Everyone talks about "modern methods of construction" like it's something new. Kersten Gentle has a different take: the timber frame and truss industry has been doing offsite prefab for decades. They're the OGs.
In this episode, Aaron sits down with Kersten, CEO of the Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association of Australia (FTMA), fresh off what he calls the most impressive industry conference he's ever attended. What follows is a conversation about how the industry actually moves forward — not through hype, but through relationships, knowledge sharing, and builders getting closer to the people who make their product.
Around 80% of every detached home in Australia has timber frames and trusses in it, produced across roughly 280 plants — almost all of them family-owned businesses. Yet most builders never visit the plant, never sit down with their manufacturer, and never discover how much cost and time they could save by doing so. Kersten makes the case for why that relationship matters more than price.
The conversation goes deep on the things builders rarely hear discussed properly: why 49% of the cost of a new home in New South Wales is government taxes and regulatory cost, why the rush to factory-built housing is failing in places like Cairns, and why local builders, local trades and local knowledge can't be replaced by an overseas investor's spreadsheet.
Kersten also opens up on Carbon Warrior — the movement she trademarked to help builders understand that a timber frame stores around eight tonnes of carbon for the life of a home, and grows back in roughly 150 seconds. It's marketing material that happens to be completely real.
And there's a powerful message for any builder who's come off the tools through injury: the timber systems design pathway, a career indoors that uses everything you already know about building.
This one will reignite the fire. Builders, get closer to your manufacturer. You'll be blown away.
WHAT WE COVER
- Why the frame and truss industry are the original masters of offsite prefab — and what governments keep getting wrong about it
- The 80% stat: how much of every Australian detached home relies on timber frames and trusses
- Why builders should visit their manufacturer's plant — and the cost savings hiding in their plans
- Service, delivery and quality over price point: what builders should actually look for in a supplier
- The 49% problem: government taxes and red tape baked into the cost of every new home
- The Cairns modular housing failure and what it teaches us about ignoring local knowledge
- Carbon Warrior: how a timber frame stores around eight tonnes of carbon for life
- The new lightweight timber framing standard taking builders from two storeys up to four
- A second-career pathway for injured builders through timber systems design
- The signature question — in Kersten's eyes, what makes a good builder
SPONSOR CALLOUTS
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