We’re celebrating 8 years of helping you get it right on the Undercover Architect podcast, as I share thoughts about homes, the industry and your stories.

Listen to the episode now.

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.

And, in September we marked the 10th birthday of Undercover Architect itself. Combine that with it being December at the time of recording this, and coming up to the end of the year, it’s a great time to review, reflect, celebrate and plan.

There’s three things in particular I want to chat about in this episode.

The first is about HOW we live, and some conversations and research I’ve been doing lately, that I’m keen to understand if you’d like to hear more about.

The second is about the industry itself, and where I believe the opportunity lies for the biggest improvement – and again, I’m keen to hear if you’d like me to share more about this.

The third is a story I received from a homeowner about their project … and how $450,000 in predicted project costs became $2.4 million. 

It may sound a bit rambly, as this is a mental download of a lot of what I’ve been thinking about and discussing with others lately. 

I’ve tried to put some structure in it … but my thoughts are not necessarily happening in a structured way! But rather than holding back, or waiting to perfect and polish it, I’m going to share it with you warts and all.

So, stay tuned, as I dive into all of this.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a solo episode. 

In fact, it’s been over 7 months, back in Episode 310, when I talked with you about the three building blocks for a great project and a great home – those building blocks being your Toolset, your Skillset and your Mindset. (It’s a super helpful episode by the way, so go check it out if you haven’t listened to it).

And whilst it doesn’t feel like that long ago, I know that this past 12 months has involved a lot of personal and professional shifts for me, so it feels like a while that I’ve done a big update or had a chat with you about it all. 

As the year after turning 50, I knew it would involve a lot of shifts. I’ve found it’s been a great time to really dive into defining what the next decade will hold, what I want to be working on, and the impact I want to make in the work I do each day.

I’ve also noticed in loads of conversations, especially with close female friends of mine of a similar age, that we’re all navigating similar thoughts. With aging parents, kids moving into their last years at school, many of us experiencing perimenopause, menopause and beyond, there seems to be A LOT going on..

So, even if you’re not at that stage in your life, and can’t identify with any of what i’ve just said, I think you might still find this worth listening to! I know the UA listening community has a big range of demographics and locations.

Also, at the time of recording, I’m also coming up to the end of a year, an anniversary of the podcast, and have experienced a big birthday for Undercover Architect. So, it naturally means a lot of reflection, celebration and planning has been happening.

With all that in mind, let me set some context for some of the things I’ve been thinking about lately and want to chat about in this episode. 

I’m going to divide this chat into three sections:

• Firstly, how we live: the homes we choose, how that may change, and what is needed (and how this may be in complete contrast to what the industry is dishing up)
• Secondly, the industry itself: the shifts that are happening, and need to accelerate, for it to survive and thrive
• Third and lastly, the stories I hear from you: and what they mean in the context of those first two topics

Now, let’s dive in!

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW.

Jennifer Brown’s Ally Continuum [Source]

RESOURCES:

Check out these podcast episodes >>>

• Episode 310 ‘The 3 building blocks for a great project and a great home’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-3-building-blocks-for-great-project-great-home/  
• Living on one level – Spotlight >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/spotlight-new-coast-new-home-new-life/ 
• Coastal home – Spotlight >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/spotlight-creating-a-new-coastal-home/ 

Conversations with HOME Method members creating their long term, aging in place homes:

• Episode 338 ‘Gardens, Grandkids, and Sustainability: Building a new home, with Jan and Landon’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-gardens-grandkids-sustainability-building-new-home-jan-landon/ 
• Episode 339 ‘The Granny Flat Dilemma: Custom, PreFab or Kit, with Jan and Landon’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-granny-flat-dilemma-custom-prefab-kit/ 
• Episode 325 ‘Designing a New Coastal home for Ageing in Place, with June’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-designing-a-new-coastal-home-ageing-in-place/ 
• Episode 326 ‘Building a Home Whilst Living Remotely from the Site, with June’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-building-a-home-whilst-living-remotely/ 

WINCCohousing website >>> https://winccohousing.org.au/ 

Full Time Lives website >>> https://fulltimelives.com/about-us 

SALT website >>> https://saltaustralia.org.au/ 

Female Tradie website >>> https://femaletradie.com.au/ 

Sustainable Builders Yak podcast episode ‘Women Shaping Construction’ >>> https://open.spotify.com/episode/2qCAkqarEQKeg4Mcdyrtae 

Research resources >>>

• Average floor area of new residential dwellings >>> https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/average-floor-area-new-residential-dwellings 
• The key population statistics that impact housing >>> https://australianpropertyupdate.com.au/apu/the-key-population-statistics-that-impact-housing 
• Woman homeless over 50 facts and statistics >>> https://www.homelesslongisland.org/post/woman-homeless-over-50-facts-and-statistics 
• Paint by Numbers: Older Americans and homelessness >>> https://endhomelessness.org/blog/paint-by-numbers-older-americans-and-homelessness/ 
• The alarming rise of women over 45 experiencing homelessness >>> https://www.mamamia.com.au/older-women-and-homelessness/ 
• Annual ASIC insolvency data reveals increase in companies failing >>> https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/annual-asic-insolvency-data-reveals-increase-in-companies-failing/ 
• Australian construction exodus driven by stress and burnout >>> https://www.buildaustralia.com.au/news_article/australian-construction-exodus-driven-by-stress-and-burnout/ 
• Findings report: Mental health in construction 2022 >>> https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/about-us/evaluation/findings-report-mental-health-in-construction-2022 
• Peak construction group says 130,000 workers needed this year >>> https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/peak-construction-group-says-130000-workers-needed-this-year/news-story/03b31ef2e101f2ddbc62500dadd28da8 
• December 2023 WGEA construction industry snapshot >>> https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/WGEA_Construction_industry_snapshot_2022-23.pdf 
• 20 ways to be an effective male ally >>> https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20-ways-effective-male-ally-megan-dalla-camina/ 
• Women Rising program >>> https://womenrisingco.com/maprogram/ 

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program, HOME METHOD >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/

Learn more about how to interview and select the right builder with the Choose Your Builder mini-course >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/choose-your-builder

Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan