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Wish you knew more about the biggest investment you will most likely ever make? Build Your House Yourself University (byhyu) will teach you to save money and make smart decisions about the construction of the place you and your family will call HOME. We will help you understand residential construction— simplify and demystify the design build process. You’ll come away with successful strategies for building your own house, with or without a general contractor. Become an educated consumer, even if you prefer to buy, rather than build a new house. Complex construction jargon and best practices will be explained in easy to understand terms. It’s not the typical DIY (do it yourself) show. You will learn how to MANAGE the labor, not DO the labor for your new house. Join me, Michelle Nelson, host and fellow informal residential construction student. I’ll share the research I find on home design and building as I prepare to build my home. Together, our community of future home builders, will learn the tips, tricks and trends of experienced contractors and industry experts. I’ll interview owner-builders and construction professionals. During our mini lessons, I’ll inform you about framing, flooring, windows, insulation, kitchen cabinets and countertops…almost anything having to do with new construction homes. You’ll hear about energy efficiency and green building too. There will be product reviews in which you will be introduced to cutting edge, as well as, tried and true products and services. And in keeping with the university theme, episodes will end with short, fun quizzes. If we do our due diligence BEFORE we start construction, we will actually start construction with the most difficult part of the project behind us. Let’s put in the time, effort, preparation and research BEFORE we break ground and building our homes will be much easier and more enjoyable.
- 265 - Homeowner Matthew S. Discusses His New Custom Home Designed For Entertaining, Part 2—BYHYU 262Wed, 04 Jan 2023 - 26min
- 264 - Homeowner Matthew S. Discusses His New Custom Home Designed For Entertaining, Part 1—BYHYU 261
Matt went back to the neighborhood he grew up in and built a house perfect for entertaining. In this first part of the interview, he talks about his very practical floor plan that has lots of space for hosting friends and family. He tells us about some really unique design ideas and gives great advice about communicating with contractors. This is a really helpful conversation.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 - 35min - 263 - Homeowner Rachel D. Tells Us About Her Homebuilding Journey, Part 2
This week we have Part 2 of our interview with Rachel. She’s a homeowner working with a general contractor and they’re finishing up a custom build in Ohio. This week Rachel talks more about her homebuilding journey, what she would do differently if she were to build again, and the best thing about building a custom home.
If you or someone know would like to share your homebuilding experience on the podcast, please email me at Michelle@byhyu.com
Show notes at www.BYHYU.com
Wed, 23 Nov 2022 - 22min - 262 - 259. Homeowner Rachel D. Tells Us About Her Homebuilding Journey, Part 1
Homeowner Rachel D tells us about the challenges and triumphs she's had along her homebuilding journey. She discusses how the pandemic has affected her build, what resources she's used to help her through the design-build process and where she's found some of her design inspiration and fixtures.
See photos of Rachel's home in the shownotes at BYHYU.com
Thu, 17 Nov 2022 - 27min - 261 - Bedroom Furniture and Layout Tips—BYHYU 258
Several weeks ago in episode 254 called Furniture Layout and Space Planning I gave some guidelines about furniture placement and how to best layout your rooms to achieve functional, aesthetically pleasing spaces that have good flow. After listening back to that episode though, I realized, I didn’t talk much about bedrooms. So that’s what we’ll discuss in this episode— space planning and layout rules specifically for bedrooms.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 05 Oct 2022 - 19min - 260 - What’s The Best Roofing Material For Your House? — BEST OF BYHYU 257
This week’s episode is a replay of the one that I did years ago. The information is still relevant, but the pricing that I mentioned in the episode has likely changed given the current economy and today’s consumer demand for construction materials and supply chain challenges. I’ll discuss the 6 most popular types of roofing materials on the market, including my favorite, metal roofs.
Make sure you follow the show so when I record my latest construction update and other new content, the show will automatically be sent to your email or podcast library as soon as it is released. You can follow us through the podcast platform you use. Or, if you want episodes along with the show notes and relevant photos to go to your email inbox, you can subscribe through the BYHYU.com website.
SHOW NOTES at BYHYU.com
Wed, 10 Aug 2022 - 21min - 259 - Keeping Your House Cool, Inside and Out: BEST OF BYHYU 256
Given the heat wave that’s sweeping a lot of the country right now, I wanted to remind myself of some of the information from a previous episode called Keeping Your House Cool, Inside and Out.I thought it might also be helpful for you to revisit that mini-lesson too, to make sure you are considering some of those cooling solutions as you are planning your home design.
But before we get into the show, I’ll share a bit of my first-hand experience with some of the products you’ll hear about in the podcast.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 13 Jul 2022 - 23min - 258 - Choosing the Best Freestanding Tub for Your Style, Budget and Needs—BYHYU 255
Even if you’re not a tub person you should strongly consider adding a bathtub somewhere in your new home. You may never intend to use the tub yourself, but it’s nice having a tub available for bath-loving guests, for bathing children and grandchildren, and for grooming pets.
Many homeowners include a tub in their primary bathroom not only for practical, utilitarian reasons but also for aesthetics. Freestanding tubs continue to be an extremely popular choice primarily because of aesthetics. Freestanding tubs are thought of as sculptural showpieces and increase the perceived value of the home. In this episode, you’ll get information that will help you choose the right freestanding tub for your new home.
SHOW NOTES at BYHYU.com
Wed, 22 Jun 2022 - 17min - 257 - Furniture Layout and Space Planning— BYHYU 254
Even if you haven’t started building your house yet, you should start thinking about your furniture layout. Furniture placement is important because it will dictate how good a room looks, how well it functions, and how easily you can move in and through the space. If your rooms have beautiful furniture pieces, but they’re arranged awkwardly, it will take away from the overall stylishness and functionality of your home.
Developing a good furniture layout early on will help you come up with a more accurate electrical plan where you can specify where electrical outlets for lamps, TVs, and other electronics— an electrical plan that makes the most sense as it relates to the furniture that will be in the room. So let’s discuss some furniture placement/layout rules of thumb that you should consider way before you buy your furniture.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 01 Jun 2022 - 21min - 256 - BEST OF BYHYU: Why Soffits and Fascia Are Important—BYHYU 253
Soffits and Fascia are parts of the house that don’t often get a lot of thought or attention from homeowners planning to build their dream homes. But they’re important not only as design elements for your home but also because they protect your house. And choosing the right materials for your fascia and soffits can reduce the required maintenance for your home. This week we’ll briefly talk about soffit and fascia options so you can make the best choice for your home. Let’s start by establishing exactly what and where soffits and fascia are.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 11 May 2022 - 09min - 255 - Design Trends Spotted at the Spring 2022 High Point Market—-BYHYU 252
The High Point Market is the largest furniture trade show for design professionals in the world. Twice a year more than 75,000 designers, furniture buyers, retail store owners, and architects go to High Point, North Carolina to see what’s trending in furnishings. Unfortunately, the show is not open to the general public, but many designers report on what they see each year at High point. If you didn’t know, North Carolina is known as the furniture-making capital of the United States. It’s where most quality furniture manufactured in American is made.
In today’s episode, we’ll go over some of the most popular design trends spotted at the recent spring 2022 High Point Market. The information in this show comes from a couple of articles at Houzz.com.
Most of the designs features have been around for 2-3 years and are still trending. Others are emerging trends. As we go through the list, remember, you don’t have to incorporate all of these or frankly any of these features into our new house, but it’s always nice to stay on top of what’s currently in style.
Shownotes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 27 Apr 2022 - 10min - 254 - When Will Supply Chain Issues (And Resulting Increased Wait Times and Prices) End?—BYHYU 251
From large things like garage doors to the small things like electronic chips that go into TVs and appliances, the materials that we need to build and furnish our homes are still hard to get. More than two years after the start of the pandemic, supply chain issues continue to cause significant construction slowdowns and above-average pricing in homebuilding.
