#67 Modular, Transportable and Foreverbreathe: Inside Whio Homes with James and Leesa - Part 1

Day two of our New Zealand road trip, and this time the build site is under a canopy. Luke and Dean head out to Whio Homes in Christchurch, made possible by McCormacks Australia. James and Leesa Anderson build high performance modular and transportable homes out of a 100 foot container barn, and every one of them goes to the Foreverbreathe specification. They walk us through why they detail their own frames, how a finished house gets jacked up and trucked out over the fence, and how a team of five staff turns out 12 to 15 homes a year with room to more than double that on a second shift. James makes the case against building to code minimum, and explains why sealing homes up airtight has trapped the off-gassing from petrochemical products inside with the people living there. Then it's into the detail: LVL framing, Magnum Board as the rigid air barrier, Terra Lana wool insulation, clay-based paint, wool carpets, thermally modified cladding, and the jump in cost from aluminium to uPVC to timber windows. Leesa finishes on one of their biggest challenges: convincing clients that bigger isn't better. What you'll learn: Why a canopy and shipping containers can do the job of a multi-million dollar factory How a house leaves the yard fully finished and ready to connect on site What goes into a Foreverbreathe wall, floor and ceiling Why code minimum is the bare minimum, not the cost-effective option Why the window frame matters as much as the double glazing Why a smaller, better-performing home can be the better investment Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:42 - Day two in New Zealand: Whio Homes 01:00 - Inside the 100 foot container barn 01:24 - Detailing frames for a vertical sheet install 02:16 - Build height, transport and getting the house out 03:18 - Turnaround time and locking in selections early 04:21 - Why code minimum is the bare minimum 05:00 - Airtight homes and trapped off-gassing 05:39 - The Foreverbreathe materials list 07:19 - The dry bathroom from day one 07:53 - A small team and managing growth 08:41 - 12 to 15 homes a year, and scaling up 09:25 - Why a barn beats a multi-million dollar factory 11:02 - Piles, transport and setting the house on site 12:43 - Fully finished before it leaves the yard 13:23 - Delivered Tuesday, moved in by the weekend 14:04 - Second dwellings and granny flat enquiries 15:13 - Log burners and heating in the South Island 16:27 - Magnum Board, silica and finishes 18:04 - Cladding options 21:01 - Windows: aluminium, uPVC and timber 23:34 - Why bigger isn't better 25:03 - Floor plans and designing with the client 26:42 - Wrap up Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery Guests: James and Leesa Anderson from Whio Homes Listen to the Build Insite Podcast on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Explore more at: https://buildinsite.com.au/ Follow us on Instagram: @build.insite