@@stevenbaczekarchitect9431It would be nice if you guys are doing a project that supports the claim that "net zero only adds about 10-15% to the cost". Something you guys could afford yourself.
@@misterrichardcsize is one thing, price is another. They should just take "the average US home" and build it for the average price +10-15%. That's what a lot of Net Zero proponents say can be done. I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
Love this discussion. I've been writing a requirements document for my retirement house and mechanical accessibility and ease of replacement are top of the list.
Steve, If I ever have the money, I'd like to be the client that has you design the perfect mechanical designed building. You don't need to have the one system miracle systems for all your mechanical needs, but I'd love to build a home around solid systems, proper high performance interior & exterior systems, then we can work on how best to build the rest of the home from there.
Great show. Somewhat ironically, I am in Hawaii and complain about my Mitsubishi mini-split having latent cooling. The house is naturally ventilated aside from the bedrooms, but there is no vapor sealing within the house. When I turn the unit on at bedtime the unit tries to drop the RH from ~70% down to ~45%, but once the compressor cycles off it just comes right back up within an hour or two. Also, an alternative to having an accessible full-height space is using a commercial style metal plank system for a strategic ceiling zone that maintains access. Not perfect, but it at least keeps you from needing to re-work drywall and paint for a single network cable.
Always enjoyable to hear from both Matt and Steve...Long Live Our Buildings. Its not Rocket Science, its Building Science......right Steve! 👍 Eastern Canadian household chiming in! 🇨🇦
As a Construction Science alumni, I have followed Steve for a few years on IG. Recently, one of my old classmates turned me onto Matt as well for residential applications.
That's It! I am moving the water heater next to the bathroom wall which is the other side of the kitchen wall. Instant hot water. Why didn't I think of that B4?
Allison Bailes has spoken positively of central return, with both performance and cost benefit vs dedicated returns. In the video, you commented on some basements where you have all ductwork within the “dirty basement”. In these circumstances, has there been consideration of making the “dirty basement” space function as the “central return” and eliminate the return ductwork?
Maintenance Solution.. post it notes fall off and get lost….I use a 23”x 34” white board in my mechanical room or conveniently a walk in pantry to keep track of maintenance and date of install on all things. I list things like furnace 1, furnace 2, humidifiers, smoke detectors, thermostats, frig water filter, water heater, garage door, elevator. I write the item name in permanent marker and then the last date of maintenance in dry erase ink. It’s a great way to keep these maintenance items on top of mind as I see it every time I go in the pantry.
Ok I seen that they have a new comfo 70 that u can put thru the wall .. Im just trying to figure stuff out cause im building like yal and using 2x8s fixing to put the metal up and order some rockwool. Im trying to build it under 30grand .. And were off grid. Thanks brother
I have a mini split handling most of the heating load and all of the AC for my modest ranch style home. They're relatively cheap, but they are ugly, don't dehumidify efficiently, and need constant cleaning to avoid musty smells. Plus you're missing out on the filtration of a good ducted air handler. I'm looking forward to fully ducted HVAC in my next house.
Great show guys! I have a beef with you both though; I can show you how to build a house with recirculating HW that doesn't need a pump tp drive it. Some building science; hot water rises and cold water falls, all by them selves because the density of hot water is lower than the cooler water. Ya'll maybe need spend at least as much time talking to the plumber as the "shiny guy" with the flashy HVAC hat. Btw, Steve, your two HW heaters working from the basement would be ideal for this unpowered system- it does require a return loop of tubing, made very easy by our present world of PEX and such. Matt, I know you are a fan of PEX, I'm surprised you missed that one- it's made recirc HW systems both viable in the new market as well as economically refit able- love the RENEWABLE house plans! And your description of a chase was once something many older mansions were built with prior to WW1- some were air shafts and some were specifically designed to carry the earlier more limited plumbing and steam heated water pipes. Keep it up, Matt! Most do know you and your squad built six figure homes; but here's the thing; most of the "big , shiny, new things" to come into our trades have gotten their first few applications on high end sites- large homes to museum annexes. Places where the finance to pay for these early examples exists; see my earlier comment about recirculated HW systems; in todays dollars, for a three bed, two bath with attached, 1500 square foot home in copper and with a 1/4 hp pump to run it, would add $1500+ to the plumbing total- what I laid out above, tubing , disposables and labor wouldn't add $500 to costs done at time of construction. As a retrofit, under a $1000 for plumbing and likely $500 more for finish work to repair opened walls. Steve, loved the "we build to large and not well"; the Pope- guy in Italy, big white hat, you'd know him if you saw him- has a three thousand square foot apartment at the Vatican, he doesn't really need it, but he has it. But is gives license for other high churchmen to think they knew multi million dollar palaces of their own.
