Build Your House Yourself University

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.com

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 really helpful conversation.  Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 would like to share your homebuilding experience on the podcast, please email me at Michelle@byhyu.com Show notes  at www.BYHYU.com

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.com

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 discuss in this episode— space planning and layout rules specifically for bedrooms. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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, including my favorite, metal roofs. Make sure you follow the show so when I record my latest construction update and other new content, the show will automatically be sent to your email or podcast library as soon as it is released. You can follow us through the podcast platform you use. Or, if you want episodes along with the show notes and relevant photos to go to your email inbox, you can subscribe through the BYHYU.com website. SHOW NOTES at BYHYU.com

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 planning your home design. But before we get into the show, I'll share a bit of my first-hand experience with some of the products you'll hear about in the podcast. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 practical, utilitarian reasons but also for aesthetics.  Freestanding tubs continue to be an extremely popular choice primarily because of aesthetics.  Freestanding tubs are thought of as sculptural showpieces and increase the perceived value of the home.  In this episode, you'll get information that will help you choose the right freestanding tub for your new home.  SHOW NOTES at BYHYU.com

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 will take away from the overall stylishness and functionality of your home.    Developing a good furniture layout early on will help you come up with a more accurate electrical plan where you can specify where electrical outlets for lamps, TVs, and other electronics—  an electrical plan that makes the most sense as it relates to the furniture that will be in the room.  So let's discuss some furniture placement/layout rules of thumb that you should consider way before you buy your furniture.  Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 for your home. This week we'll briefly talk about soffit and fascia options so you can make the best choice for your home.  Let's start by establishing exactly what and where soffits and fascia are. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 on what they see each year at High point. If you didn't know, North Carolina is known as the furniture-making capital of the United States. It's where most quality furniture manufactured in American is made. In today's episode, we'll go over some of the most popular design trends spotted at the recent spring 2022 High Point Market. The information in this show comes from a couple of articles at Houzz.com. Most of the designs features have been around for 2-3 years and are still trending. Others are emerging trends. As we go through the list, remember, you don't have to incorporate all of these or frankly any of these features into our new house, but it's always nice to stay on top of what's currently in style. Shownotes at BYHYU.com

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 homebuilding. So when will supply chain issues end?  That's the million-dollar question, and the truth is, no one really knows. But there are opinions out there and that's what we'll talk about in this episode. As you probably realize, the answer to “When will things get back to normal?” is relevant to anyone who's building or remodeling a house.  Because as long as there are interruptions and delays in the supply chain, there will also be interruptions and delays in construction.  Your new build or remodeling project is likely to cost you more time and money than it would if the supply chain weren't having so many challenges.    Let's talk about exactly what the supply chain is and when experts are predicting a return to normalcy. SHOW NOTES at BYHYU.com

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 the elements showcased will fit into every budget. But to me, it's helpful to see what's fresh and new, and what continues to be relevant in decor, appliances, and amenities, even if we don't include the exact finishes and brands showcased. Homes like these can serve as inspiration for those of us who are building. SHOW NOTES AT BYHYU.com

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, straight square corners, or bullnose? In today's episode, I'll briefly cover whether smooth or textured walls are more popular for today's new builds and if curved bullnose corners are still in style. We'll also cover the basics of drywall finish levels so you can confidently tell your contractor what you prefer. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 boring detail, but I'm hoping to give you enough information so you can have an intelligent conversation with your builder or drywall contractor, so you will know the best types of drywall for different areas of your house.  Despite what you might think, all drywall isn't the same.  SHOW NOTES AT BYHYU.com

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 on their website for different furniture pieces, colors, materials, and other design elements. Show notes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU/

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 goes quickly.  A Fad is a style that suddenly becomes popular and is embraced with exaggerated zeal. But fads usually don't stay popular very long and can seriously date your house.  Think sponge-painted walls of the 90s.  A trend, on the other hand, is a general direction in which something is going.  Trends are popular in a particular season and they last longer than fads. Some trends can stay in style for many years or even decades and some trends can actually become timeless classics.  Many trends are current and classic and those are the best ones to follow, if you like them, because they won't date your house.  A white kitchen, for example, is on-trend today, but is also a timeless classic.  A white kitchen looked great 10 years ago (and even 100 years).  A white kitchen also looks great today and probably be on-trend 10-100 years from now. To come up with today's list of trends, Houzz browsed thousands of their popular photos and spoke with dozens of home design and remodeling professionals.  They also studied the latest Houzz data and research and looked at lots of past articles to come up with this collection of home design trends that they think will be popular in the months to come. Show notes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU/

