The Building Science Guild

Meetings are usually held on the 4th Wednesday of the month from 4-6:30 pm.
Please let us know if you plan to attend by emailing admin@buildingscience.org.

Want to added to our Building Science Guild email list and receive monthly messages with meeting details and other relevant information? Let us know:  admin@buildingscience.org

The Building Science Guild is the first working group of SEON. Following the devastation of Hurricane Irene, there was a need for building professionals to understand the effects of water and vapor management. A course was designed and conducted by Peter Yost of BuildingGreen, Inc., (Advancing Green Building and Building Science: The Keys to Managing Moisture), and over 40 building practitioners attended in the SE Vermont region. The need for ongoing learning was recognized and now each month over 20 high performance building professionals meet for 3 hours to advance their understanding of building science principles especially as it pertains to the problems they confront on their worksite.

Members are general and building performance contractors, architects, building energy consultants, faculty from higher education and secondary schools, manufacturers, building suppliers, and students at nearby colleges. Core to the agenda items is the opportunity for attendees to present their current job site challenges: 1.) Problem Analysis, or 2.) Decision Analysis, or 3.) Product Selection. Fundamental to this group’s success and camaraderie is a culture of humor. While the subject matter is serious, members enjoy one another, don’t hold back from playfully poking fun at one another and even themselves, reliving the silliness of an exchange, dealing with incompatible regulations, or simply having fun with words. The work is challenging, but the climate is one of support. The fear of losing one’s competitive advantage within a group of colleagues is not evident.

Building on the success of these meetings, outside organizations throughout New England have presented their process recommendations for high performance buildings…the promotion of product information is not the intent. “Road Trips” are always a welcomed opportunity to visit innovative projects in Vermont.

Testimonials

I appreciated the session (referencing The Building Science Guild of SEON) and what each person brought to the discussion. I certainly felt there was respect for the process and for my work, which is essential. This is an amazing resource for exploring building science questions and best practices. I feel lucky and honored to be part of this group.

I look forward to future meetings and to contributing as I can. Keep me posted on plans and goals and let me know if there is anything I can do to help.  
Ethan Cole, Owner Earthshare Construction