Thank you - we are all always learning. Understand it is not only about what actually works? It's about who will do it, who will do it properly? What client is up for the challenge........many things come into play. Sometimes it's hard to find someone to install insulation the right way.......I will dive into these thoughts a little deeper - much appreciated
@@stevenbaczekarchitect9431 Awesome! As good as I think I am as a plumber, every day of my career and even since I retired, there is something new to be learned and or applied or further researched- and as you point out, clients who can afford these early ideas are instrumental in their later over all inclusion in construction. PVC pipe was around for over ten years before it's use was accepted in even a few US jurisdictions. Btw, your description of a lumber operator that controlled his process from standing forest to dimensioned lumber sounds a lot like the way the EU forestry to material operates- we should have been there decades ago.
Great discussion. American houses are just big with the cheapest possible materials. You only can appreciate what you know. (I grew up with Schuco windows)
I have learned so much from this guy, unfortunately not everyone can afford to do things his way....just trying to understand the principles of how to build better
About needed cat37 data cables. I’m an isp installer. I alway hoped that the contractor used more conduit for running service cables to likely important entertainment areas. Could be from smart panel to office or primary tv location. The holy grail is the conduit from the outside to the smart panel. Especially if you finish the basement or have an equipment location
I want these guys to build my next house. seriously. they get it. my "forever" house will be in the Austin area and about 2000 sf and I'd like to start on it anyyyyyyyy time this guys would like to do it.
Hey Matt, thanks for the content! I’ve learned a lot over the past couple years from you. I work for my father, and we build homes in Philadelphia and do commercial framing. How do you go about finding reliable subcontractors?
Totally agree here 20:22 But I think part of that is training, and part of it is the builders being pushed to do it faster, cheaper, and for less. I don’t know how you change that mentality. It creates a ton of issues that could have been prevented.
Totally agree - when there are contractors willing to undercut real work, clients think they are getting a deal, and they are, just not the one they want
Why does everyone crap on the ikea kitchen? I’ve lived with two of them over 30 years. The second one was bought in 2013 for $7200 including appliances (granite counters and sink were another $3800). That kitchen still looks and functions great. We put in the ikea ourselves in a weekend. The local kitchen contractor wanted over $50k at the time not including appliances. To anyone that says they don’t hold up… what are you doing in them?
Ikea used to make a great line of kitchen cabinets ~15 years ago; I think now they are a little lower quality. But, then and now the issues are the foil facing is a bit thin so they nick, and any water in them is game over
@@patrickkenny2077 good to know. I'm getting ready to build a new house and past experience led me back to Ikea. I'll have to take a look at the current offerings. I have considered machining my own fronts out of Richlite.
We need smaller houses, however, they need to be designed better. So many houses need to be big just because the layouts are so poor. We should be building houses where the usability per sq/ft is high.
The "sheds" built in PUDs set the comparables for underwriting used in the subsidized mortgage market. Thank codes, banks, publicly traded builders, and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac for the CRAP INVENTORY of houses in the USA.
Steve, if I earn the $, you can have a whole side of custom house you design for mechanicals w/corridor as I want a 9/12 pitch as I live in Pac NW. The challenge in my area is most builders build with house rap, do not use Zip System or WeatherLogic so cheap is not going to work for me. Somehow I have to find right builder and crew.
Hi Matt (or anyone in the community with Water Heater experience), I would love your personal opinion. My Gas Water Heater has a small leak (for now). Looking at replacements, I'm deciding between, replacing it w/ another Gas Water Heater or maybe converting to a Heat pump version. Do you have a preference?? I looked but haven't seen you do a true comparison yet. I'm early in the trades and do have 1 year experience in HVAC, and with time I'm sure ill be able to work on it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. as-well as anyone else. About me, I have a 3bed 2 bath, its just my Fiance and myself right now w/ some visitors who stay over throughout the year (so we are not super high on water usage. My WH now is a 40 gal 38k btu. I do live in CA, so there are rebates for the heat pumps. Thanks again.
True. The thing is that the clients who can afford high-end anything want a larger gouse. I work as a remodelor and all my clients who have ERV's and amazing HVAC systems have very large houses. The small house people are more worried about allocating money for esthetics and comfort, rarely is there a budget or desire for energy efficiency.
@@philiparmand3534 Agreed. Similar to why it's really really hard to find a small luxury car in the US. Yes, you can find small sports cars, but in this country, once somebody can afford something bigger, they almost always do before they spend it on it being higher grade. There are exceptions, of course.
