Best Buildyourownhouse Podcasts (2024)

1
Homeowner Matthew S. Discusses His New Custom Home Designed For Entertaining, Part 2—BYHYU 262 26:35

1+ y ago26:35

26:35

This week we have part 2 of the interview with homeowner Matt S. He talks more about his cool house, which is black by the way, and his homebuilding journey. He was so generous in sharing his advice and resources. Take a listen to this informative conversation. Show notes at BYHYU.comBy Michelle Nelson

1
Homeowner Matthew S. Discusses His New Custom Home Designed For Entertaining, Part 1—BYHYU 261 35:52

1+ y ago35:52

35:52

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…

1
Homeowner Rachel D. Tells Us About Her Homebuilding Journey, Part 2 22:56

1+ y ago22:56

22:56

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 woul…

1
259. Homeowner Rachel D. Tells Us About Her Homebuilding Journey, Part 1 27:12

1+ y ago27:12

27:12

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…

1
Bedroom Furniture and Layout Tips—BYHYU 258 19:42

1+ y ago19:42

19:42

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 disc…

1
What’s The Best Roofing Material For Your House? — BEST OF BYHYU 257 21:25

1+ y ago21:25

21:25

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,…

1
Keeping Your House Cool, Inside and Out: BEST OF BYHYU 256 23:45

2y ago23:45

23:45

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 planni…

1
Choosing the Best Freestanding Tub for Your Style, Budget and Needs—BYHYU 255 17:33

2y ago17:33

17:33

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 pract…

1
Furniture Layout and Space Planning— BYHYU 254 21:09

2y ago21:09

21:09

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 wil…

1
BEST OF BYHYU: Why Soffits and Fascia Are Important—BYHYU 253 9:55

2y ago9:55

9:55

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 f…

1
Design Trends Spotted at the Spring 2022 High Point Market—-BYHYU 252 10:42

2y ago10:42

10:42

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 o…

1
When Will Supply Chain Issues (And Resulting Increased Wait Times and Prices) End?—BYHYU 251 14:03

2y ago14:03

14:03

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 hom…

1
10 Popular Design Features from the 2022 Ft. Worth Dream Street Show Homes—BYHYU 250 11:20

2y ago11:20

11:20

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 th…

1
Smooth vs Textured Walls, Bullnose vs Square Corners, Level 4 vs Level 5 Drywall Finish, What Should You Choose?—BYHYU 249 20:23

