Hello! This is Episode 362, and in it, I’m sharing what to do if you’re not using the PAC Process - or Paid As Consultant Process - but still want to ensure you don’t get massively disappointed when your project gets priced before you start construction. Perhaps you still want to competitively tender your project? Or you’ve found out about the PAC Process too far into your project? Or your architect or designer isn’t interested in doing it at all, or has another method they’re suggesting to you?...
Jun 23, 2025•34 min•Ep. 362
Hello! This is Episode 361, and in it, I’m answering the questions I didn’t get to during our recent live webinars. I hope these answers are interesting to hear, and perhaps help you feel more equipped and confident in navigating your own project. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/361 .] Whenever I host a live session, I’m always blown away by the type and curiosity of the questions that come through. They sh...
Jun 16, 2025•36 min•Ep. 361
Hello! This is Episode 360, and I’m back with Part 2 of my conversation with builder, Anthony Hickey, from Melbourne-based Two Tone Construction. Anthony recently completed a renovation project with HOME Method members, Tanya and Paul, and as he said in Part 1, they’ve redefined his benchmark for his ideal client! In this episode, Anthony and I talk about how to set up effective communication between a builder and a client, especially when you’re a client who has invested in getting educated and...
Jun 09, 2025•37 min•Ep. 360
Hello! This is Episode 359, and I’m super excited to bring this conversation to you. For some time on the podcast, we’ve been hearing the stories of HOME Method members in all different parts of their projects. Some right at the beginning, some mid-way through and keeping us updated over their project timeline, and some who have moved into their finished newly built or renovated home. I’ve been getting so much great feedback from you about these episodes. About how much you’re loving these stori...
Jun 02, 2025•44 min•Ep. 359
Hello! This is Episode 358, and in it, I’m sharing something a little different. Over the years of running my signature online program, HOME Method, we’ve welcomed hundreds of homeowners who are navigating all kinds of new builds and renovations. And when someone joins, we ask them a few questions - not just to get to know them, but to better understand how they’re feeling, what they’re hoping for, and where they need support. In today’s episode, I want to share some of those answers with you. [...
May 26, 2025•24 min•Ep. 358
Hello! This is Episode 357, and it’s Part 2 of my conversation with HOME Method member, Ellen, about her new build and the construction process of her family home in Ballarat, Victoria. It’s been under construction for around 7 months. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/357 ] If you missed Part 1 of this conversation, head back to Episode 356 so you can catch up on what we’ve discussed. You can find that at ww...
Apr 07, 2025•38 min•Ep. 357
Hello! This is Episode 356, and in it, HOME Method member Ellen is back to give us an update on the construction of her new home in Ballarat, Victoria. Ellen and her partner are doing a knockdown-rebuild, and creating a single-storey home for their family, which includes Ellen and her partner, and their two teenage kids. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/356 ] Ellen was on the podcast in Episodes 336 and 337 ...
Mar 31, 2025•43 min•Ep. 356
Hello! This is Episode 355, and I’m back with Part 2 of the latest project update with HOME Method members, Louise and Zane, who are renovating their Melbourne Californian Bungalow. They’re early in their design phase, and whilst they have a floor plan design that’s starting to tick the boxes on their wishes and wants, it’s still sneaking up over their budget. This is a great insight into the early design stages of a project, how you juggle competing demands and priorities, as well as trying to ...
Mar 24, 2025•41 min•Ep. 355
Hello! This is Episode 354, and in it, we’re getting an update from HOME Method members, Louise and Zane, about their renovation project. If you’re curious about what the early parts of a project experience are like as you choose your team and commence work with them, this is going to be super helpful information for you. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/354 ] As with Ben that we had on the podcast over the ...
Mar 17, 2025•43 min•Ep. 354
Hello! This is Episode 353, and it’s Part 2 of my conversation with HOME Method member, Ben, about the renovation and extension of his and his partner’s 1920’s Californian Bungalow in Melbourne. As we jump into Part 2, I talk more with Ben about their budget, and how they’ve worked with it over these design changes and the timeline, as well as the way Ben and Mike are now viewing their investment and what they want to get from it. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, download...