I'm that person building my forever home and currently our design is at 2500 sqft. with a 250 sqft. loft. - slab on grade with a pole barn as our garage on 3.2 acres. Does this still seem reasonable given your numbers of 1500 to 2200 sqft in retirement??? The house is NOT a box and is instead an H-Shaped home and I've worked as hard as possible to shave space but feel it should actually be 2800 sqft (to allow for 4' hallways/gallery space, linen closets and other conditioned space storage)...????
I think it's sad that these amazing builders have to work in the industry and build for 10-20 years before they can afford to live in the style of houses they build for some of their clients. I feel like it should ~5 years...
Same here. Been doing efficient, building science based remodels for 27 years. Finally remodeling my small house using these methods and materials. Took a little while.
Clean basement sounds good. Dirty basement sounds like dirt floor and not appealing. Maybe clean basement and "industrial basement" would be better, Or finished basement and industrial basement or even "mechanicals basement" if you like. But Dirty...
Thank you
Thank you for joining in
I would love to see some high performance 2000sf homes. That is the general size we want for our family of three.
Stay tuned...... no cat out of the bag just yet......but please be patient..... wink, wink
@@misterrichardc Agreed. stand by please.....
@@stevenbaczekarchitect9431It would be nice if you guys are doing a project that supports the claim that "net zero only adds about 10-15% to the cost". Something you guys could afford yourself.
@@misterrichardcsize is one thing, price is another. They should just take "the average US home" and build it for the average price +10-15%. That's what a lot of Net Zero proponents say can be done. I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
Agreed, or even less. There are plenty of us that only need living space for two people but still want high performance without spending $1 million.
Mr. Matt, Great show. !!! I will watch it again in a few days...
This was a great Podcast. Matt and Steve have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Building Science.
Thank you sir......
@@stevenbaczekarchitect9431 You're very welcome
Love this discussion. I've been writing a requirements document for my retirement house and mechanical accessibility and ease of replacement are top of the list.
Steve, If I ever have the money, I'd like to be the client that has you design the perfect mechanical designed building. You don't need to have the one system miracle systems for all your mechanical needs, but I'd love to build a home around solid systems, proper high performance interior & exterior systems, then we can work on how best to build the rest of the home from there.
Ready when you are.....
Great show. Somewhat ironically, I am in Hawaii and complain about my Mitsubishi mini-split having latent cooling. The house is naturally ventilated aside from the bedrooms, but there is no vapor sealing within the house. When I turn the unit on at bedtime the unit tries to drop the RH from ~70% down to ~45%, but once the compressor cycles off it just comes right back up within an hour or two.
Also, an alternative to having an accessible full-height space is using a commercial style metal plank system for a strategic ceiling zone that maintains access. Not perfect, but it at least keeps you from needing to re-work drywall and paint for a single network cable.
Thank you
Always enjoyable to hear from both Matt and Steve...Long Live Our Buildings. Its not Rocket Science, its Building Science......right Steve! 👍 Eastern Canadian household chiming in! 🇨🇦
Always great to have you join us!!! and yes, you are right!!!
@@stevenbaczekarchitect9431 👍 🇨🇦
Great information on the mechanicals I will use this info on advising my kids build
As a Construction Science alumni, I have followed Steve for a few years on IG. Recently, one of my old classmates turned me onto Matt as well for residential applications.
+1 for Steve on the mini-split designs
That's It! I am moving the water heater next to the bathroom wall which is the other side of the kitchen wall. Instant hot water. Why didn't I think of that B4?
Allison Bailes has spoken positively of central return, with both performance and cost benefit vs dedicated returns. In the video, you commented on some basements where you have all ductwork within the “dirty basement”. In these circumstances, has there been consideration of making the “dirty basement” space function as the “central return” and eliminate the return ductwork?
This video was great. Like going to church.
Thank you.......I think lol....
Great content/conversation! Thanks 🍻
Thank you
Maintenance Solution.. post it notes fall off and get lost….I use a 23”x 34” white board in my mechanical room or conveniently a walk in pantry to keep track of maintenance and date of install on all things. I list things like furnace 1, furnace 2, humidifiers, smoke detectors, thermostats, frig water filter, water heater, garage door, elevator. I write the item name in permanent marker and then the last date of maintenance in dry erase ink. It’s a great way to keep these maintenance items on top of mind as I see it every time I go in the pantry.
Well done
Can u put a evr in a house with all cathedral ceiling.. Keep it up brothers
Please understand, the only parameter the ERV is concerned with is the volume of space it is ventilating.....
