The Build Insite Podcast

If Anthony could change one thing in the industry, it would be education, for builders and for clients. Part 2, still live on the Circa stage at the 2026 Bowens Building + Innovation Expo, with Rebecca from Laminex and Anthony from Evve Group. Rebecca explains how a new product goes from research to release, and why the move into walls and ceilings has been Laminex's biggest step. She talks about the people and culture behind a long-running company, and how some of its laminate is still made by hand. Anthony shares how Evve Group has changed over the past few years, how it uses AI and project management software, and why its own cost data helps it price jobs properly. They finish on what's next for Laminex, and the hard part of comparing quotes when every builder prices a job differently. What you'll learn: - How a new Laminex product goes from idea to release - Why Laminex moved into walls and ceilings - How a builder uses AI and project data day to day - Why comparing quotes is rarely apples for apples - Why education is the one thing Anthony would change Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:28 - From research to release 00:41 - Walls and ceilings: Laminex's biggest step 02:59 - Culture behind a long-running company 04:08 - How Evve Group has changed 05:34 - Technology and AI in a building business 06:04 - Project management and cost data 10:09 - Still made by hand 10:49 - What's next for Laminex 12:47 - Education, both ways 13:00 - Comparing quotes 15:39 - Where to find Evve Group and Laminex Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery Guests: Rebecca from Laminex and Anthony from Evve Group 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 Thanks to our partners: Bowens: https://www.bowens.com.au/ Circa: https://www.circacurated.com.au/ Handover+: https://try.handoverplus.com/bi-pod McCormacks: https://www.mccormacksaustralia.com.au/ Wunderbuild: https://www.wunderbuild.com/ Simpson Strong-Tie: https://strongtie.com.au/ Build Launch: https://buildlaunch.com.au/

Sustainable isn't only about the product. It's also about how it gets installed and used on site. Episode two of the mini-series, live on the Circa stage at the 2026 Bowens Building + Innovation Expo. Luke and Dean sit down with Rebecca from Laminex and Anthony from Evve Group, a supplier and a builder looking at design from both ends. Rebecca explains how Laminex keeps up with trends and colours, its long history as an Australian manufacturer, and the ranges that let a builder hit a budget without losing the look. Anthony talks about managing client expectations when price is front of mind, and why getting clients into Circa to touch and feel products makes selections easier. They finish Part 1 on manufacturing locally, the back story clients don't see when they choose a cheaper option, and whether it is getting harder to get a job to a signed contract. What you'll learn: - How Laminex decides what trends and finishes to bring out - How builders manage budgets without losing the design - Why touch and feel matters in selections - What local manufacturing means for sustainability - Where Anthony sees opportunity in a tough market Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:05 - Welcome to the Build Insite Podcast, live from the Bowens Expo 01:07 - Rebecca and Laminex 01:30 - Anthony and Evve Group 02:04 - How Laminex follows trends 02:47 - An Australian manufacturer 04:06 - Builder's range versus premium 05:30 - Managing budgets and expectations 07:19 - What Circa does for builders and suppliers 08:40 - How trends are set 10:33 - Seeing it up close: touch and feel 12:26 - Sustainability and local manufacturing 14:18 - The back story clients don't see 15:33 - Getting to a signed contract Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery Guests: Rebecca from Laminex and Anthony from Evve Group 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   Thanks to our partners: Bowens: https://www.bowens.com.au/ Circa: https://www.circacurated.com.au/ Handover+: https://try.handoverplus.com/bi-pod McCormacks: https://www.mccormacksaustralia.com.au/ Wunderbuild: https://www.wunderbuild.com/ Simpson Strong-Tie: https://strongtie.com.au/ Build Launch: https://buildlaunch.com.au/

Architects are happy to try a new product. Builders are usually where it stops. Part 2, still live on the Circa stage at the 2026 Bowens Building + Innovation Expo. Luke and Dean pick up with Julia Hall from Hydrowood and David from Hycon Homes on why new products struggle to reach the market, and what builders can do about it. David owns the builder's side of it, and talks about choosing clients who are willing to try something better. Julia explains why having a product on show at Circa and through Bowens makes builders more likely to give it a go. They get into clients facing too much choice, using AI for research but still asking the builder, and why there is no inspection point for the parts of a house that matter most for performance. Then the bigger picture: the National Construction Code as the minimum, not the target, how David's team has taken to high performance building, why trades need to understand the whole system, and an industry that is more willing to share than it used to be. What you'll learn: - Why builders are often the blocker for new products - How a display space like Circa helps a product get used - Why there is no inspection point for high performance work - Why the NCC is the minimum, not the goal - How a team changes when the builder teaches them the why Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:42 - Getting new products to market 01:56 - Are builders the blocker? 03:16 - Sharing the cost with the client 03:57 - Why Circa and Bowens matter for new products 05:19 - Too much choice, and using AI 07:33 - The next five to 10 years 08:01 - No inspection point for high performance 09:20 - Passive House and the NCC as the minimum 11:12 - How David's team has changed 13:20 - Learning the whole system 14:10 - Collaboration since COVID 16:28 - Enough work to go around 17:32 - What's next for Hycon Homes 19:56 - Where to find Hydrowood and Hycon Homes Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery Guests: Julia Hall from Hydrowood and David from Hycon 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   Thanks to our partners: Bowens: https://www.bowens.com.au/ Circa: https://www.circacurated.com.au/ Handover+: https://try.handoverplus.com/bi-pod McCormacks: https://www.mccormacksaustralia.com.au/ Wunderbuild: https://www.wunderbuild.com/ Simpson Strong-Tie: https://strongtie.com.au/ Build Launch: https://buildlaunch.com.au/

Most people expect build quality to be low and accept it. Julia Hall reckons the industry shouldn't, and neither should the people buying. Recorded live on the Circa stage at the 2026 Bowens Building + Innovation Expo, Luke and Dean kick off a three-part mini-series with Julia Hall from Hydrowood and David from Hycon Homes. Julia explains where Hydrowood comes from: standing forests flooded when Tasmania's hydroelectric dams were built, harvested from a barge with a waterproof chainsaw, and the studies it took to prove the timber was still good and the harvest was safe. David shares how he went from apprentice to builder, into teaching building and construction, and back to building when he saw the same curriculum he'd learned decades earlier still being taught. From there it's SIP panels explained simply, the rise of recycled and reclaimed products, and clients who now research what goes into their home before they meet the builder. Julia runs through what Hydrowood is used for, and David explains why Hycon Homes builds on ground screws, working with the ground rather than levelling it. What you'll learn: - How timber is harvested from underneath a dam - Why David left building for teaching, and what brought him back - What a SIP panel is, in plain terms - Why recycled and reclaimed products have taken off - What ground screws are and why Hycon Homes uses them Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:12 - Welcome to the Build Insite Podcast, live from the Bowens Expo 01:17 - Julia and Hydrowood 02:05 - Harvesting timber from under the water 02:40 - The red tape behind it 04:26 - David and Hycon Homes 05:20 - From apprentice to builder 06:58 - The biggest changes in the industry 08:19 - The turning point: builder, teacher, builder again 10:29 - What a SIP panel is 11:12 - Recycled and reclaimed products 13:01 - Clients who do their research 14:42 - What Hydrowood is used for 15:58 - Ground screws: working with the ground 18:34 - Building the system as a family Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery Guests: Julia Hall from Hydrowood and David from Hycon 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 Thanks to our partners: Bowens: https://www.bowens.com.au/ Circa: https://www.circacurated.com.au/ Handover+: https://try.handoverplus.com/bi-pod McCormacks: https://www.mccormacksaustralia.com.au/ Wunderbuild: https://www.wunderbuild.com/ Simpson Strong-Tie: https://strongtie.com.au/ Build Launch: https://buildlaunch.com.au/

Ask a builder what they like about fibreglass and the answer usually comes back the same: the price. Back in the shearing shed at High Peak Station, just outside Christchurch, Luke and Dean sit down with Caleb and Brad from Terra Lana, the afternoon after touring the Terra Lana factory, made possible by McCormacks Australia. Caleb covers where Terra Lana started, as a lighter retrofit product, and how the years since have gone into making the highest quality product they can. He explains how wool manages the moisture every home creates, holding that vapour in the fibre rather than the air pocket, so it keeps performing to its R value. Then what goes into a batt: oddments off the fleece, end-of-line carpet yarn that has never been walked on, and a polyester binder, thermally bonded, and backed by a long warranty. Brad joins and takes on the hard part: shifting the habits of an industry that accepts the cheap, convenient product because on paper it meets the same code. He talks market share, the architects who value what Terra Lana stands for, and why every product they make is either biodegradable or recyclable. The crew get into the zero-waste factory, where offcuts go straight back to the start of the line and the plastic packaging comes back to be recycled into posts for vineyards and farms. Luke raises mould and callbacks, and Brad explains how much water wool can take on before it loses its thermal properties. Caleb talks about the builders who put wool in their own homes but let the client pick fibreglass on price, and Dean makes the case for a minimum standard. Brad finishes on what the upgrade really costs, how many sheep it takes to insulate a house, and why the difference is smaller than most builders think. His challenge to Australian builders: the product is here now through McCormacks Australia, so there's no excuse. What you'll learn: - What Terra Lana makes and how the business has changed over the years - How wool manages moisture inside a ceiling or wall - What goes into a wool batt, from fleece oddments to recycled carpet yarn - How a zero-waste factory handles offcuts and plastic packaging - Why Caleb says builders who switch to wool don't go back - What the upgrade costs, and how many sheep it takes to insulate a house Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:30 - Welcome to the shearing shed at High Peak Station 02:13 - Working with New Zealand farmers 03:48 - What Terra Lana does 04:29 - Wool in products you'd never expect 06:17 - Where the business is focused now 07:27 - Wool versus fibreglass: managing moisture 08:53 - Fleece oddments and recycled carpet yarn 10:50 - Thermal bonding and the warranty 12:45 - Brad joins 13:17 - Shifting the industry's habits 16:37 - Market share and the architects 17:25 - Getting the builder on board 18:33 - A zero-waste factory 19:21 - Recycling the plastic into posts 21:06 - Earth and wool: what Terra Lana stands for 23:04 - Mould and callbacks 24:56 - Clearing up the misconceptions 26:19 - The price, and what builders put in their own homes 28:15 - Finding builders who value quality 29:08 - How many sheep it takes 29:50 - A message to Australian builders 30:55 - What the upgrade costs 33:04 - Where to find Terra Lana in Australia 33:57 - Seeing the houses perform 34:55 - The farms behind the wool 35:36 - Wrap up Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery Guests: Caleb and Brad from Terra Lana 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