So when will supply chain issues end? That’s the million-dollar question, and the truth is, no one really knows. But there are opinions out there and that’s what we’ll talk about in this episode. As you probably realize, the answer to “When will things get back to normal?” is relevant to anyone who’s building or remodeling a house. Because as long as there are interruptions and delays in the supply chain, there will also be interruptions and delays in construction. Your new build or remodeling project is likely to cost you more time and money than it would if the supply chain weren’t having so many challenges. Let’s talk about exactly what the supply chain is and when experts are predicting a return to normalcy.
SHOW NOTES at BYHYU.com
Wed, 06 Apr 2022 - 14min - 253 - 10 Popular Design Features from the 2022 Ft. Worth Dream Street Show Homes—BYHYU 250
Like we did last year, my husband and I took a day trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area to visit the 3 high-end show homes at Fort Worth’s annual Dream Street event. I enjoy going to show homes like these so I can see the features that are most popular with area designers. Now, to be clear, these are multimillion-dollar homes and not all of the elements showcased will fit into every budget. But to me, it’s helpful to see what’s fresh and new, and what continues to be relevant in decor, appliances, and amenities, even if we don’t include the exact finishes and brands showcased. Homes like these can serve as inspiration for those of us who are building.
SHOW NOTES AT BYHYU.com
Wed, 16 Mar 2022 - 11min - 252 - Smooth vs Textured Walls, Bullnose vs Square Corners, Level 4 vs Level 5 Drywall Finish, What Should You Choose?—BYHYU 249
In addition to knowing about the different types of drywall that are best for different areas of your home, it’s good to think ahead of time the style and finishes you want for your walls so you’re not stumped when your builder or drywaller ask you if you want a Level 4 or level 5 drywall finish. Or whether you want any texture on your wall, straight square corners, or bullnose? In today’s episode, I’ll briefly cover whether smooth or textured walls are more popular for today’s new builds and if curved bullnose corners are still in style. We’ll also cover the basics of drywall finish levels so you can confidently tell your contractor what you prefer.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 02 Mar 2022 - 20min - 251 - What You Need To Know About Drywall/Sheetrock To Improve Your Home’s Quality and Function—BYHYU 248
It’s honestly pretty hard to get excited about drywall. Drywall is a subject that’s kinda, well…dry. But drywall is a material that goes in just about every space of the house, so we want to be able to make informed decisions about what type of drywall we should request to make our walls last longer and perform better. I won’t go into too much boring detail, but I’m hoping to give you enough information so you can have an intelligent conversation with your builder or drywall contractor, so you will know the best types of drywall for different areas of your house. Despite what you might think, all drywall isn’t the same.
SHOW NOTES AT BYHYU.com
Wed, 09 Feb 2022 - 21min - 250 - What’s Trending for 2022 According to Houzz (We’re Talking Trends, Not Fads), Part 2—BYHYU 247
This week we’ll cover part 2 of a recent article from Houzz.com called “40 Home Design Trends That Will Shape 2022.” Houzz compiled the list of trends based on the thousands of popular photos people uploaded to their site and information they got from speaking with dozens of home design professionals. They also analyzed the searches that people did on their website for different furniture pieces, colors, materials, and other design elements.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 26 Jan 2022 - 15min - 249 - What’s Trending for 2022 According to Houzz (We’re Talking Trends, Not Fads), Part 1—BYHYU 246
Happy New Year. In this episode, we’ll cover a recent article from houzz.com called “40 Home Design Trends That Will Shape 2022. “
I think it’s important for us to be aware of what’s trending in home design, but we probably shouldn’t be too interested in fads. We’ll be talking about trends. There’s a difference. A fad is short-lived. It comes and goes quickly. A Fad is a style that suddenly becomes popular and is embraced with exaggerated zeal. But fads usually don’t stay popular very long and can seriously date your house. Think sponge-painted walls of the 90s.
A trend, on the other hand, is a general direction in which something is going. Trends are popular in a particular season and they last longer than fads. Some trends can stay in style for many years or even decades and some trends can actually become timeless classics. Many trends are current and classic and those are the best ones to follow, if you like them, because they won’t date your house. A white kitchen, for example, is on-trend today, but is also a timeless classic. A white kitchen looked great 10 years ago (and even 100 years). A white kitchen also looks great today and probably be on-trend 10-100 years from now.
To come up with today’s list of trends, Houzz browsed thousands of their popular photos and spoke with dozens of home design and remodeling professionals. They also studied the latest Houzz data and research and looked at lots of past articles to come up with this collection of home design trends that they think will be popular in the months to come.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 12 Jan 2022 - 19min - 248 - BEST OF BYHYU: Where To Save Versus Splurge When Building a House— BYHYU 245
Hope you had a great Christmas and I’m wishing you a happy new year. I want to sincerely thank you for continuing to listen to and share this podcast. I realize that there is a ton of content out here so I’m grateful that you take time out of your schedule to support BYHYU. An extra thank you goes to those of you who have given positive feedback to me either through emails or reviews. And to those who have shared your favorite episodes through text, email or on your social media platforms. It’s so helpful when you become an ambassador for the show and encourage others to listen. I appreciate you very much for that.
Okay, let’s go to a show that was published a few years ago that contains information that’s still relevant today. Since 99% have some degree of budgetary limitations during our builds, we’ll have decided where to save and where to splurge. This show gives you some suggestions. Let’s get right to it.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 29 Dec 2021 - 18min - 247 - BEST OF BYHYU— Designing A Forever Home— BYHYU 244
In the last episode, we discussed aging in place features that we can add to our homes that will allow us to live in them comfortably even if we develop challenges with mobility and coordination as we age. I referred to some designs detailed in this week’s repeat episode called Designing A Forever Home. I wanted to release this show on the heels of the Aging in Place podcast to sort of tie everything together. If you’ve listened to this before, I encourage you to take another listen to remind of some information you may have forgotten or to simply solidify some concepts that you’ve already learned.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 15 Dec 2021 - 12min - 246 - Aging in Place Features— Universal Design That Will Make Your Home Accessible At Any Age—BYHYU 243
Many of us are building our houses with the intention of staying there for the rest of our lives. We’re building our forever homes. And there are some fairly simple design choices we can make that will allow us to stay in our homes comfortably even as seniors. The aging-in-place features we’ll discuss in this episode will give us a greater level of safety, independence, and happiness in our homes— no matter what our age.
Shownotes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 24 Nov 2021 - 19min - 245 - Avoid These Open Concept Floor Plan Mistakes— BYHYU 242
Open-plan homes with great rooms that combine the kitchen, dining room, and living room make smart use of space, increase natural light and make it easy for family and friends to be together. However, with few walls or defined borders and with clear sightlines from one space to another, open-plan rooms can be tricky to decorate. It’s a challenge to strike a good balance between cohesiveness and separation. This week we’ll discuss some common mistakes people make when decorating open floor plans and we’ll go over how we can steer clear of those mistakes.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 03 Nov 2021 - 11min - 244 - The Future of Open Concept Floor Plan Homes—BYHYU 241
Will open concept homes become a thing of the past? In the midst of the pandemic, lots of people have been talking about wanting more private space in their homes. And many are wondering if open floor plans are on their way out. I give you my prediction in this episode.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 20 Oct 2021 - 09min - 243 - Questions For Your Contractors’ References— Ask Your Contractors’ Previous Clients These Things— BYHYU 240
As you probably know, a major part of doing our due diligence and vetting or investigating a contractor before hiring him or her is to contact some references. Ask the contractors you’re considering for your project for ideally at least 3-4 references. And make sure you actually contact those references. Most people are very willing to help out by chatting about their homes and construction experiences.