Ok I seen that they have a new comfo 70 that u can put thru the wall .. Im just trying to figure stuff out cause im building like yal and using 2x8s fixing to put the metal up and order some rockwool. Im trying to build it under 30grand .. And were off grid. Thanks brother
great content. Would it be possible to add photos of your examples when you edit this?
I have a mini split handling most of the heating load and all of the AC for my modest ranch style home. They're relatively cheap, but they are ugly, don't dehumidify efficiently, and need constant cleaning to avoid musty smells. Plus you're missing out on the filtration of a good ducted air handler. I'm looking forward to fully ducted HVAC in my next house.
Great show guys! I have a beef with you both though; I can show you how to build a house with recirculating HW that doesn't need a pump tp drive it. Some building science; hot water rises and cold water falls, all by them selves because the density of hot water is lower than the cooler water. Ya'll maybe need spend at least as much time talking to the plumber as the "shiny guy" with the flashy HVAC hat. Btw, Steve, your two HW heaters working from the basement would be ideal for this unpowered system- it does require a return loop of tubing, made very easy by our present world of PEX and such. Matt, I know you are a fan of PEX, I'm surprised you missed that one- it's made recirc HW systems both viable in the new market as well as economically refit able- love the RENEWABLE house plans! And your description of a chase was once something many older mansions were built with prior to WW1- some were air shafts and some were specifically designed to carry the earlier more limited plumbing and steam heated water pipes. Keep it up, Matt! Most do know you and your squad built six figure homes; but here's the thing; most of the "big , shiny, new things" to come into our trades have gotten their first few applications on high end sites- large homes to museum annexes. Places where the finance to pay for these early examples exists; see my earlier comment about recirculated HW systems; in todays dollars, for a three bed, two bath with attached, 1500 square foot home in copper and with a 1/4 hp pump to run it, would add $1500+ to the plumbing total- what I laid out above, tubing , disposables and labor wouldn't add $500 to costs done at time of construction. As a retrofit, under a $1000 for plumbing and likely $500 more for finish work to repair opened walls. Steve, loved the "we build to large and not well"; the Pope- guy in Italy, big white hat, you'd know him if you saw him- has a three thousand square foot apartment at the Vatican, he doesn't really need it, but he has it. But is gives license for other high churchmen to think they knew multi million dollar palaces of their own.
Thank you - we are all always learning. Understand it is not only about what actually works? It's about who will do it, who will do it properly? What client is up for the challenge........many things come into play. Sometimes it's hard to find someone to install insulation the right way.......I will dive into these thoughts a little deeper - much appreciated
@@stevenbaczekarchitect9431 Awesome! As good as I think I am as a plumber, every day of my career and even since I retired, there is something new to be learned and or applied or further researched- and as you point out, clients who can afford these early ideas are instrumental in their later over all inclusion in construction. PVC pipe was around for over ten years before it's use was accepted in even a few US jurisdictions. Btw, your description of a lumber operator that controlled his process from standing forest to dimensioned lumber sounds a lot like the way the EU forestry to material operates- we should have been there decades ago.
Great discussion. American houses are just big with the cheapest possible materials. You only can appreciate what you know. (I grew up with Schuco windows)
Hi Steve I am installing warmboard in my home 2800 sqf 2 floors in Northffork Long Island. what boiler do you recommend?
I have learned so much from this guy, unfortunately not everyone can afford to do things his way....just trying to understand the principles of how to build better
We all keep trying......
About needed cat37 data cables. I’m an isp installer. I alway hoped that the contractor used more conduit for running service cables to likely important entertainment areas. Could be from smart panel to office or primary tv location. The holy grail is the conduit from the outside to the smart panel. Especially if you finish the basement or have an equipment location
Great info guys, thanks.
Thank you
I want these guys to build my next house. seriously. they get it. my "forever" house will be in the Austin area and about 2000 sf and I'd like to start on it anyyyyyyyy time this guys would like to do it.
Hey Matt, thanks for the content! I’ve learned a lot over the past couple years from you. I work for my father, and we build homes in Philadelphia and do commercial framing. How do you go about finding reliable subcontractors?
If I’m building a house with full basement and don’t have any mechanicals in the attic, Is there any need to condition the attic?
No.
@@boby115 Not at all - my preferred way to build
Totally agree here 20:22 But I think part of that is training, and part of it is the builders being pushed to do it faster, cheaper, and for less. I don’t know how you change that mentality. It creates a ton of issues that could have been prevented.
Totally agree - when there are contractors willing to undercut real work, clients think they are getting a deal, and they are, just not the one they want
Hey Matt, what does ‘business partner’ entail? What role does you business partner fill?
