I’ve Accepted a New Job

On Friday, January 31, 2025, I excepted an interim position of editor at Green Building Advisor.  This job offer came out of the blue, and was something I could not pass up.  For now, it is a temporary position with the possibility of becoming permanent.  The current editor, Kiley Jacques is on a leave of absence, if she decides to return, she will have her position back.

What this means for the Northern Built blog is a little up in the air.  I have, in the past been able to repost the articles I write for GBA, this may come to an end during my tenure as editor.  I will plan on writing one original blog per month for the Northern Build website.  Know that Northern Build will not be going away.

My plan for my business, (Willcon Inc) is to continue performing energy audits and building investigations in Northern Minnesota along with some public speaking and teaching events (If you are heading to IBS in 2025, I will be speaking at the Performance Construction Zone, watch for a schedule).  I have also been taking on consulting roles, mostly helping homeowners and builders with new construction projects.  I will have to decline those opportunities going forward.

If you haven’t subscribed to the site, please do.  The only purpose of the subscription is to notify you when a new blog is released.  I do not sell or distribute the subscription list to anyone.

I want to thank all of you who have helped me build the Northern Built site into what is has become.  The site recently hit 10,000 visitors over the past 30 days and has been growing at a rate of 25% per year.  This wouldn’t have happened without the readers, thank you!!!

Hope to see you on GBA, and on this site!

Randy

Northern Built Pro’s Top 5 Blog Posts for 2023

Happy New Year!  2023 was a good year for the Northern Built Pro website with 45 new blog posts, many first appearing on the Green Building Advisor website, and some that ended up in a couple trade magazines, Fine HomeBuilding and Journal of Light Construction.  I wrote a few that were directly for manufacturers of building materials, including Rockwool, Andersen Windows and Doors and Sashco.  I am looking forward to partnering with a few additional manufacturers in 2024.  A teaser to one that I am currently writing an article about, TimberHP.

These are the top 5 blog posts that were written and published in 2023.

5.  The Diminishing Return of Insulation

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NorthernBuiltPro now on YouTube

The NorthernBuiltPro YouTube channel is live.  (It has been for a while, but now we are producing some YouTube only content.)  The blog will continue as it has but watch for additional content on YouTube and please hit that subscribe button.

Northern Built – An Introduction

Hi, my name is Randy Williams, welcome to my first ever blog post.

I spend a lot of my time thinking about and working in the construction industry. I started in 1996 as an apprentice electrician working for my brother before becoming a state licensed journeyman electrician in 2000. In the late 1990’s, I helped my father, who had built several homes and commercial buildings for himself, start a new home for his sister. In 2005, my dad, brother and I started a company called Willcon Inc, short for Williams Construction. We officially became a licensed building contractor. I learned a lot about the construction industry in those first few years.

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