Mar 10, 2025•39 min•Ep. 353
Hello! This is Episode 352, and in it, I’m talking with HOME Method member, Ben. He and his partner, Mike, are designing the renovation and extension of their Melbourne Californian Bungalow. In this episode, you’ll hear how Ben and Mike came up with their renovation and extension design, and some of the challenges they had along the way. They followed a more traditional route of tendering the design, only to discover that the cost to deliver exceeded their budget, which meant they had two choice...
Mar 03, 2025•37 min•Ep. 352
Hello! This is Episode 351, and it’s Part 2 of my conversation with HOME Method member, Tatiana, about her new build in regional Queensland on a site with a specific Council Buffer Zone they’re having to contend with. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/351 ] If you missed Part 1 of our conversation, make sure you head back to Episode 350 to catch up before you dive into Part 2. You can listen or read the trans...
Feb 24, 2025•39 min•Ep. 351
Hello! This is Episode 350, and in it, I’m talking with HOME Method member, Tatiana. She lives with her partner and three boys in regional Queensland, and is getting ready to design and build their new home. We meet Tatiana at the very beginning of her journey. Their project faces challenges, including a tight budget, council restrictions due to a nearby water treatment plant, and managing sun exposure for the local climate. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable P...
Feb 17, 2025•44 min•Ep. 350
Hello! This is Episode 349, and in it, I’m going to discuss a topic that is, I believe, often the promoted ‘thing’ out there through glossy mags and social media: ‘How to create a luxurious home’. And because it seems to be promoted so heavily, by inference, it seems that it’s supposed to be one of the goals when creating your ideal home. However, I have found that the definition of ‘luxury’ can have MANY connotations. Not always positive either. And it can be so relative and subjective in how i...
Feb 10, 2025•52 min
Hello! This is Episode 348, and I’m back with HOME Method member, Michael as we continue the conversation about the construction of his new home in Western Australia - a home that he and his wife intend to retire to and enjoy a relaxing lifestyle that makes the most of the beautiful location. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/348 ] If you missed Part 1 of this conversation, head back to Episode 347 to listen ...
Feb 03, 2025•39 min•Ep. 348
Hello! This is Episode 347, and Michael is back to give us the latest update on his new build project in Western Australia (which is currently under construction). Michael first came on the podcast in July 2024, in Episodes 323 and 324, and took us through the early phases of his project, including working with his designer and resolving the overall design, materials and details for his future home. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www...
Jan 27, 2025•36 min•Ep. 347
Hello! This is Episode 346, and in it, I’m continuing my conversation with electrician, Brendan Lang, from Get Off Gas. We finished Episode 345 Brendan sharing insights about his own home renovation, and how he tackled it. Brendan has opened his home for Sustainable House Day and uses it as a fantastic demonstration of how to improve an existing home through electrification and energy efficiency upgrades. In this episode, Brendan talks more about how he renovated his home, including retrofitting...
Jan 20, 2025•48 min•Ep. 346
Hello! This is Episode 345, and in it, I’m talking with Brendan Lang from Get Off Gas. Brendan is an electrician and is joining me to talk about how we can get off gas in our existing homes, and when renovating or building our homes, and choose to electrify our homes instead. I believe we should be getting off gas, improving the energy efficiency of our homes and reducing their energy consumption overall. And then supplying that energy via renewable sources such as localised solar systems, or th...
Jan 13, 2025•43 min•Ep. 345
Hello! This is Episode 344, and in it, I’m celebrating the 8th birthday of the Undercover Architect podcast. I can’t quite believe it’s been 8 years that I’ve been doing this. And given it’s been a while since I’ve done a solo episode, I thought I would take this episode to share some updates with you about home design, building and renovating, what we’re seeing in Undercover Architect, and life in general. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, hea...
Dec 16, 2024•54 min•Ep. 344
Hello! This is Episode 343, and I’m back with Cindy, HOME Method member, designer and Thermal Performance Assessor, giving us an update on her new build. We’re talking about her Smart Home System design, selection and specification, as she shares the details of including this in her new build project. And we also discuss how she’s worked with her build team to ensure the sustainable details - even those they may have never done before - are being correctly included and built in her home. [For al...
