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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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All Episodes
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Now displaying: July, 2016
Jul 27, 2016

For most people, blanket insulation is the insulation that comes to mind when they think about insulation in a home. Most of us have seen attics filled with pink or yellow insulation.  That pillowy insulation that we’re familiar with is blanket insulation and in most cases it was made of fiberglass, which is the most common type of insulation in the United States. But blanket insulation can be made not only of fiberglass, but also of other flexible fibers such as cotton, mineral wool and sheep’s wool.  Today’s mini lesson give an overview of those different types of blanket insulation.

Show notes www.BYHYU.com

Jul 20, 2016

When building a new home, investing in insulation is one of the best ways to decrease your energy consumption and save money far into the future.  Talking about insulation may not be an especially exciting topic in residential construction, but is one of the most important subjects to understand because choosing the amount and placement of insulation will directly affect the physical and financial comfort of you and your family.

Insulation has one of the fastest payback times of all investments you’ll make in your new home.  The savings can be so great that you can often recover your initial investment in just a few years. So, if you can afford it, add the maximum amount of insulation recommended for your home design and region.  In this week’s mini lesson, we’ll talk about some general recommendations for insulation. And over the next few weeks, we’ll learn about some specific types of insulation that are commonly used in residential construction, including spray foam insulation, rigid foam board insulation, batt and blanket insulation and blown-in cellulose.

 

Show notes at www.BYHYU.com

 

 

 

 

Jul 13, 2016

Today’s mini lesson will help not only those wanting to build a new house, but those who want to remodel an older home, especially the kitchen.  As promised last week, we’ll be talking about choosing kitchen cabinets.  If you think choosing kitchen cabinets is simply a matter of choosing stained, wood cabinets versus white, painted cabinets… keep listening.

Naturally, you’ll choose a style that you find attractive, but beyond looks, there are lots of factors that you’ll need to consider that will impact the quality and cost of your cabinets.   For example, a standard 30 inch cabinet can range from just over $100 to well over $1000, depending on its construction, finishes and how customized it is.  Today’s lesson will help us understand the different materials used to construct cabinets and how those materials impact cabinet price and quality.

 

 

Show notes at www.BYHYU.com

Jul 6, 2016

For most families, the kitchen is the most important room in the entire house.  It’s not only a functional family space, but it serves as the central area for entertaining, as well. Today we’ll talk about 8 common mistakes to avoid when designing and organizing your kitchen.  Next week, we’ll have another kitchen-centered lesson when I give an overview of what to look for when choosing kitchen cabinets.

 

 

Show notes at www.BYHYU.com

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