Some people think contacting references is not very helpful because they think the contractor will only give a list of their best customers who may potentially be unwilling to share anything other than the most positive remarks. But you’d be surprised by how honest people will be, especially if the contractor is not in earshot of their comments. Plus, my list of questions will hopefully elicit candid, valuable information.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 06 Oct 2021 - 18min - 242 - What the Heck Is My Electrician Talking About?! Learn The Basics Of Your Home’s Electrical Service —BYHYU 239
In the last episode, we had a brief overview of the rough-in phase of construction, including what goes on during the electrical rough-in.
This week I’ll give you some very basic information about your breaker box and where you should locate it. Plus we’ll briefly cover when you’ll need a typical 120 volt electrical outlet versus a more powerful 240 volt outlet. And we’ll end the mini-lesson with some talk about what size electrical service or the number of amps your house should have. I know this sounds pretty technical, but these are things we need to understand on a basic level so when our electrician asks if we want a 120 volt or 240 volt outlet or if we want a 200 or 240 amp electrical service, we’ll have some idea of what he’s talking about. As always, I’ll break things down into simple terms.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 22 Sep 2021 - 18min - 241 - Moving On to The Rough-In stage of Construction— BYHYU 238
Significant progress has been made on my house, but if you’ve been following me for a while, you know the process has been painfully slow. Soil instabilities found during excavation of my property and the subsequent foundation redesign and retaining wall construction added more than 6 months to my timeline. Record rains, including overflow of the river, a brutal winter storm, and a global pandemic added even more delays to my schedule before we had even started framing. Unfortunately, unrelenting pandemic-related shortages in materials and labor continue to wreak havoc on my construction schedule. But we are making progress, it’s just slow progress. The next step is rough-in. We’ll go over what that means and I’ll tell you about some of the highlights of the last few months.
www.BYHYU.com
Wed, 08 Sep 2021 - 16min - 240 - 7 Major Decorating Mistakes and How to Avoid Them—BYHYU 237
This week we’ll go over some design tips that I read in a recent article on houzz.com called 7 Major Decorating Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. Even if you like interior design as I do, it can be intimidating to decorate an entire house. But information like this will give us some guidance and a little more confidence when making decisions about our decor.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 25 Aug 2021 - 16min - 239 - Questions and Answers with Fireplace Professional and Educator Jake Cromwell, Part 2— BYHYU 236
This is the second part of our interview with fireplace professional Jake Cromwell of Top Chimney and Roofing. He’ll continue his discussion about high-efficiency direct vent gas fireplaces, which he recommends for those of us who want the heat and beauty of a fireplace, but don’t want a lot of maintenance. He’ll also tell us what we need to look for if we want to mount our TV above our fireplace and where we can find certified fireplaces professionals.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 04 Aug 2021 - 24min - 238 - Questions and Answers with Fireplace Professional and Educator Jake Cromwell— BYHYU 235
This week and next we’ll have a fireplace professional and educator on the show who will help us understand the different types of fireplaces and educate us about some fireplace misconceptions. We’ll also talk about his favorite type of fireplaces and the greatest piece of advice he has for consumers. In part one of our talk, he’ll focus on breaking down the major categories of fireplaces for us. It’s a great interview so let’s get right into it.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 21 Jul 2021 - 24min - 237 - Shortages in Homebuilding Materials and What We Can Do During Construction Delays— BYHYU 234
The current homebuilding environment is a tough one. Builders and homeowners like us are dealing with historically high prices and historically low availability in building materials and labor. In this week’s episode, I’ll tell you about a May 2021 survey done for the National Association of HomeBuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The survey outlines the percentage of builders in the US who have ordered building materials and experienced significant shortages in those materials.
I’ll also give you a few ideas for what to do during construction delays that might result from materials shortages.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 07 Jul 2021 - 11min - 236 - Consider These Framing Alternatives In Light of Persistently High Lumber Prices—BYHYU 233
The cost of lumber has increased more than 300% since April 2020. Lumber sold for $348 per thousand board feet before the pandemic and peaked to a record high of $1,500 per thousand board feet in May 2021. Thankfully, prices have begun to fall in the last few weeks.
I checked lumber prices today and they are around $935 per thousand board feet, which is still considerably higher than prices were when many of us started thinking building. And lumber prices fell several months ago and went back up, so we’re in unpredictable times.
With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit an episode that I did on 2 alternatives to traditional stick-built, lumber-framed homes. Those alternatives are Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and Insulated Concrete Forms, (ICFs). Both SIPs and ICFs provide both insulation and structural framing components for the house.
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the cost of a standard 2,000 sq. ft. home has increased by $34K since April 2020. A similar 2000 sq ft house built with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) also increased in price, but by only $8K or about 30%.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 23 Jun 2021 - 20min - 235 - Moisture Protection for Stucco, Manufactured Stone and Stone Veneer Exterior Cladding—BYHYU 232
If you’re considering building a house with exterior cladding made of stucco and/or manufactured stone or thin natural stone veneer, this episode is for you. This week we’ll talk about the moisture control challenges that we can run into with stone veneer, manufactured stone, and stucco cladding.
Peter Barrett is our guest today. He is the Product and Marketing Manager at Dorken Systems. Dorken specializes in high-performance air and moisture barriers used to protect residential and commercial projects.
We’ll delve into how we can help alleviate the moisture problems that are often seen today with stucco and manufactured stone.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 09 Jun 2021 - 27min - 234 - Learn from My Construction Challenges—BYHYU 231
This week I’ll tell you about some minor, but frustrating construction challenges that I’ve had in hopes you will learn from my experience. We’ll also discuss the “dried-in” phase of construction, rain screens, and the best-looking, virtually maintenance-free wood-alternative product that I’ve seen.
Shownotes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 26 May 2021 - 16min - 233 - Decluttering Gradually, Months Before You Move, Part 2— BYHYU 230
Decluttering gradually, over several months to a year before moving will decrease the overwhelm that usually comes with decluttering an entire house in a short period of time.
This week, I’ll give you a decluttering plan that you can use to help make the process easier and more methodical. It’s ideal to pare down before you move into your new house because transporting unwanted and unused stuff from one house to another means more time, effort, and money when packing and unpacking.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 12 May 2021 - 17min - 232 - Decluttering Gradually, Months Before You Move, Part 1— BYHYU 229
Before we move into our new homes, most of us will need to declutter. And if we have the time, we should consider decluttering gradually, over several months to a year. This can decrease any potential overwhelm that can come with decluttering an entire house. So, even if you’re just at the beginning of your home building journey, it’s not too early to start sifting through your belongings to decide what things are worthy of a spot in your new build. In this week’s episode, I’ll give you a list of some common sources of clutter and tell you how long you should keep certain items like tax documents and spices. In my next episode, I’ll give you a decluttering plan that you can use before your move.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 28 Apr 2021 - 16min - 231 - Make Selections For Your New Home Without Analysis Paralysis and Decision Fatigue—BYHYU 228
Heightened emotion and desire to make the best selections for our homes is understandable. But the pressure to make the “perfect” choice for every single thing in our new builds can deplete our time, energy, peace of mind, and definitely our enjoyment of the building process. If you tend to overthink most things or suffer from analysis paralysis or decision fatigue, this episode is for you.
Show notes are BYHYU.com
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Wed, 14 Apr 2021 - 17min - 230 - Who Knew There Was So Much To Consider When Selecting a Toilet?! Part 2— BYHYU 227
This week’s episode is part 2 of a show that I started a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t listened to part 1, you might want to do that now because we’ll have some quiz questions in this episode that will cover information from the current and the previous show.
