
might we be able to, to use

579
00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:02,200
story and really simple story
to, to help make these kind of

580
00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:06,520
concepts more accessible.
And so I've got two young kids.

581
00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:09,760
And so this idea about, you
know, writing about things like

582
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:16,920
orientation and insulation and
condensation in an accessible,

583
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:23,320
fun way for kids, I thought
could be, yeah, a fun idea to

584
00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:28,480
help both children and adults
really understand these concepts

585
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:33,120
at a basic level.
So that it becomes just like so

586
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:38,120
second nature for my kids when
they're thinking about buying or

587
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:41,280
building house or even, you
know, looking at rentals just to

588
00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:45,360
understand, oh, like how this is
oriented and which side the

589
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:46,840
window's on, it's going to make
sense.

590
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:50,880
And asking questions about how
is it insulated and what does

591
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,280
insulation actually do?
So that's my little project is

592
00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,520
to think about writing some
drafts this year of some

593
00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:02,760
children's books to explain, you
know, a handful of those core

594
00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:06,080
building science principles.
That's a really good idea

595
00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:13,560
because training for people, not
just builders and architects,

596
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:17,280
but people just general public,
there's no, there's not really

597
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:20,199
much information out there, but
specifically for builders and

598
00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:24,800
architects, there's no like TAFE
doesn't teach carpenters or

599
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:29,600
plumbers about airtightness or
about correct, like about about

600
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,360
moisture management and
architects.

601
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:36,000
Architecture school doesn't have
much focus on on building

602
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,560
performance either.
So somewhere along the line,

603
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:43,280
someone's got to point out to to
people who are gonna build

604
00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:47,800
houses and design houses that or
live in houses that these things

605
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:49,440
matter.
And that's all of us.

606
00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:56,679
And this whole journey of
understanding all of these, as

607
00:34:56,679 --> 00:34:59,160
we have mentioned already today,
it's all self driven.

608
00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:02,600
But I think that most people do
have an experience of living or

609
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:04,200
being in different spaces,
right?

610
00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:06,640
You'd be go, Oh yeah, that share
house that we lived in in like

611
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:08,600
here, it wasn't the sun in the
lounge room.

612
00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,680
Amazing.
Or remember that, you know, that

613
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:13,480
holiday house that we went to is
all covered in mold in the

614
00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:15,800
bathrooms.
Like people have experience of

615
00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:19,920
of, you know, spaces that
function and feel good and and

616
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,320
healthy and those that don't.
And I guess it's about helping

617
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,840
them to kind of understand why.
And usually it's like it's

618
00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:31,160
pretty basic and simple to
understand why it is most of the

619
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,760
time.
So I think if we can kind of tap

620
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:40,080
into the experience that people
do have and the feel and not

621
00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:45,640
make it kind of too technical
and sciency, then yeah, I hope

622
00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:46,760
that the general.
Understanding.

623
00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:49,880
Improves.
Yeah, they do teach it.

624
00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:53,200
My kids have both had
assignments at school about

625
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,680
sustainable building.
You know, they've had to do

626
00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:57,760
models and they've had to do
designs and they've had to say

627
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,320
what they're going to do to make
this, this sort of project

628
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:04,000
sustainable.
But mostly it's been focusing on

629
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:07,920
vegetable patches and solar
panels.

630
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:11,480
It hasn't necessarily been
focusing on on the actual house

631
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:13,240
itself.
Yeah.

632
00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:15,280
And so, yeah, the schools are
trying.

633
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,920
They are introducing these
concepts to kids in their

634
00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:19,640
healthcare, science lessons or
whatever.

635
00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:23,120
Yeah.
But I think that they're they're

636
00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:28,200
they're still more more.
There's further to go in just

637
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:32,080
introducing the concepts to kids
and getting them to ask, sort of

638
00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:35,520
think more critically about the
houses they're living in and why

639
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:40,600
the sun is, you know, beautiful
in this room or why that

640
00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:45,200
bathroom is so moldy or why that
bedroom is so hot.

641
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:49,560
Yeah, and I think if you often
like to explain it to people

642
00:36:49,720 --> 00:36:53,080
using the metaphor of like
clothing layers, you know, like

643
00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,760
woolen jumper and, you know, a
raincoat and stuff.

644
00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:59,840
And if you said to most people
like, like, imagine wrapping

645
00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:02,360
yourself in plastic and they
would care.

646
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:04,840
Oh yeah, like I'd be toasty
warm, but it kind of get pretty

647
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:07,360
gross pretty quickly.
And then you go, oh, so like,

648
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:10,120
why would be a good idea to wrap
a house in plastic then?

649
00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:13,240
And people, Oh yeah, like, that
makes sense.

