Skill Builder: Recent Episodes
Roger Bisby & Dylan Garton
Roger Bisby and other guests talk about their experiences in the building industry, look at the latest products and troubleshoot problems listeners are having.
Roger speaks with Duncan, a homeowner left without heating for more than 2½ years after a disastrous air-source heat pump installation under the UK Eco4 government scheme.Installers got the heat-loss calcs wrong, fitted undersized radiators, never commissioned the system, and even added solar panels without checking the roof structure — causing further damage. The result: a cold home, big bills, and emergency repairs.This isn’t an isolated case. With minimal inspections and installers chasing grant money over quality, thousands risk poor installs, damp, and structural issues — with no real safety net.Duncan has now launched a charity to support others caught in the same situation and to push for urgent reform of government-backed retrofit schemes.
Thermally broken lintels minimise heat transfer through the building envelope to meet Part L of the Building Regulations.Catnic’s thermally broken lintels use two folded steel sections bonded to a high-strength, thermally efficient core, achieving psi values no greater than 0.05 W/mK without additional brackets or cold bridges.Traditional steel lintels create significant thermal bridges by crossing the insulated cavity.Separating the inner and outer steel sections breaks this thermal convection and reduces heat flow by over 90%, depending on the design.Catnic thermally broken lintels are available to suit 90-205mm cavities, in standard, heavy or extra heavy duty load capacities.________________________Summary❄️ Thermally broken lintels slash heat loss by eliminating cold bridging.📐 Fit cavity widths up to 225 mm, with future options for arches and bays.✅ Independently verified with BBA certification and BRE thermal modelling.🛠️ Powder-coated steel for strength and durability, with installation guidance.📊 Free structural calculations and lintel schedules from Catnic.🌍 Central to a “fabric first” approach — boosting efficiency before adding tech like heat pumps or solar.Find out more about Catnic: go.skill-builder.uk/catnic
Roger visits the Pipelife Academy in Cork, Ireland, to discuss heat pumps and renewable energy technology with Mike Geary.
Roger travelled to Ellesmere Port to get a plastering lesson from Kirk Johnstone. The guys took a break and Kirk shared some insights on plastering life.
Roger looks at heating systems and explains their features and benefits as energy efficiency and sustainability become increasingly important, homeowners have various home heating choices.
Roger has a chat with Russel Pieters from MSA Safety about staying safe on-site and how to choose the correct head protection.
Roger has a chat with Structural Engineer John Cranna, who started his consultancy in 1992, having worked for major engineering consultants Ove Arup, Scott Wilson and Halcrow.
Roger Bisby has a chat with Dan Cox about his life as a carpenter and how becoming an inventor came naturally.
Roger and Sam discuss working with type 1 diabetes and how to stay motivated and energised as self-employed tradesmen.
Roger catches up with Ian Elliott of CITS (Combined Industries Theft Solutions) to see the state of play with our anti-tool theft campaign.
Roger is joined by Damian Wallis of Safeguard Europe, the leading manufacturer and supplier of specialist damp-proofing and waterproofing products.
Roger and Mike discuss the quality of the training offered by one of the major players in the air source heat pump space.
Roger looks at robotic bricklaying technology and asks the question, is the future of construction robotic?
Roger is joined by Clive Drummond from In My Yard, the marketplace for trades and DIYers to buy & sell new, used and surplus stock.
Roger is joined by Owen Freeman from Plastic Surgeon Fine Finishers, a UK network providing high-quality, engineered repairs of damaged surfaces.
Government announced the creation of a national construction products regulator with the responsibility to ensure homes are constructed using 'safe' materials.
Roger is joined by damp cure expert Mostyn Neylon-Witham from Dovedale Dampcure Services Ltd who are damp specialists in the treatment of condensative dampness, damp walls and penetrating damp.
We're joined by Martyn Bridges from Worcester Bosch to discuss hydrogen boilers and the future of heating our homes with reduced emissions.
Roger discusses cowboy plumbers and cowboy builders and looks back at his time on the BBC with Watchdog and Rogue Traders.
Roger is reunited with his old friend from LBC Gerard Sauer to have a chat about the future of powering our vehicles.
When plumbers get together, this is what they talk about. Roger and James Lawrence from Plumberparts discuss plumbing and life in general.
Roger has a chat with Chris Wormald from Pipelife to look at the common misconceptions with plastic pipe.
Roger talks to Gabriel Pinchev, the CEO of FieldPulse, an all-in-one trades field management software solution.
Roger and Robin, fresh back from their summer holidays, jump back into podcast action and tackle the subject of having the right attitude and work ethics.
Robin & Roger are back with another podcast episode to help you in your everyday work life and we're looking at getting organised and keeping track of materials, time and even 'people'.
The podcast is back and we're tackling mental health, depression and anxiety. The building industry has a huge problem with mental health issues and its workforce suffers more than average.
So far in the podcast, we've talked about how wonderful and clever Roger and Robin are so it's time to embrace the power of vulnerability.
It's hard to track down a good builder, in this episode, we offer some solutions beyond the usual first port of call for most people which are the trades recommendation websites.
Another subject that fires-up Roger and Robin is fly-tipping and the irresponsible disposal of waste material from the building site.
Dealing with customer complaints can be the hardest part of any job, so it's time for Roger and Robin to share their experiences and tips on how to handle customer complaints.
Robin is back with Roger to discuss the all-important issue of getting paid and taking every measure in avoiding bad debts so you'll escape being knocked by cowboy customers.
Roger and Dylan discuss fault finding and troubleshooting in the third episode of the Skill Builder podcast.
Roger has developed a taste and knack for solving problems over the years and loves a challenge.
In this episode, he talks about his experiences and the mindset required to figure out problems.
It takes courage to leap from the security and comfort of your job, but the fact that you're here tells us that you're thinking of making the leap into the world of being the master of your own destiny.
The tips and techniques developed by Roger and Robin during the course of their long careers will help you avoid the misery of pricing yourself out of, or into certain projects.