Zooming into the BS + Beer spotlight!
By Amy Paradysz
Two Maine-based building science gurus—residential designer Michael Maines and architect Emily Mottram—have Zoomed into national recognition over the past year as co-hosts of a the new “BS & Beer Show” livestreamed on Thursdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. EST.
Last year this time Maines and Mottram were still talking BS—building science—over brews at the Lake St. George Brewing Company in a restored timber-frame barn in Liberty once a month with a small group of builders, architects, designers and science-y homeowners.
When COVID made meetups at the bar impractical, the Liberty group tried Zoom—and builders from all over the country began logging in. Meetings jumped from monthly to weekly, Green Building Advisor got onboard as a media partner, and the editor of Fine Homebuilding joined the co-host panel, along with Kansas-based builder Travis Brungardt.
“It’s like a talk show or a panel discussion with building science experts from across the country,” Maines said. “It’s conversational, not textbook-y.”
Discussions cover topics such as indoor air quality, DIY energy performance upgrades, heating with wood and the overlap between craftsmanship and building science overlap. There’s also a BS + Beer Book Club, with this spring’s title being “Essential Building Science” by Jacob Deva Racusin.
“There’s a lot to know about building science and lots of perspectives to consider,” Maines said. “We want everyone to build better homes or do renovations that are healthy to live in, that don’t have maintenance issues and that don’t put undo pressures on the environment.”
Viewers include builders, designers and architects as well as hands-on homeowners. To get in on the BS, go to thebsandbeershow.com and click “Join us.” Participation is free and includes access to an archive of past shows.
Michael Maines and Emily Mottram are both members of the Green & Healthy Maine Homes advisory panel.
This story substantially updates the following Spring 2020 story published in Green & Healthy Maine HOMES.
Building Science and Beers | Green & Healthy Maine (greenmainehomes.com)