Dec 09, 2024•39 min•Ep. 343
Hello! This is Episode 342, and in it, I’m talking with HOME Method member, Cindy. Cindy is a HOME Method member, and she’s also a designer and Thermal Performance Assessor, who has designed her own new home which is currently under construction. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/342 ] Cindy was on the podcast about 5 months ago in Episodes 321 and 322, giving us her first update on her project, and sharing h...
Dec 02, 2024•31 min•Ep. 342
Hello! This is Episode 341, and it’s Part 2 of my conversation with HOME Method member, Sophie, about her Perth-based renovation of a 2 bedroom Californian bungalow into a beautiful home for her and her family. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/341 ] If you haven’t listened to Part 1 of my conversation with Sophie, be sure to head to Episode 340 to catch up now. You can find it at www.undercoverarchitect.com/...
Nov 25, 2024•36 min•Ep. 341
Hello! This is Episode 340, and in it, I’m talking with homeowner and HOME Method member, Sophie, about the renovation of her Californian bungalow in Perth, Western Australia. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/340 ] Sophie and her partner finished their renovation project in April 2023, just 6 weeks before they welcomed their first child, a baby girl, into the world, and brought her home to their newly create...
Nov 18, 2024•37 min•Ep. 340
Hello! This is Episode 339, and I’m continuing my conversation with Jan and Landon about their new build in Sydney’s north on an amazing site that’s been in Landon’s family for many years. In fact, it’s where Landon grew up, and after 39 years of living together in another part of Sydney, Jan and Landon are selling up, and moving to this location they both love and have a strong connection with, to build a new, Passive House home. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, download...
Nov 11, 2024•38 min•Ep. 339
Hello! This is Episode 338, and in it, I’m speaking with Jan and Landon about the new home they’re planning to build on an amazing site in Sydney’s north. Jan and Landon are a super interesting couple with a really interesting project. For starters, they’re both 73 years old as they embark on this ambitious project of building a new home. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/336 ] They’re selling their home of 3...
Nov 04, 2024•48 min•Ep. 338
Hello! This is Episode 337 and in it, I continue my conversation with HOME Method member, Ellen. Their new build project is underway in Ballarat, Victoria, and it’s for herself, her partner and their two teenage kids. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/337 ] If you missed Part 1 of my conversation, be sure to head back to Episode 336 and catch up there. In that episode, Ellen shares how they found their home, ...
Oct 28, 2024•44 min•Ep. 337
Hello! This is Episode 336 and in it, you’re going to meet HOME Method member, Ellen. She and her partner are building a new home in Ballarat, Victoria and have a really interesting project journey to share. Ellen and her partner bought their property with the view to do a knock-down rebuild. However, as it can, life got in the way, and time passed, with their project taking longer than expected. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.un...
Oct 21, 2024•43 min•Ep. 336
Hello! This is Episode 335, and in it, I’m continuing my conversation with Andy Pace from The Green Design Center in Wisconsin, USA, where we dive into the most impactful decisions in a new build when creating a healthy home. We also discuss improving indoor air quality, how to support your health and well-being through your project choices and decisions, and the process Andy uses to audit the integrity of the products he stocks at The Green Design Center. [For all resources mentioned in this po...
Oct 14, 2024•43 min•Ep. 335
Hello! This is Episode 334, and in it, I’m talking with Andy Pace from the Green Design Center in Wisconsin, USA. Andy is joining me to talk about his role as a Healthy Home Concierge and Founder of The Green Design Center , and how he helps and works with homeowners in all locations, to not only supply healthy and sustainable building products and materials, but also provide advice through consultancy, on what’s required to achieve a healthy outcome for both existing and new homes. [For all res...
Oct 07, 2024•46 min•Ep. 334
Hello! This is Episode 333, and in it, I’m sharing information about an amazing company that’s Australia’s leader in textile recovery and recycling. UPPAREL, based in Melbourne, Victoria, is a BCorp Certified company, and is an award-winning leader in textile recovery and recycling, providing convenient solutions to textile waste for both consumers and businesses. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/3 33 ] . UP...
Sep 30, 2024•41 min•Ep. 333
