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Build Your House Yourself University

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.
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Now displaying: April, 2018
Apr 25, 2018

I often see gutter systems on homes, but I was unclear about whether gutters are a necessity or not.  So I did a little research and I’ll tell you what I found in this week’s episode.  We’ll talk about who needs to add gutters to their house and why, and we’ll briefly cover the basic types of gutter systems and the approximate cost. 

Show notes at BYHYU.com

Apr 18, 2018

I thought I could fill out my building permit application in just a few minutes, but I couldn’t because I didn’t have all the information I needed.  Learn what information is needed for a building permit application and how I went back and forth with the builder I wanted as my consultant.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

Apr 11, 2018

When choosing kitchen and bathroom cabinets, you already know you’ll need to consider material, cabinet sizes, paint or stain colors and style. But what about the cabinet sheen or finish? Have you thought about whether you’ll choose flat, matte cabinets or shiny, high gloss cabinets?

No matter what material your cabinets are made of, you have a choice of whether to go with a glossy, matte or semi-gloss finish for the end product. What sheen you should choose for your cabinets initially seems like a trivial decision that is based purely on aesthetics. 

But the sheen of your cabinets can not only dramatically affect the way your kitchen and bathrooms look, but also how well the cabinets function and how durable they’ll be.  Plus the amount of cleaning they’ll need. So, this week we’ll compare and contrast flat, matte surfaces with shiny, high gloss surfaces.   And we’ll end with some facts about semi-gloss finishes.

Before making any final decisions about the sheen of our kitchen and bathroom cabinets, it’s a good idea to familiarize ourselves with the pros and cons of each.  That way, we can make an informed decision and prepare ourselves for the cleaning and maintenance requirements of our selection.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

Apr 4, 2018

This week I have a few quick tips for dealing with contractors.  These tips come from a 2017 article written in Consumer Reports called “Home Renovations without Aggravation—Learn how to combat shady contractor practices and avoid common and costly mistakes many homeowners make.” 

Although the article addresses home renovations, most of the information in the article is also relevant for those of us who will be building new homes.   

That consumer reports article highlights information from a recent survey of 300 general contractors from around the United States.  The survey was conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

In the survey, contractors admitted to some shady practices that are found in the construction industry.  Some of the shady industry practices include:

-contractors using unskilled laborers to carry out their work

-winning jobs with lowball bids and then jacking up the cost later with “unforeseen problems”.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

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