As I told you last time, I recently selected the plumbing fixtures for my project and was surprised about how much there is to consider when choosing toilets. In this week’s mini-lesson we’ll cover one-piece vs two-piece toilets, toilet height, floor mount vs wall mount toilets and some options that you can look for that will help keep your toilets cleaner for longer.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 31 Mar 2021 - 18min - 229 - Who Knew There Was So Much To Consider When Selecting a Toilet ?! Part 1— BYHYU 226
I recently selected the plumbing fixtures for my new build and surprisingly, one of my toughest decisions I had to make was regarding which toilets to get. I never know there was so much to consider when choosing toilets. Should you get a one-piece or two-piece model? Where should you position the flush handle? Is a single or dual flush toilet better,? Comfort height or standard height? Floor mount or wall mount? Whether we should pay extra for easy clean options and finally what color and style are best for your decor.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 17 Mar 2021 - 15min - 228 - Why Put a Sauna or Steam Shower in Your House?— BYHYU 225
No matter how large or small your house will be, most of us want our primary bathrooms to be a spa-like sanctuary or at the very least a place where we can escape, renew and relax. And with us spending more time at home over the last year, many of us are adding more amenities in bathrooms and homes—amenities that make our homes feel more comfortable and luxurious since we haven’t been able to get away on vacation or even to the gym or spa when we’ve wanted to.
So on today’s show, we’ll explore some of the reasons you might consider putting a steam shower/room or sauna in your new home.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 03 Mar 2021 - 14min - 227 - Ridiculous Lumber Prices (again), Construction Update and Miscellaneous Building Tips and Tidbits— BYHYU 224
This week I’ll give you an update on my own project and go over some miscellaneous tips and tidbits I’ve learned over the last several weeks of going through my personal build. I didn’t want to give you another update until I actually had a structure to talk about. And now I do. We are currently framing!! I’ll also tell you about current lumber prices and give you some miscellaneous home building tips and tidbits.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 17 Feb 2021 - 18min - 226 - Myths and Facts of Septic systems vs City Sewers—BYHYU 223
If you are looking at multiple neighborhoods or lots on which to build your new house, there may be some areas on the outskirts of the city that might interest you, but require you to have a septic system. Having some basic knowledge of septic systems and how they compare with city sewer systems will help you in making a decision about whether a lot needing a septic system could be right for you.
Sewer systems are more common and usually preferred, because they're funded and maintained by local governments. But as people move further away from cities, septic systems are becoming more popular. About 1 in 5 US households use septic systems. Septic systems are environmentally friendly, and give homeowners full control over their drainage. Plus, being open to lots that require a septic system gives you so many more possibilities for your homesite, especially those sites in rural areas.
Many people are apprehensive about the costs and maintenance involved with a septic system. But does a septic system really cost more and require frequent maintenance? That’s some of what we’ll talk about today. And If you fall in love with a lot needing a septic system, this episode will help you decide whether to put that lot on your shortlist of possible homesites, or whether to scratch it off your list altogether.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 03 Feb 2021 - 20min - 225 - BEST OF BYHYU: Toilet Seat Bidets and Heated Master Bathroom Floors—Indulgences For Your Master Bath That Are Totally Worth The Splurge— BYHYU 222
Because of the odd, but real, pandemic-driven toilet paper shortages, more and more homeowners have added, or are considering adding toilet seat bidets to their homes. So, this week I thought it would be valuable to revisit an episode about bidets. Keep in mind, bidets won’t usually completely eliminate the need for toilet paper, but will usually reduce your need to just a few squares per bathroom break.
As you’ll hear, you’ll want to tell your electrician where you want to include toilet seat bidets so he can install an outlet near the toilet to power the bidet. But what I’ve learned since that show, is that you’ll also want to instruct your plumber to plumb those bidet toilets with both cold and hot water. Typically a toilet only gets cold water, but if you’re adding a bidet, you don’t want a shocking blast of just cold water on your bottom when you activate the bidet. You’ll want comfortably warm water, so make sure you tell your builder or plumber that you want a cold and hot water mix for your bidets. We’ll also discuss radiant floor heat for master baths.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 20 Jan 2021 - 15min - 224 - Homeowners Reveal “The Best Things They Did When Building,” Part 2—BYHYU 221
This week I have part 2 of the list of the best things homeowners did when building. The information comes from a couple of posts at Houzz. com. Homeowners who had built previously listed the favorite features they included in their builds—features that made life in the house easier and/or more enjoyable.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 30 Dec 2020 - 14min - 223 - Homeowners Reveal “The Best Things They Did When Building” Part 1—BYHYU 220
I was recently on Houzz on the “Building a Home” forum in the gardenweb.com section of the website. One of the discussions there caught my attention. The homeowners were asked to list “The Best Things You did When Building.”This was a forum discussion where homeowners who had built previously listed the favorite features they included in their builds—features that made life easier and/or more enjoyable.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 16 Dec 2020 - 20min - 222 - Is Fiber Optics Internet (the Fastest Internet Choice on the Market) Right For You?— BYHYU 219
Although I’m not particularly interested in having the very latest gadgets, electronics, or technology in my house, one techie element I do want to invest in is fast, reliable internet service. Having high-speed internet is nice for those of us who mainly shop online and visit various websites and social media platforms, but a fast internet connection is especially important if you or your family members are gamers or movie or tv buffs who regularly use streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. Or if your household has multiple people using the internet simultaneously. So in this week’s mini-lesson, I’ll tell you about fiber optics internet, the fastest type of internet connection available. And we’ll also compare it to the other internet options.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 02 Dec 2020 - 19min - 221 - High Performance, Net Zero Case Study House Review—BYHYU 21
Since we can often learn from the project of others, in this week’s episode, we’ll be reviewing a modern-style, green home with Lake Washington views in the Seattle Washington area. It’s a 2 story house that’s almost 3200 sq ft. There are 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, including a mother-in-law suite. The house has solar panels and is certified by the DOE Zero Energy Ready program, the Northwest Energy Star program, and EPA Indoor air PLUS program. And this home costs the homeowners only $21 per year for utilities.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 18 Nov 2020 - 15min - 220 - Design Features from the Dallas/Fort Worth Dream Street Showcase Homes— BYHYU 217
For years Fort Worth magazine has teamed up with an area builder and local designers and vendors to build a house highlighting the latest in home design. Called the Dream Home, it’s been a showcase house charity fundraiser that many in and around Dallas, TX look forward to every year.
This year, for the first time, 3 homes were built to be showcased in an event called, not Dream Home, but Dream Street. The 3 luxury showhomes were in all on the same street in Southlake, TX, a suburb outside of Dallas. Each house had a different builder and designer so I knew it would be interesting to see the similarities and differences that showed up in the different houses. Going to these showcase homes often lets us in on what’s up-and-coming and tried and true in homebuilding and decor.
Some of the most prominent design features were those that I’ve talked about before and ones that I’ve seen in previous parades of homes. But to me, it’s always helpful to know what’s still trending and what has gone by the wayside.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 04 Nov 2020 - 14min - 219 - Popular Design Features From the Vesta Parade of Homes—BYHYU 216
A couple of weeks ago, I took a road trip to the Vesta Parade of Homes in Memphis, TN. As usual, there were several new construction houses in the same neighborhood that were open for tours. I think this was my third year going to the Vesta parade of homes, and it never disappoints. The houses were transitional in style, meaning there was a mix of traditional and contemporary decor. Patterns and colors of furniture, rugs, and art leaned just a little more traditional than contemporary, probably because of the southern sensibility of the homes, buyers, and designers. But materials and fixtures had mostly clean lines and sleek finishes and were similar to what I’ve seen used throughout the country and on design websites and in magazines.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 21 Oct 2020 - 11min - 218 - Hot Tub Buying Guide—BYHYU 215
Choosing the right hot tub entails more than picking out the prettiest unit that’s within your budget. It’s important to know the basics about a hot tub’s construction, jets, water pump, filtration system, and maintenance in order to choose a spa unit that will be enjoyable and energy-efficient. Here is a list of things you should consider before buying a hot tub.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Email me at michelle@BYHYU.com if you’d like to be a guest
Wed, 07 Oct 2020 - 18min - 217 - What’s The Best Garage Door Material For You?— BYHYU 214
At the end of August, I released episode 212 where we talked about what features to choose if you want a quieter garage door. In that show, we focused mainly on the garage door opener, track, and apparatus. This week, we’ll focus on the outer shell of the garage door— the material the door is made of (steel, wood, fiberglass, aluminum, and glass, or vinyl) and how that material will effect the door’s look, price, durability, and level of maintenance.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 23 Sep 2020 - 18min - 216 - Lumber Prices Are Soaring and Appliances Are Backordered Due To COVID, What Should You Do? BYHYU 213
Average lumber prices have more than doubled from mid-April to late August 2020. Prices moved from a low in April of $348 per thousand board feet to over $900 per thousand board feet in August. This price surge is adding over $16,000 to the price of the average single-family home according to the National Association of HomeBuilders. And it’s adding several tens of thousands of dollars to higher-end homes. The extreme increase in lumber prices have been made worse by tariffs of more than 20% on Canadian lumber imported into the U.S. The U.S. typically gets quite a bit of lumber from Canada.
