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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: September, 2020
Sep 23, 2020

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

Sep 9, 2020

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

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