In this special series of episodes of the FHB Podcast, Rob Yagid, executive director of Keep Craft Alive and former Fine Homebuilding editor, shares his conversations with some of the most talented and dedicated people in the world of residential design and construction.

In this episode, Rob talks with Dan Kolbert, a carpenter of 35 years and building contractor in Portland, Maine for 20 years. Like many tradespeople, Dan entered the trades indirectly, starting with a summer job after college that was never meant to be a full-time thing but ended up as one anyway. After years in the business, Dan helped co-found and facilitate a discussion group in Portland around building science principles. What started as a joke title for a discussion topic, “what if you want to build just a pretty good house”, turned into a movement, Pretty Good House. Dan and Rob talk about the evolution of the movement, the guiding principles of the PGH, and why it’s helpful for people who want to build better quality homes but are intimidated by more stringent certification processes. Pretty Good House is also coming out in book form during summer of 2022, published by Taunton Press.

Keep Craft Alive is an initiative powered by Fine Homebuilding to bring awareness to the skills gap in the building industry and the rich professional opportunities that exist in the trades.

The SkillsUSA #KeepCraftAlive Scholarship Fund provides tuition money to students pursuing a career in the trades. You can make a tax-deductible donation to the fund, or buy a #KeepCraftAlive T-shirt to both support the fund and show your support.

Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products

Fine Homebuilding receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Reliable Crimp Connectors

These reliable, high-quality connectors from Wirefy work on 10-22-gauge wire have heat-shrink insulation to keep out water and road salt.

Buy at Amazon

Handy Heat Gun

This heat gun is great for drying joint compound, primer and paint when patching drywall and plaster walls. Plus it can soften adhesive, get a very cold small engine to start, and shrink heat-shrink tubing.

Buy at Amazon

8067 All-Weather Flashing Tape

Available in 2- to 12-in. widths, this is a good general-purpose flashing tape that sticks well to most things. It features a two-piece release paper, water-shedding layers, and good UV resistance.

Buy at Amazon