Given these historically high lumber prices, many homeowners and builders are currently wondering if prices are likely to decrease back toward normal, and if so, when. Folks are further questioning whether now is the right time to start a build or whether waiting is a better option.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 09 Sep 2020 - 15min - 215 - Quiet Garage Doors and Choosing Single vs Double Garage Doors— BYHYU 212
We've all heard how loud opening a garage door can be, but what you may not realize is that opening a garage door doesn’t have to be that noisy. There are garage door features you can choose that can make opening your garage door much quieter, which is particularly important for attached garages and garages with rooms above them.
We’ll also cover when choosing 2 single garage doors is better than choosing one double-wide garage door.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 26 Aug 2020 - 14min - 214 - Which Driveway Material Is Best For Your Home?—BYHYU 211
Between having to regularly endure the weight of heavy vehicles and varying outdoor elements such as driving rains, sweltering heat, ice, and snow, driveways get lots of use and abuse. Therefore, it’s important that we choose the best driveway surface for our circumstances.
There are several options to choose from and each has its pros and cons with respect to durability, maintenance, aesthetics, sustainability, and price. Keep in mind, when considering price, you want to be sure to factor in not only the initial cost of your driveway but also the long-term costs associated with maintenance. You’ll also want to think about how the material will perform your area’s climate. Some driveway materials may be better for your region’s weather conditions than others.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 12 Aug 2020 - 20min - 213 - How To Compromise With Your Partner When Designing and Building a House, Part 2— BYHYU 210
In the last episode, we started discussing how to compromise with our partners when designing and building a house. This week, we’ll complete our list of tips that will help us come through the home building process with a home and relationship that both partners are happy with. Now remember, not every suggestion will work in every single situation, but you should be able to find at least one or two tips on the list that will help you come to a compromise for almost every disagreement.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 29 Jul 2020 - 13min - 212 - How To Compromise With Your Partner When Designing and Building a House— Part 1— BYHYU 209
Building and decorating a house should be and can be, a really happy time in your life. But it can also be a time of stress. One of the major sources of stress can come from having to make a number of decisions that both you and your partner have to agree upon. How do you design and decorate a home when you and your significant other have completely different styles? Even when people have very similar tastes, there will inevitably be some areas where one person’s first choice is different than their partner’s.
In this mini-lesson, we’ll go over tips on how to compromise with your partner during the homebuilding journey. Not every suggestion will work in every single situation, but you should be able to find at least one or two tips on the list that will help you come to a compromise for almost every disagreement.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 15 Jul 2020 - 13min - 211 - What’s the Difference Between An Estimate, Quote and Bid? And Which Should You Get?— BYHYU 208
When deciding on which contractors to use for your project, you’ll need to compare prices, which means asking each potential contractor how much they will charge. There are several ways a contractor or supplier can outline cost: an estimate, a quote, and a bid.
Although the terms are used interchangeably, there are important distinctions that we should understand. That’s what we’ll talk about in this mini-lesson— the difference between an estimate, a quote, and a bid.
Show notes on BYHYU.com
Wed, 01 Jul 2020 - 20min - 210 - Flattering Lighting for Your Home: Make Everything and Everyone in Your House Look Prettier—BYHYU 207
Do y’all remember that episode of Seinfeld where the girl Jerry was dating looked either really pretty or really unattractive depending on the lighting she was in? That bad lighting is what we want to avoid, especially in our homes. Although I don’t consider myself to be overly concerned with looks, I’d rather avoid the spooky, ghoulish shadows on faces that can show up because of poorly designed lighting.
It used to be that only models, actresses, photographers, and entertainers were aware of what type of lighting is most flattering. But in this new era of selfies, social media posts and youtube channels, lighting our homes in a way that flatters us and our surroundings has become top of mind for even the average Jo(e).
I’ve come up with a list of tips that we can incorporate into our homes to not only make the lighting design functional but also flattering. If we can do relatively simple things in our homes to make us look and feel our best, why not? I mean, we need to include lighting in our houses anyway, so why not use and place fixtures so that they shine the very best light on ourselves and our guests.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 17 Jun 2020 - 18min - 209 - Choosing A Quiet, Properly Sized Kitchen Vent Hood/Exhaust Hood Part 2— BYHYU 206Wed, 03 Jun 2020 - 25min
- 208 - Choosing A Quiet, Properly Sized Kitchen Vent Hood/Exhaust Hood Part 1— BYHYU 205
We typically give quite a bit of thought to most of our kitchen appliance choices. But exhaust hoods… they get much less love. Most people don’t give range hoods the attention they deserve. They might think some about the aesthetic design of the range hood, but not a lot of people think through how to size and position a hood, and what features they should look for in a range hood that will give them the perfect balance of suction power and quietness.
If you think about it, the range hood, also called an exhaust hood and a vent hood is one of the more hardworking appliances in the kitchen. Because it removes irritating fumes, smoke, heat, odors, and potentially damaging moisture, the exhaust hood allows for a safer, more comfortable, cleaner, less smelly, and more enjoyable kitchen experience. In this episode, we’ll discuss a few things that will help us make informed decisions about what sort of hood we should choose.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 20 May 2020 - 19min - 207 - Advice from HGTV’s Chip Wade and other Highlights from the International Builders Show (IBS) and Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) 2017— BYHYU 054
This week you’ll hear from HGTV star Chip Wade. He tells us what 3 things he suggests homeowners include in their new homes. We’ll also hear from some exhibitors (Armstrong Flooring, Feeney Inc, Phantom Screens, True Residential, and Rangecraft) who showed off their products at the combined International Builders Show and Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. That show was held couple of weeks ago in Orlando, FL. I was there to get the scoop on both new and tried-and-true products for new homes.
Show notes at www.BYHYU.com
Show Links:
http://www.feeneyinc.com/ShowUsYourView
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 - 23min - 206 - Your Home’s Interior Design: What to Do and Where to Start, Part 2—BYHYU 204
This week we have the second half of our list of design tips that should help us start thinking through the interior decor for each room of our homes. Last week, we talked about some of the first things we should consider when starting a room design.
I suggest you take a listen to last week’s episode if you haven’t already because we discussed some foundational design guidelines that will help you know where to start decorating a room or house. Knowing where to begin is sometimes the hardest part of choosing your decor. If we can figure out our starting point, the rest of the design will often fall into place.
This week’s tips will help you pull all your different room designs together to give your house some cohesion and flow. We’ll also cover scale, color and contrast, and how to decide what you like if your Pinterest boards seem to be all over the place.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 06 May 2020 - 23min - 205 - Your Home’s Interior Design: What to Do and Where to Start, Part 1—BYHYU 203
When building a home, there are so many design decisions to make that it can be overwhelming. And even for those of us who love designing, it’s hard to know where to start, especially when you have an entire new house to decorate. So in the next two episodes, we’ll go over a few tips that should give you some general design direction, including where to start.
