Howdy folks, I am a mid-level carpenter looking to add to my credentials in a building science kind of way. Is it really worth it to get BPI certification? I'm not looking to become solely an energy auditor, but thought that having some sort of technical knowledge would allow me to get into net zero or passive house projects, or even work that mildly approaches more building efficiency. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I was a general contractor for about 30 years, then (recession!) trained to become ResNet rater, then BPI Certified Building Analyst and eventually a BPI trainer/proctor. I have learned so much about building science during these last 6 years. I'm returning to the building business with far more to offer my customers about high performance building. I'm not sure the credentials are vital, unless you establish an auditing business, but the training can really be a springboard if you are really passionate about doing it right.

hache
good for you! the country desperately needs more builders who understand how to build houses. strongly recommend some of the online Passive House courses to add to your knowledge base.

The biggest problem is convincing the customer to pay a higher price. Unfortunately, most customers won't pay a higher price.

robinnc: you're right -they won't "pay a higher price" IF you're offering the same thing as every other carpenter out there. Learn to build better so you can offer a better product; people will pay for that.

Bob, that's what I was saying. They WON'T pay for it. Everything we're talking about is behind the walls. Unless the client is a millionaire, most will not pay for it.

Thank goodness we don't work much with "most'. Their priorities are backwards.

1. Unless you're Toll Brothers, you don't need "most". Some will; build for them.
2. If you were right, Passive House and the Net Zero movement would be dead in the water, Transformations wouldn't be able to sell homes in their subdivisions, Bensonwood would drop their Unity Homes startup, and on & on & on. But they are all going strong. Join them.

The market is here. Now. Learn how to build the style of home people in your area are looking for with a superinsulated shell at a moderate price & you'll find buyers.

It may be slightly harder if you are a remodeling contractor, but if you advertise your expertise people will seek you out.

Bob, Badger......you guys are in a different world! You must 'only' be targeting millionaires that are building a million$ + house.  Maybe you can get away with it in the NE where everything is union labor which is also in a different world than the rest. If you're been on here and other web sites(for a number of years) about building very efficient houses, folks just 'won't' pay even 5-7% higher price!!! As I stated, EVERYTHING that makes a house 'very' efficient is BEHIND the walls. People can't see what they are paying a premium for unfortunately !! You can spend all the 'wasted' money on advertising and it won't help in the real world for most of the country. It's going to take energy(elect, NG...to heat/cool the house) to go thru the roof like gas has to have any kind of major changes.

union labor? In New Hampshire? Not likely! No, I'm building mostly 1800-2500 SF houses for regular people. Generally they are either people who are retiring and concerned about having fixed expenses on limited incomes, or younger people who understand the benefits of keeping their ongoing expenses low. We are constantly trying to figure out way to keep the house cost as low as possible, hence my preference for standard foundations and framing (although with double walls) and cellulose insulation. It's true that the majority of people want standard run of the mill stuff, but I'm not a publicly traded company who needs to build 10,000 houses, so thats fine with me.

If you prefer to grouse about it, thats fine, but there are dozens if not hundreds of builders across the country who are doing what I'm doing and building these houses for the people that want them. It not only can be done, but it is being done, right now.

I know that a majority of the NE is union. I assumed that it spread thru all of the NE like a virus(I've always lived in the SE). Glad to hear it hasn't. You say standard foundation, is this a slab? By the way, I despise track builders. 

We're doing a slab on grade house now the old fashioned way, using 4' frost walls. That seems to be less expensive than a basement, (meaning 8' concrete walls) but most buyers want basements in NE.

There are union carpenters and other trades here, but mostly in larger commercial areas, but it has never spread into residential, and there are no national tract builders here. I will say that the union people I know, like the retired union plumber & mason nearby have a much more enjoyable retirement than the non-union carpenters. Most tradespeople also go without health insurance, so the framer I worked with never got his broken wrist set properly for instance. There's a strong independent streak here, but its not all beneficial.

Very little union in residential construction. The wage scale won’t support it. Tract home builders are like everyone else, some good, some bad. The same can be said for all the trades. I have looked at a lot of crappy work, regardless of price. In the end it all comes down to educating the client and making them understand what service you provide, and why it is important. If they don’t get it, move on.