Australia tends to think it has home building figured out. Michael Hopkins isn't convinced.
A bricklayer by trade, Michael learnt the trade in Wales, worked across Germany, and has spent 30 years on sites in Australia. He keeps going back to Europe to see how they build, and he comes home with the same message every time. On the way we put homes together, we are decades behind.
In this episode he sits down with host Az to walk through what he has seen. Timber frames delivered to site and made weather tight in two days. Keys handed over in four weeks, back in the late 1980s. Double glazing and insulation that all but removes the heating and cooling bill. A German research lab warming a room with a film on the wall and a small solar panel. Slab screeding done standing up, faster and flatter than we manage on our knees.
None of it is theory. It is already being done, just not here.
The real question is why. Michael's answer takes in conservative habits, a fragmented industry, and the red tape holding better building back.
Listen to the full conversation on The Good Builder Podcast, available on Spotify and all major platforms.
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