Steve and Matt, would you recommend Warm Board or a similar system here in our Texas climate? Central Texas to be specific.
Why does everyone crap on the ikea kitchen? I’ve lived with two of them over 30 years. The second one was bought in 2013 for $7200 including appliances (granite counters and sink were another $3800). That kitchen still looks and functions great. We put in the ikea ourselves in a weekend. The local kitchen contractor wanted over $50k at the time not including appliances. To anyone that says they don’t hold up… what are you doing in them?
I have had a few in projects, by the time you pay an installer, there isn't much savings left......
Ikea used to make a great line of kitchen cabinets ~15 years ago; I think now they are a little lower quality. But, then and now the issues are the foil facing is a bit thin so they nick, and any water in them is game over
@@patrickkenny2077 good to know. I'm getting ready to build a new house and past experience led me back to Ikea. I'll have to take a look at the current offerings. I have considered machining my own fronts out of Richlite.
This guy in Boston must be building 5 mil houses. You should see the crap you get for only 2 mil here.
We need smaller houses, however, they need to be designed better. So many houses need to be big just because the layouts are so poor. We should be building houses where the usability per sq/ft is high.
Agreed...
The "sheds" built in PUDs set the comparables for underwriting used in the subsidized mortgage market. Thank codes, banks, publicly traded builders, and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac for the CRAP INVENTORY of houses in the USA.
Steve, if I earn the $, you can have a whole side of custom house you design for mechanicals w/corridor as I want a 9/12 pitch as I live in Pac NW. The challenge in my area is most builders build with house rap, do not use Zip System or WeatherLogic so cheap is not going to work for me. Somehow I have to find right builder and crew.
We can get the materials and the crew, they are out there somewhere
Hi Matt (or anyone in the community with Water Heater experience), I would love your personal opinion. My Gas Water Heater has a small leak (for now). Looking at replacements, I'm deciding between, replacing it w/ another Gas Water Heater or maybe converting to a Heat pump version. Do you have a preference?? I looked but haven't seen you do a true comparison yet. I'm early in the trades and do have 1 year experience in HVAC, and with time I'm sure ill be able to work on it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. as-well as anyone else.
About me, I have a 3bed 2 bath, its just my Fiance and myself right now w/ some visitors who stay over throughout the year (so we are not super high on water usage. My WH now is a 40 gal 38k btu. I do live in CA, so there are rebates for the heat pumps. Thanks again.
I find it ironic that you say building small is better, but how many less than 2k sf houses have either of you featured on the channel?
True. The thing is that the clients who can afford high-end anything want a larger gouse. I work as a remodelor and all my clients who have ERV's and amazing HVAC systems have very large houses. The small house people are more worried about allocating money for esthetics and comfort, rarely is there a budget or desire for energy efficiency.
@@philiparmand3534 Agreed. Similar to why it's really really hard to find a small luxury car in the US. Yes, you can find small sports cars, but in this country, once somebody can afford something bigger, they almost always do before they spend it on it being higher grade. There are exceptions, of course.
Please stand by.........you never know what's coming (but I do)
Good Morning ✌📐🔨
Great morning!!!!!
I'm that person building my forever home and currently our design is at 2500 sqft. with a 250 sqft. loft. - slab on grade with a pole barn as our garage on 3.2 acres. Does this still seem reasonable given your numbers of 1500 to 2200 sqft in retirement??? The house is NOT a box and is instead an H-Shaped home and I've worked as hard as possible to shave space but feel it should actually be 2800 sqft (to allow for 4' hallways/gallery space, linen closets and other conditioned space storage)...????
I think it's sad that these amazing builders have to work in the industry and build for 10-20 years before they can afford to live in the style of houses they build for some of their clients. I feel like it should ~5 years...
Always somebody richer out there my friend........and some of them don't experience hapiness.....
Same here. Been doing efficient, building science based remodels for 27 years. Finally remodeling my small house using these methods and materials. Took a little while.
They are in charge of what they earn, what they spend and where they put their money.
@@robsmith4884 I agree on the micro, my concern is with the macro
So true as for cost if you can’t afford a well insulated house then maybe consider living in an apartment!!
Lots of gas, not much go. Very little actual mechanicals content here
Clean basement sounds good. Dirty basement sounds like dirt floor and not appealing. Maybe clean basement and "industrial basement" would be better, Or finished basement and industrial basement or even "mechanicals basement" if you like. But Dirty...
A pretty mini split head unit is made by LG. It's a picture frame.
Google: LG 12,000 BTU Ductless Flex Multi Art Cool Picture Air Handler