650
00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:17,520
And so kind of knowing, you
know, that you're going to be

651
00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:19,560
more comfortable when you're
wearing a woolen jumper and a

652
00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:21,360
Gore Tex jacket.
So why wouldn't you?

653
00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:25,160
You're going to be dry and warm.
So why wouldn't you try and kind

654
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:30,680
of emulate that that same build
up in a in a house as well?

655
00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,200
Very good question.
If there is one thing you want

656
00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:39,840
listeners to take away from your
journey today and your

657
00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:46,240
experience, will that be Claire?
I think the key thing is that

658
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:50,200
building is such a huge
privilege.

659
00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:52,920
It's a massive privilege for a
home owner to be able to build

660
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:57,480
their own home, but also I think
for designers and for builders,

661
00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:02,920
like what an enormous privilege
that we have to help people

662
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:08,640
realize their dreams and create
lifestyles and homes that kind

663
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:09,880
of nourish them and their
families.

664
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:12,920
So it's an incredible privilege
to do that work.

665
00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:16,880
And I think like to paraphrase
that Spider Man quote, with

666
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:18,800
great privilege comes great
responsibility.

667
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:22,560
And so I think that we've got
to, like, do it with intention

668
00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:27,240
and like and take that privilege
and responsibility seriously.

669
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:34,240
Maybe you were wanting a really
practical tidbit.

670
00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:36,840
That's my, that's my philosophy,
yeah.

671
00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:44,440
Yeah, there's, there's a vast
range of a vast range of quality

672
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:50,240
and finding a builder that takes
that responsibility seriously is

673
00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:54,000
key to key to the outcomes that
are going to live, you know, be

674
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,800
with you for a very long time
after the house is finished.

675
00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:00,680
Yeah, absolutely.
And like the, the construction

676
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:04,400
industry uses so many resources
like environmental, like

677
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:08,320
physical resources, but in terms
of financial resources and

678
00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:13,040
energetic resources, like the
labor that goes into building, I

679
00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:16,360
just think it's really important
to think about like how we

680
00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:20,080
deploy those resources in the
in, in the best way.

681
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:23,040
And like you know, you're
reducing the amount of wastage

682
00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:26,280
and and I guess investing those
resources in a way that's going

683
00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:30,480
to yield, yield benefits both
kind of financial and non

684
00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:33,680
financial down the track.
Yeah, yeah.

685
00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:37,480
Well, thank you, Claire.
That's all.

686
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:39,120
You're welcome.
We have time for today, but

687
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,840
that's we'll just we'll wrap up
our conversation there.

688
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,000
I appreciate you taking the time
out to have a chat to me.

689
00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:48,600
Yeah, no worries.
Thank you so much for having me.

690
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:52,480
All right, that is all for
today.

691
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,640
Thanks so much for tuning in.
There'll be another episode on a

692
00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:57,480
fortnight.
So if you would like to listen

693
00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:00,360
into the types of conversations
that I have all the time, please

694
00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:02,120
subscribe on your chosen
platform.

695
00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:05,040
Write the show, leave a comment,
whatever you like, share with

696
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:06,760
your friends and family.
I'd love.

697
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:09,240
For you to spread the word about
the building's clerology potty,

698
00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:12,320
there's a link in the episode
description where you can head

699
00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:14,920
to a landing page and there are
some show notes there with

700
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,040
relevant links and a full
transcript of the show as well.

701
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,120
And also links to my socials.
So if you're not already, I'd

702
00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:23,680
love for you to follow along
there too as I share lots of

703
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:25,720
building science and building
biology tips.

704
00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,760
There's also a contact page
where you can send me an e-mail

705
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,640
or even a voice message.
So if you've got questions or

706
00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:34,440
suggestions or guest ideas, I'd
love to hear from you.

707
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:37,520
I want to know what you want to
know, so please get in touch

708
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:39,040
with me.
Thanks again.

709
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,040
I'll be back in two weeks, so
until then, happy healthy

710
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:42,440
building.
Clare Conroy Profile Photo

Clare's interest in building a home started way back in Year 9 when she designed a house for a science project - complete with off-grid electricity and composting toilets!

A move from Canberra to the Fleurieu Peninsula at the end of 2019 gave her the chance to turn that dream into reality. In 2021, she commenced a project to design and build a new home, working collaboratively with a local designer and 35 South Building Co.

The relationship Clare built with 35 South during her own build led to a natural next chapter - she has since joined the team, focusing on business processes, project management, and client engagement. Passionate about supporting others to build intentional, values-aligned homes, she regularly shares what's she's learning about the residential construction sector in her email newsletter, The Build Notebook. Clare is now also about to commence a Certificate IV in Building and Construction, deepening her technical knowledge to complement her hands-on experience in the industry.