2y ago20:23

20:23

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, straig…

1
What You Need To Know About Drywall/Sheetrock To Improve Your Home’s Quality and Function—BYHYU 248 21:36

2y ago21:36

21:36

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 bori…

1
What’s Trending for 2022 According to Houzz (We’re Talking Trends, Not Fads), Part 2—BYHYU 247 15:37

2y ago15:37

15:37

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…

1
What’s Trending for 2022 According to Houzz (We’re Talking Trends, Not Fads), Part 1—BYHYU 246 19:26

2+ y ago19:26

19:26

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 g…

1
BEST OF BYHYU: Where To Save Versus Splurge When Building a House— BYHYU 245 18:52

2+ y ago18:52

18:52

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…

1
BEST OF BYHYU— Designing A Forever Home— BYHYU 244 12:29

2+ y ago12:29

12:29

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…

1
Aging in Place Features— Universal Design That Will Make Your Home Accessible At Any Age—BYHYU 243 19:56

2+ y ago19:56

19:56

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…

1
Avoid These Open Concept Floor Plan Mistakes— BYHYU 242 11:48

2+ y ago11:48

11:48

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…

1
The Future of Open Concept Floor Plan Homes—BYHYU 241 9:41

2+ y ago9:41

9:41

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 www.facebook.com/BYHYU/…

1
Questions For Your Contractors’ References— Ask Your Contractors’ Previous Clients These Things— BYHYU 240 18:05

2+ y ago18:05

18:05

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 …

1
What the Heck Is My Electrician Talking About?! Learn The Basics Of Your Home’s Electrical Service —BYHYU 239 18:20

2+ y ago18:20

18:20

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 24…

1
Moving On to The Rough-In stage of Construction— BYHYU 238 16:17

2+ y ago16:17

16:17

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 r…

1
7 Major Decorating Mistakes and How to Avoid Them—BYHYU 237 16:56

2+ y ago16:56

16:56

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 ou…

1
Questions and Answers with Fireplace Professional and Educator Jake Cromwell, Part 2— BYHYU 236 24:02

2+ y ago24:02

24:02

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 f…

1
Questions and Answers with Fireplace Professional and Educator Jake Cromwell— BYHYU 235 24:45

2+ y ago24:45

24:45

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 breakin…

1
Shortages in Homebuilding Materials and What We Can Do During Construction Delays— BYHYU 234 11:15

3y ago11:15

11:15

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 …

1
Consider These Framing Alternatives In Light of Persistently High Lumber Prices—BYHYU 233 20:32

3y ago20:32

20:32

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, whi…

1
Moisture Protection for Stucco, Manufactured Stone and Stone Veneer Exterior Cladding—BYHYU 232 27:22

3y ago27:22

27:22

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 …

1
Learn from My Construction Challenges—BYHYU 231 16:08

3y ago16:08

16:08

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…

1
Decluttering Gradually, Months Before You Move, Part 2— BYHYU 230 17:36

3y ago17:36

17:36

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…

1
Decluttering Gradually, Months Before You Move, Part 1— BYHYU 229 16:47

3y ago16:47

16:47

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…

1
Make Selections For Your New Home Without Analysis Paralysis and Decision Fatigue—BYHYU 228 17:46

3y ago17:46

17:46

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…

1
Who Knew There Was So Much To Consider When Selecting a Toilet?! Part 2— BYHYU 227 18:09

3y ago18:09

18:09

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 an…

1
Who Knew There Was So Much To Consider When Selecting a Toilet ?! Part 1— BYHYU 226 15:57

3y ago15:57

15:57

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 bett…

1
Why Put a Sauna or Steam Shower in Your House?— BYHYU 225 14:47

3y ago14:47

14:47

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 comfortabl…

1
Ridiculous Lumber Prices (again), Construction Update and Miscellaneous Building Tips and Tidbits— BYHYU 224 18:01

3y ago18:01

18:01

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 pri…

1
Myths and Facts of Septic systems vs City Sewers—BYHYU 223 20:01

3y ago20:01

20:01

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 lo…

1
BEST OF BYHYU: Toilet Seat Bidets and Heated Master Bathroom Floors—Indulgences For Your Master Bath That Are Totally Worth The Splurge— BYHYU 222 15:39

3y ago15:39

15:39

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 r…

1
Homeowners Reveal “The Best Things They Did When Building,” Part 2—BYHYU 221 14:17

3+ y ago14:17

14:17

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…

1
Homeowners Reveal “The Best Things They Did When Building” Part 1—BYHYU 220 20:06

3+ y ago20:06

20:06

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 buil…

1
Is Fiber Optics Internet (the Fastest Internet Choice on the Market) Right For You?— BYHYU 219 19:03

3+ y ago19:03

19:03

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 connect…

1
High Performance, Net Zero Case Study House Review—BYHYU 21 15:12

3+ y ago15:12

15:12

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 t…

1
Design Features from the Dallas/Fort Worth Dream Street Showcase Homes— BYHYU 217 14:48

3+ y ago14:48

14:48

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 showcase…

1
Popular Design Features From the Vesta Parade of Homes—BYHYU 216 11:09

3+ y ago11:09

11:09

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 …

1
Hot Tub Buying Guide—BYHYU 215 18:36

3+ y ago18:36

18:36

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 b…

1
What’s The Best Garage Door Material For You?— BYHYU 214 18:36

3+ y ago18:36

18:36

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, o…

1
Lumber Prices Are Soaring and Appliances Are Backordered Due To COVID, What Should You Do? BYHYU 213 15:51

3+ y ago15:51

15:51

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 addin…

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