Now, if you don’t enjoy decorating, or you have no interest in choosing furniture and accessories for your home, you probably want to consider hiring an interior designer.
To help you decide whether working with a designer is the way to go, take a listen to episode 132 called “Should I Hire An Interior Designer?”
Even if you decide you want to work with a designer, this episode will still be helpful to you because you’ll still have to answer the designer’s questions about what you like and dislike. And although the designer could make all your final decisions for your home’s interior, You’ll still need to articulate how you want your house to look and live, to guide the designer's selections.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 22 Apr 2020 - 15min - 204 - Designing a Germ Resistant House— BYHYU 202
In the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, now more than ever, we’re aware of actions we can take to help prevent the spread and growth of viruses, bacteria, and other illness-causing microorganisms. And that got me to thinking, are there ways we can design our houses that will also help fight and prevent germs? Obviously, we can’t completely eliminate microorganisms, and we shouldn’t want to because some of them are beneficial. But what can we include in our new builds that will decrease the chances of unhealthy bacteria and viruses living and thriving in our homes?
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 08 Apr 2020 - 16min - 203 - How the Coronavirus COVID 19 Pandemic Might Affect Homebuilding— BYHYU 201
The novel coronavirus, COVID 19 is on everyone’s minds. And for those of us in the middle of construction, or simply planning a new build, it’s natural to wonder how the pandemic might affect our homebuilding plans. I stress the word “might” because no one can be sure how long this pandemic will last, or how long-lasting its effects may be.
In an effort to better understand what could possibly happen in residential construction in the near future, I talked with a local builder and scoured the internet for articles on the subject.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 25 Mar 2020 - 13min - 202 - Should You Insulate Your Garage? BYHYU 200
According to residential construction expert Mike Holmes from the show Holmes on Homes, “If your garage is attached to your house, the most important thing is to make sure it’s sealed. You must keep fumes, exhaust, and carbon monoxide out of the house”. You don’t want off-gassing in your garage from your vehicle’s exhaust to seep through the garage drywall into the main house. You also want to insulate certain walls of the garages. Learn which ones in this episode.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 11 Mar 2020 - 07min - 201 - Pros and Cons of Attached vs Detached Garages— BYHYU 199
This episode was inspired by a question that I got about garages from Joe, from my home state of Virginia. Hey Joe! This week we’ll talk about the pros and cons of an attached vs a detached garage. Now, many of you might think, why would I build a new house with a detached garage? Doesn’t everyone want the convenience of an attached garage?
It’s important to realize that there are advantages and disadvantages to both detached and attached garage structures. And that’s what we’ll briefly discuss. There are many factors to consider when making your decision, including your budget, your lot size and shape, your desired level of personal and home security and your sensitivity to chemicals and fumes.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 26 Feb 2020 - 13min - 200 - Money Saving Tips for Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinets—BYHYU 198
A quick episode this week giving you some suggestions that will help you save money on your cabinetry. The things I’ll mention won’t give you the most durable, beautiful or practical cabinetry, but if you’re willing to sacrifice some beauty and convenience, you can save quite a bit of money. Keep in mind, you don’t have to use all the suggestions to save. Incorporating even one or two of these design features can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Show notes on BYHYU.com
Wed, 19 Feb 2020 - 08min - 199 - How To Design A Low Maintenance, Easy-to-Clean Kitchen— BYHYU 197
The kitchen is the heart of the home and one of the hardest rooms in the house to keep clean. You’ve got crumbs, smoke, grease, dirt, dust, stains, spills and splatters to deal with. But there are practical ways to design our kitchens that will make maintaining and cleaning them easier. I have a list of 20 tips. Andy many of these tips can also work for bathrooms too.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 12 Feb 2020 - 22min - 198 - Can You Ever Have Too Much Insulation?—BYHYU 196
Those of us who want to build a well-constructed, energy-efficient home should aim for a tight building envelope that minimizes air leakage (meaning it’s airtight), controls moisture, and has a generous amount of insulation.
In episodes 27-31, we looked at several different ways to insulate a house, but this week, we’ll consider how much insulation is enough and whether over insulating a house is a thing?
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 05 Feb 2020 - 14min - 197 - International Builders Show Idea House: The New American Home—BYHYU 195
IBS, The International Builders Show is the largest yearly residential and light commercial construction trade show in the world. Typically more than 1400 construction manufacturers and suppliers showcase the latest and most in-demand products and services in the industry.
Although I love seeing homebuilding products on the showroom floor of IBS, my very favorite part of the show is touring the 2 official idea houses they build every year — The New American Home® (TNAH), and The New American Remodel™ (TNAR). You know I love a show home, especially one that’s been built with energy efficiency and quality construction in mind. We can get ideas for pretty decor almost anywhere, but it’s so much more valuable for us to look at examples of houses that are not only pretty but well-built. High-performance concept homes, like the New American Home, can give us ideas about materials and methods that we can either use or adapt, for our own projects.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 18min - 196 - Kid-Friendly Design—BYHYU 194
Whether you have small children living with you full-time or you’re an empty nester who will have grandchildren or nieces and nephews visiting on a fairly regular basis, you should consider incorporating kid-friendly design into your new house. This includes features and decor that are safer and more practical for little ones. This week we’ll talk about 12 kid-friendly design features.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Follow us on Instagram @ultimateideahouse
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 - 12min - 195 - Turning Pre-construction Obstacles into Opportunities To Build A Stronger, More Weather-Resistance Home—BYHYU 193
Back on track after unavoidable pre-construction setbacks, my homebuilding journey has had its share of challenges, even before the foundation was placed. But delays have been used as opportunities for design improvements that will make the house even more resilient than originally planned. This episode is kind of a construction update. I’ll tell you about our delays and what we did to make lemonade out of lemons.
Shownotes at BYHYU.com
Instagram @ultimateideahouse
Wed, 08 Jan 2020 - 12min - 194 - BEST OF BYHYU: Choosing A Lot— Consider these things when selecting a home for your home—BYHYU 192
Today I’ll review things you should consider when choosing your home site. After deciding to build instead of buying a new home, many people are so focused on the house design that they give little thought to the LAND on which they will place their future home. But what lot you choose is a major factor in determining how much it will cost you to build and maintain your home and how much you will ultimately enjoy it.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 01 Jan 2020 - 16min - 193 - The Perfect Laundry Room Location—BYHYU 191
What’s the best place for your washer and dryer? I’m a fan of putting them near bedrooms and bathrooms where there is easy access to where dirty clothes are taken off and clean clothes are stored. But there are also some benefits to locating the laundry room in other parts of the house, such as the near the kitchen, in a mudroom, in a hallway closet or even a basement. This week we’ll talk about the pros and cons of locating your laundry room in different areas of the house.
Show notes at BYHYU 191
Wed, 18 Dec 2019 - 15min - 192 - Lighting for Tall Ceilings—BYHYU 190
As I was going over the lighting plan for my new house, I wondered if there were different rules for lighting rooms with tall ceilings as opposed to standard 8 foot ceilings. Is ok to use the same type and average number of recessed lights throughout your house, no matter a room’s function or ceiling height? Does a 2 story foyer or rooms with vaulted ceilings need special lighting considerations?
