Latest Houseplans Podcast Episodes
Designing a Germ Resistant House— BYHYU 202
Build Your House Yourself University - April 08, 2020 07:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsIn 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 an...
How the Coronavirus COVID 19 Pandemic Might Affect Homebuilding— BYHYU 201
Build Your House Yourself University - March 25, 2020 07:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThe 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 wi...
Should You Insulate Your Garage? BYHYU 200
Build Your House Yourself University - March 11, 2020 07:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsAccording 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 garag...
Pros and Cons of Attached vs Detached Garages— BYHYU 199
Build Your House Yourself University - February 26, 2020 08:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThis 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 ev...
Money Saving Tips for Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinets—BYHYU 198
Build Your House Yourself University - February 19, 2020 08:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsA 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. ...
How To Design A Low Maintenance, Easy-to-Clean Kitchen— BYHYU 197
Build Your House Yourself University - February 12, 2020 08:00 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThe 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 ...
Can You Ever Have Too Much Insulation?—BYHYU 196
Build Your House Yourself University - February 05, 2020 08:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThose 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 ...
International Builders Show Idea House: The New American Home—BYHYU 195
Build Your House Yourself University - January 29, 2020 08:00 - 18 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsIBS, 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 see...
Kid-Friendly Design—BYHYU 194
Build Your House Yourself University - January 15, 2020 08:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsWhether 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 a...
Turning Pre-construction Obstacles into Opportunities To Build A Stronger, More Weather-Resistance Home—BYHYU 193
Build Your House Yourself University - January 08, 2020 08:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsBack 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. Th...
BEST OF BYHYU: Choosing A Lot— Consider these things when selecting a home for your home—BYHYU 192
Build Your House Yourself University - January 01, 2020 08:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsToday 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 maj...
The Perfect Laundry Room Location—BYHYU 191
Build Your House Yourself University - December 18, 2019 08:00 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsWhat’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...
Lighting for Tall Ceilings—BYHYU 190
Build Your House Yourself University - December 11, 2019 08:00 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsAs 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 c...
BEST OF BYHYU— Lighting 101— BYHYU 189
Build Your House Yourself University - December 04, 2019 08:00 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThis 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...
An Affordable, Energy Efficient Case Study House—BYHYU 188
Build Your House Yourself University - November 27, 2019 08:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThis 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 squ...
20 Basic Landscaping Tips—BYHYU 187
Build Your House Yourself University - November 20, 2019 08:00 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsWhether you want to hire a professional to design and install the landscaping for your new home or do it yourself, there are a few basic tips and rules that will help you plan outdoor spaces. Show notes at BYHYU.com
BEST OF BYHYU: 20 New House Must Haves— Design Features that Homeowners Most Often Request in New Homes—BYHYU 186
Build Your House Yourself University - November 06, 2019 08:00 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThis 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 ...
Coordinating Your Backsplash and Countertop— BYHYU 185
Build Your House Yourself University - October 30, 2019 07:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsHow 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 w...
Parade of Homes Top Design Features —BYHYU 184
Build Your House Yourself University - October 23, 2019 07:00 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsIt’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 ...
Energy Star/Energy Efficient Appliances—BYHYU 183
Build Your House Yourself University - October 16, 2019 07:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThe 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 h...
2019 Green Home of the Year Grand Award Winner—BYHYU 182
Build Your House Yourself University - October 09, 2019 07:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsBecause 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 learn...
White Walls… Awesome or Awful?— BYHYU 181
Build Your House Yourself University - October 02, 2019 07:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsBecause 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 f...
Save Money and the Environment by Reducing Construction Site Waste—BYHYU 180
Build Your House Yourself University - September 25, 2019 07:00 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsDid 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...
10 DesignTrends We’ll See Going into Next Year—- BYHYU 179
Build Your House Yourself University - September 18, 2019 07:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsThis 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 th...
Marble… Awesome or Awful?—BYHYU 178
Build Your House Yourself University - September 11, 2019 07:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsDon’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 th...
Ceiling Height Kitchen Cabinets… Awesome or Awful?—BYHYU 177
Build Your House Yourself University - September 04, 2019 07:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsFor 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 ...
The Ins and Outs of Exterior Doors, Part 2—BYHYU 176
Build Your House Yourself University - August 28, 2019 07:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsLast 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 sc...
The Ins and Outs of Exterior Doors, Part 1--BYHYU 175
Build Your House Yourself University - August 21, 2019 07:00 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsWhether 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. Y...
Why Roof Overhangs Are Important, Part 2--BYHYU 174
Build Your House Yourself University - August 07, 2019 07:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsIn 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 ...
Why Roof Overhangs Are Important, Part 1 --BYHYU 173
Build Your House Yourself University - July 31, 2019 07:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 390 ratingsAlthough 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 min...
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