Resources

Podcast Features

  • Dan Kolbert: Owner, Kolbert Building

    Houses and Hotels: An Interview Vault for Careers in Real Estate

    Dan has worked in the trades since 1986 and moved to Portland, Maine in 1988. Since starting his company there twenty years ago, his focus has honed in on building and renovating a wide variety of homes that are energy efficient and thoughtful in every respect.

  • How Can We Build "Pretty Good" Places?

    Current Affairs Radio Hour

    It’s easy to complain about the built world in the U.S.—strip malls, McMansions, endless highways. We put up buildings that are too big, ugly, and terrible for the environment. But how can we make better things?

  • Episode 1564: Pretty Good Housing For All

    Chuck interviews Dan Kolbert, co-author along with Christopher Briley, Michael Maines and Emily Mottram, of, “Pretty Good House: A Guide to Creating Better Homes.”

  • Podcast 562: PRO TALK With Builder and Author Dan Kolbert

    Fine Home Building

    “In this Pro-Talk podcast, Ian talks to builder Dan Kolbert, one of the authors of the Pretty Good House book.”

  • #92: Dan Kolbert, High-Performance Builder and Sustainability Advocate

    Building Optimal Radio

    “In this conversation we sit down with Dan Kolbert, co-author of Pretty Good House, and owner of Kolbert Building in Portland, Maine, to discuss high performance homes, the next evolution in building, and Dan's advice in today's economy.”

  • EA503: Chris Briley – A Guide To Creating Better Homes

    Entrearchitect

    This week on EntreArchitect Podcast, A Guide To Creating Better Homes with Chris Briley.

  • EP105 What's a pretty good house with Dan Kolbert and Chris Briley (Dec 2022)

    Building HVAC Science

    “For several years, in southern Maine, a small group of building professionals have been getting together monthly to discuss building science…

    At one of those meetings, one of my guests today, builder, Dan Kolbert, expressed frustration with the status quo, and even more frustration with the various rating systems that had him jumping through many hoops to prove that his work was in fact “green” and energy efficient. “

  • An Interesting Conversation with 2 Authors of “Pretty Good House”

    Remodelers on the Rise

    “Kyle interviews Dan Kolbert and Emily Mottram, two of the authors of the new book Pretty Good House. Pretty Good House provides a framework and guidelines to focus on the core issues that should be front and center when designing and building a high-quality home or renovation.”

  • #003: A Conversation with Dan Kolbert of Kolbert Building

    Retrofit

    In this episode of the Retrofit Podcast, host Ryan Shanahan talks with Dan Kolbert, owner of Kolbert Building, where he focuses on good design and controlling heat, weather, moisture, and drafts to craft homes that'll last generations.

  • Ep76 - High Performance Homes w/ Michael Maines

    Builder vs Buyer

    “I recently spoke with Michael Maines of Maines Design and Co-Author of Pretty Good House. We talk high performance homes, cost in design and our shared background as engineers turned designers.”

  • Episode 1564: Pretty Good Housing For All / Dan Kolbert

    This Is Hell

    “Chuck interviews Dan Kolbert, co-author along with Christopher Briley, Michael Maines and Emily Mottram, of, “Pretty Good House: A Guide to Creating Better Homes.” Dan has been a carpenter and contractor in Portland, Maine, for three decades. He has written for various trade publications, including Fine Homebuilding magazine, and for the past 10 years has been moderator of the original Building Science Discussion Group in Portland, Maine, where the Pretty Good House idea originated.”

  • Keep Craft Alive Podcast: Ep.12, Dan Kolbert, Builder

    Keep Craft Alive - Fine Home Building

    “As one of the founders of the Pretty Good House movement, Dan talks about his shift into building science and why PGH is accessible to everyone from homeowners to builders.”

Article Features

  • Portland debuts New England's first pantry on wheels

    News Center Maine

    “New England's first pantry on wheels gives access to everyone in the community, 24/7. It began operations this weekend and will move locations every few weeks.”

  • Houzz Tour: 1950s Cape Cod-Style House Gets a Sustainable Update

    houzz

    “Peck worked with contractor Dan Kolbert, the co-author of Pretty Good House: A Guide to Creating Better Homes. “The book is about a movement toward smaller, healthier, more resilient, energy-efficient and low-carbon homes,” Peck says. Kolbert helped him figure out how to complete the renovation in a sustainable way.”

  • Is a “Pretty Good House” Good Enough?

    Fine Home Building

    “This concept of a home that strikes a balance between construction cost and energy performance is a guideline for builders and architects looking for an alternative to complicated green-building certification programs.”

  • A Case for Double-Stud Walls

    Fine Home Building

    “Straightforward construction, common materials, and low embodied carbon are just some of the benefits of this superinsulated assembly.”

  • Footing Retrofit in a Day

    Fine Home Building

    “Using helical piers to add footings to an old house is faster, less disruptive, and comparable in cost to excavating and pouring concrete.”

  • Wading Through the Morass Of Women's Workwear

    The Journal of Light Construction

    “When I first entered the “men’s world” of carpentry, I had no idea how to dress. My previous workwear style of business casual dresses, and ideally, a sandal with a medium heel, was woefully inadequate. In my first trades job, I was snarkily told my summer outfit of denim shorts, a tank top, and a flannel shirt was “unprofessional,” but I was given no other actual guidance.”

  • High-Performance Farmhouse

    Fine Home Building

    “This excerpt from Pretty Good House (The Taunton Press, 2022) is a case study of the Copper Farmhouse, one of five high-performance homes in Cumberland, Maine, and the fourth installment to this energy-efficient community. Named for its copper fixtures and antique pieces the owner brought to the project, the home was constructed on design theories and methods based on a Pretty Good House. A Pretty Good House encapsulates what it means to be environmentally friendly in size, simplicity, durability, and design.”

  • Makita XGT 40-Volt Rear-Handle Saw

    The Journal of Light Construction

    “Our carpentry crew uses a variety of tools in Makita’s LXT 18-volt and CXT 12-volt battery platforms. Recently, our company hired a new carpenter, who brought with him—along with a wide range of experience, talent, and knowledge—Makita’s new XGT 40-volt 7 1/4‑inch rear-handle circular saw. Since we are big fans of the older, LXT 36-volt (two 18-volt batteries) version of the saw, we were eager to see how new hire Ryan O’Malley’s saw compared.”

  • Pretty Good House 2.0

    Green Building Advisor

    “You may already know about the Pretty Good House concept, the result of a question that moderator Dan Kolbert asked back in 2011, partly as a joke, at the long-running building science discussion group at Performance Building Supply in Portland, Maine.”

  • How to Design a Pretty Good House

    Maine Homes by Downeast

    “Niftier than its tongue-in-cheek name suggests, the grassroots building standard launched in Portland balances cost and energy performance.”