Worse than not installing enough canned lights and lighting fixtures is wasting money by having an appropriate number of fixtures, but fixtures that don’t put out adequate light in specific situations, like rooms with tall ceilings. So I did some research about how to light rooms with tall ceilings, which many of us will have in our new builds. The information was much harder to find than I anticipated. But, after days for searching lighting design, electrician, lighting manufacturer, and retail lighting websites, I came up with a few tips for some basic guidelines for lighting rooms with ceiling greater than the standard 8 feet.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 11 Dec 2019 - 17min - 191 - BEST OF BYHYU— Lighting 101— BYHYU 189
This week I have a rebroadcast of one of my most popular episodes. It’s a mini lesson packed full of information. It covers lighting design basics and lighting terminology. This is a good review for next week when I’ll have a brand new episode that will discuss lighting specifically for rooms with tall ceilings, that is ceilings that are 9 feet or higher. Basic lighting design principles need to be tweaked a bit for rooms with high ceilings, and we’ll talk about that next week. But have a listen to Lighting 101 now, so you’ll be ready for next week. And quiz yourself, if you’ve listened before.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 - 24min - 190 - An Affordable, Energy Efficient Case Study House—BYHYU 188
This week we’ll review a previously built, energy-efficient home so we can consider some of the materials and methods for our own homes. The case study house is an affordable greenhouse that cost $114 per square foot and is located in Seattle, Washington, where the average house is $200 per square foot.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 - 12min - 189 - 20 Basic Landscaping Tips—BYHYU 187Wed, 20 Nov 2019 - 20min
- 188 - BEST OF BYHYU: 20 New House Must Haves— Design Features that Homeowners Most Often Request in New Homes—BYHYU 186
This week we’re going over a list of features that many homeowners are requesting in new homes that they’re buying or building. This is according to an article in Professional Builder magazine where builders, architects, designers, and other industry experts were asked about must-have features that today’s homeowners want. Take a look and see how many things on the list will be included in your new home. You may not want to include all these elements, but consider the ones that are best for you and your family.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 - 15min - 187 - Coordinating Your Backsplash and Countertop— BYHYU 185
How should you coordinate your backsplash and countertop? Should they be a match or contrasting? What should you choose first? And how much influence should your flooring and cabinet choices have on your choice of backsplash and countertop? This week I’ll give you a few quick tips to help with making choices for these two major surfaces of the kitchen.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 30 Oct 2019 - 08min - 186 - Parade of Homes Top Design Features —BYHYU 184
It’s one thing to see small samples of countertops, tile, paint, and flooring in a showroom or retail space, but to see those design features displayed in new houses is so much more helpful. Not even full-sized samples such as doors, plumbing fixtures, and lighting fixtures have the same impact in a showroom or a photo as they do up close and personal in real-life applications. That’s why I take as many opportunities as I can to go to new homes around the country. I want to stay on the pulse of what's new and trending and what design features seem to be here to stay for the foreseeable future— the ones that emerged several years ago, but don’t seem to be going anywhere, like linear fireplaces.
I recently went to 2 parades of homes— in Kansas City and one in the Memphis TN area. I visited about 30 different brand new homes— about 6 in Memphis and the rest in Kansas City. Many of the features that I saw, we’ve talked about on other design trend episodes, but I think it’s important to keep revisiting the topic of home design so we don’t build and decorate a brand new house in a way that looks dated soon after we move in. Here are some of the top design elements that I saw in those parades of homes…
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 23 Oct 2019 - 15min - 185 - Energy Star/Energy Efficient Appliances—BYHYU 183
The Energy Information Administration says that home appliances produce the third-largest energy expenditure in the home, representing about 9% of the typical energy bill. Only heating and cooling, and water heating use more energy.
Specifically, refrigerators and clothes dryers have the highest operating costs per year. To decrease the amount of energy used in our homes, we can choose Energy Star appliances and products. This week, we’ll learn more about the Energy Star program and how much more efficient its certified appliances are.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 - 10min - 184 - 2019 Green Home of the Year Grand Award Winner—BYHYU 182
Because most of us want not only a beautiful, well-designed house but also one that is energy efficient and/or sustainable, over the coming months I’ll be doing several episodes where we’ll talk about noted high-performance houses that have been covered in the media. I’m a big believer in learning from others and may able to incorporate into our own projects some of the design elements and materials used in other recognized green, energy-efficient homes.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 09 Oct 2019 - 07min - 183 - White Walls… Awesome or Awful?— BYHYU 181
Because of the popularity of white interior walls, and white backgrounds in general on blogs and social media posts, we have grown accustomed to thinking of white as a go-to backdrop for many of our interior spaces. White is familiar, bright and offers a clean background for highlighting home furnishings and features. The fresh, clean background is why most museums and galleries use white walls to showcase artwork. White can be a great choice for traditional and contemporary spaces. But to some people, white can come off as cold, boring and overdone. This week we’ll talk about the pros and cons of white walls.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 02 Oct 2019 - 10min - 182 - Save Money and the Environment by Reducing Construction Site Waste—BYHYU 180
Did you know that the average home build produces about 8,000 pounds of waste? And with increasing landfill and building material costs, reducing job site waste could both help the environment and save you a significant amount of money. The less you have to throw away, the less money you have to spend getting rid of your construction waste.
When renting a dumpster for a construction site, you’re charged based on the size dumpster. The more waste you accumulate, the larger and more expensive the dumpster you’ll need. In addition, the weight of the debris will also have some bearing on waste management fees.
This is an unexpected line item that ideally we want to avoid. In this week’s episode, I’ll give you some quick tips on how to reduce job site waste so those overage fees are less likely to occur. Plus we’ll hear from Angela Phillips of ZTERS, the waste management solutions company that I’ve been working with. Angela will give us a little more insight into how we can manage our waste more efficiently.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 25 Sep 2019 - 24min - 181 - 10 DesignTrends We’ll See Going into Next Year—- BYHYU 179
This week’s episode is based on an article that I read in Houzz called “10 Home Design Trends on the Rise”. They made this list based on trends that they see in photos that designers and homeowners have submitted and based on their conversations with design professionals. This list includes things that I too have been seeing in the past few years that I think we’ll continue to see in new homes as we go into 2020.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 - 09min - 180 - Marble… Awesome or Awful?—BYHYU 178
Don’t call it a comeback, marble’s been here for years. But in the last decade, marble has become more popular than ever, especially in bathrooms and kitchens. But… how good of an idea is that? In this week’s mini-lesson, we’ll look at the pros and cons of using marble in our new homes and the difference between 2 of the most widely requested types of marble: Calcutta and Cararra marble.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
BYHYU.com
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 - 16min - 179 - Ceiling Height Kitchen Cabinets… Awesome or Awful?—BYHYU 177
For decades, the standard ceiling height was 8 feet tall—a dimension that resulted from two 4-foot-wide drywall sheets laid together horizontally. But homes are now being built with standard 9 or 10-foot ceilings on the first floor, and ceilings at 8 or 9 feet tall on the second floor.
With today’s taller ceiling heights, the potential space above standard upper kitchen cabinets has become larger and we’ll have to decide how far up we want our cabinetry to go. Should we leave an open space between the upper cabinets and the ceiling, or should we fill that space with a soffit or with additional cabinetry? This week we’ll talk about the pros and cons of cabinets that extend all the way to the ceiling.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 04 Sep 2019 - 12min - 178 - The Ins and Outs of Exterior Doors, Part 2—BYHYU 176
Last week, we began a mini-lesson on the pros and cons of different exterior door styles. We went over 2 of the most common styles—single, standard doors and French doors. Plus, we talked about a new kid on the block, bifold doors. In this second part of our list, we’ll discuss some more old school and new school door styles, including sliding doors, pivot doors, and dutch doors, and we’ll be answering the burning question “Are storm doors still a thing?”
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 28 Aug 2019 - 13min - 177 - The Ins and Outs of Exterior Doors, Part 1--BYHYU 175
Whether you’re deciding on the style of door you want for your main front entry, or to your patio, or to any other area that leads to the outdoors, there are several door styles to consider. It’s not just a matter of choosing a traditional single or double, French doors for your main entrance. You could also install a pivot door or a dutch door. And for patio doors, there are French doors, sliding doors, and bifold doors. This week, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of each style of exterior doors.
Shownotes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 21 Aug 2019 - 15min - 176 - Why Roof Overhangs Are Important, Part 2--BYHYU 174
In part 1 of the mini-lesson, we talked about how many homeowners and house designers pay too little attention to roof overhangs because they think of them as purely aesthetic. But overhangs have several important functions: they can protect exterior doors, windows, and exterior walls from rain and snow; they can shade windows from hot summertime sun rays, and they can help keep basements and crawl spaces dry by directing rainwater away from the main structure of the house.
This week, we’ll go over whether you need deep roof overhangs for shading on the north, east and west sides of your house. Plus I’ll tell you what you can do to protect your house from the sun’s heat and rain if you either don’t want overhangs or can’t have them because of building code. Yep, building codes in some areas don’t allow overhangs.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
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Wed, 07 Aug 2019 - 16min - 175 - Why Roof Overhangs Are Important, Part 1 --BYHYU 173
Although you may have thought about the color and material you want for your roof, the typical homeowner puts little thought into the actual design of their roof. And roof overhangs specifically, forget about it. Roof overhangs haven’t even crossed most people’s minds.
In this week’s mini-lesson, I’ll tell you why overhangs shouldn’t just be an afterthought. And why almost every new home should include them, where possible.
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Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 31 Jul 2019 - 12min - 174 - Perfect Placement For Your Dishwasher—BYHYU 172
Where you place your dishwasher can increase or decrease your kitchen’s functionality and flow. And although there is no one exact right place that dishwashers should universally go, this week I have a list of quick tips that you should think about before deciding where to put your dishwasher. If you haven’t heard our Dishwasher Buying Guide Quick Tips, you might want to go to episode 80 and take a listen.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 24 Jul 2019 - 09min - 173 - Open Shelves… Awesome or Awful?—BYHYU 171
In recent years, homeowners have been opting for fewer upper cabinets to give their kitchens a more open, airy feeling. Some people want completely empty walls, maybe with a window, where traditional upper cabinets would have gone. But many homeowners are requesting open shelves, sometimes called floating shelves, in place of some or all of their upper cabinets.
People are typically either adamantly for, or adamantly against open shelving in the kitchen. You’d be surprised how much emotion is stirred up by the subject of open shelves. Some people claim they are one of the most beautiful and most functional features you can put in a kitchen, and others say that open shelves are not only unsightly but unsanitary.
So let’s get a bit more insight about when open shelves are a pretty and practical solution for a kitchen, and when they should be avoided.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 - 09min - 172 - Pocket Doors… Awesome or Awful?—-BYHYU 170
I have a couple of pocket of doors planned for my new house and when I was talking to a contractor about them, he said: “I hate pocket doors.” That is not an uncommon statement. Some people love pocket doors because they’re sometimes the only small space door solution available, but pocket doors also have some problems. So let’s talk about the pros and cons of pocket doors and let’s briefly discuss some pocket door quick tips.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 10 Jul 2019 - 11min - 171 - Custom Home Builders vs Production Home Builders, What’s Better For You?— BYHYU 169
One of the first things you’ll have to decide when building a house is whether you want to want to be an owner-builder or use a general contractor for your project. If you are considering building the home yourself, episodes 2 and 7, called “You Can Save Money, Lots of Money, But Should You Build Your Own House?” and “Build Your House Yourself, But Not All By Yourself” will give you some insight on acting as your own general contractor.
If, however, you want to use a builder to construct your new home, you’ll have to choose between a custom home builder and a production builder. Much of your decision will rest in how many choices you wish to make and how much input you’d like to have during the construction process. In this week’s episode, we’ll talk about the differences in production home builders and custom builders and I’ll give you the pros and cons of each.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 03 Jul 2019 - 15min - 170 - Smart Solution Quick Tip—BYHYU 168
Really quick episode this week about something I recently learned about that can make our lives easier, make our homes safer and help us to save on our electricity bills: Smart outlets or smart plugs.
They allow you to remotely control and automate the electricity going to that smart outlet or plug. Smart outlets and plugs work pretty much the same way, but smart outlets are built-in and electricians can easily add them to newly built houses. Smart plugs might be a better option for existing homes.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 26 Jun 2019 - 06min - 169 - What Barndominium Design Features Should We Include In Our New Homes?— BYHYU 167
If like me, you’re a fan of HGTV’s Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, I bet you remember the Barndominium episode. They restored an old barn into a beautiful family home. Although barndominiums have been around for decades, that episode of Fixer Upper and the popularity of modern farmhouse and rustic chic decor have made many homeowners decide to build a barndominium for themselves.
They are an alternative to traditional stick-built new homes for homeowners who love a barn aesthetic and who want to live in an unconventional house. And although this style house is not for everyone, there are a few homebuilding practices and features of barndominiums that most of us can incorporate into our homes and homebuilding experience, no matter what style we choose.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 19 Jun 2019 - 12min - 168 - Water Filtration Systems—BYHYU 166
Last week we talked extensively about water softeners and conditioners. Water softeners and conditioners help to alleviate many hard water problems, including limescale build-up in your plumbing. But water softeners and conditioners are ineffective in removing chemicals and contaminants that can cause less-healthy, bad tasting and foul-smelling water. For those issues, you’ll need a water filtration system.
Although city and county water systems typically do a good job of removing harmful quantities of contaminants from tap water, they leave behind small amounts of substances that most of us would rather not drink. Some tap water contains the residue of treated sewage, industrial waste, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, toxic metals like arsenic and mercury, plus fluoride, disinfectants, and storm runoff.
Other contaminants that might be found in tap water, or especially in well water, include illness-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, as well as Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs).
In this week’s mini-lesson, we’ll get into the different types of water filtration systems and what sort of certifications we should be looking for before you buy one.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 12 Jun 2019 - 18min - 167 - How Do You Know If You Have Hard Water in Your Area and What Can You Do About it? Water Softeners vs Water Conditioners— BYHYU 165
If your area has hard water, you’ll usually notice. There will probably be whitish, yellowish or grayish deposits on shower heads and faucets and around drains, and sometimes even in toilet bowls. These deposits are called limescale, scale or scaling, and are usually deposits of calcium and/or magnesium. This scaling is a tell-tale sign of hard water.
It’s said that about 85% of all households in the US have some degree of hard water. Some of the hardest water in the country is found in the midwest. Take look at the show notes at BYHYU.com to see a map showing the level of water hardness in different areas of the country.
In this week’s mini-lesson, we’ll discuss what hard water is, what problems it can cause, and what solutions we can add to our new homes to decrease those hard water problems.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 - 19min - 166 - BEST OF BYHYU: My Favorite Homebuilding and Design Tips — What I’ve Learned Over the Past 2 years
To commemorate our 100th episode, I want to give you some of my favorite homebuilding and design tips that I’ve learned over the past 2 years of this podcast. I’ve learned so much, but these are some of the most relevant things.
We’ll go over 50 tips in this week’s mini-lesson, but since this is the 100th episode, it only makes sense that I give you a list of 100 of the most important pieces of homebuilding knowledge. So we’ll go over 50 tips today and I’ll send you 50 more tips and tricks if you email me at info@BYHYU.com.
All you have to do is type the number 100 in the subject line and as a thank you for helping me get to episode 100, I’ll send you a PDF of a list of 50 bonus tips, plus the 50 tips that we’ll cover in today, so you won’t have to take notes while listening to this.
You’ll end up with a list of 100 of my favorite bits of homebuilding information. Now don’t worry about me spamming you. I wouldn’t do that. So just email me at info@BYHYU.com and put the number 100 in the subject line and I’ll send you the list of my 100 favorite homebuilding and design tips.
Before we get to the first 50 tips, I want to sincerely thank you for your loyalty and support and for encouraging me to keep the podcast going with your awesome reviews and kind emails. I especially want to thank you for sharing the show with friends, family, and coworkers by text, email and on social media. You are the reason the show is doing so well. Since I’m not great with social media, I’ve been counting on you to spread the word about the podcast and you’ve done that, so thank you.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
info@BYHYU.com
Wed, 29 May 2019 - 24min
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