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 me either through emails or reviews.  And to those who have shared your favorite episodes through text, email or on your social media platforms. It's so helpful when you become an ambassador for the show and encourage others to listen.  I appreciate you very much for that. Okay, let's go to a show that was published a few years ago that contains information that's still relevant today.   Since 99% have some degree of budgetary limitations during our builds, we'll have decided where to save and where to splurge.  This show gives you some suggestions.  Let's get right to it. Show notes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU/

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 the Aging in Place podcast to sort of tie everything together.  If you've listened to this before, I encourage you to take another listen to remind of some information you may have forgotten or to simply solidify some concepts that you've already learned.  Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 safety, independence, and happiness in our homes— no matter what our age. Shownotes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 strike a good balance between cohesiveness and separation. This week we'll discuss some common mistakes people make when decorating open floor plans and we'll go over how we can steer clear of those mistakes. Show notes at BYHYU.com www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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/

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 chatting about their homes and construction experiences.  Some people think contacting references is not very helpful because they think the contractor will only give a list of their best customers who may potentially be unwilling to share anything other than the most positive remarks.  But you'd be surprised by how honest people will be, especially if the contractor is not in earshot of their comments.  Plus, my list of questions will hopefully elicit candid, valuable information.   Show notes at BYHYU.com www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 240 volt outlet.  And we'll end the mini-lesson with some talk about what size electrical service or the number of amps your house should have.  I know this sounds pretty technical, but these are things we need to understand on a basic level so when our electrician asks if we want a 120 volt or 240 volt outlet or if we want a 200 or 240 amp electrical service, we'll have some idea of what he's talking about.  As always, I'll break things down into simple terms. Show notes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 river, a brutal winter storm, and a global pandemic added even more delays to my schedule before we had even started framing. Unfortunately, unrelenting pandemic-related shortages in materials and labor continue to wreak havoc on my construction schedule.  But we are making progress, it's just slow progress.  The next step is rough-in.  We'll go over what that means and I'll tell you about some of the highlights of the last few months.  www.BYHYU.com

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 our decor.  Show notes at BYHYU.com www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 for if we want to mount our TV above our fireplace and where we can find certified fireplaces professionals. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 breaking down the major categories of fireplaces for us.  It's a great interview so let's get right into it. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 survey outlines the percentage of builders in the US who have ordered building materials and experienced significant shortages in those materials.  I'll also give you a few ideas for what to do during construction delays that might result from materials shortages. Show notes at BYHYU.com www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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, which is still considerably higher than prices were when many of us started thinking building. And lumber prices fell several months ago and went back up, so we're in unpredictable times. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit an episode that I did on 2 alternatives to traditional stick-built, lumber-framed homes. Those alternatives are Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and Insulated Concrete Forms, (ICFs). Both SIPs and ICFs provide both insulation and structural framing components for the house.   According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the cost of a standard 2,000 sq. ft. home has increased by $34K since April 2020.   A similar 2000 sq ft house built with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) also increased in price, but by only $8K or about 30%. Show notes at BYHYU.com www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 and Marketing Manager at Dorken Systems.  Dorken specializes in high-performance air and moisture barriers used to protect residential and commercial projects. We'll delve into how we can help alleviate the moisture problems that are often seen today with stucco and manufactured stone. Show notes at BYHYU.com www.dorken.com

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

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 because transporting unwanted and unused stuff from one house to another means more time, effort, and money when packing and unpacking.  Show notes at BYHYU.com www.instagram.com/ultimateideahouse https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU/

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 to start sifting through your belongings to decide what things are worthy of a spot in your new build. In this week’s episode, I’ll give you a list of some common sources of clutter and tell you how long you should keep certain items like tax documents and spices. In my next episode, I’ll give you a decluttering plan that you can use before your move. Show notes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 decision fatigue, this episode is for you.   Show notes are BYHYU.com www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 and was surprised about how much there is to consider when choosing toilets. In this week’s mini-lesson we’ll cover one-piece vs two-piece toilets, toilet height, floor mount vs wall mount toilets and some options that you can look for that will help keep your toilets cleaner for longer. Show notes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU/

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 better,? Comfort height or standard height?  Floor mount or wall mount? Whether we should pay extra for easy clean options and finally what color and style are best for your decor. Show notes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 comfortable and luxurious since we haven’t been able to get away on vacation or even to the gym or spa when we’ve wanted to. So on today’s show, we’ll explore some of the reasons you might consider putting a steam shower/room or sauna in your new home.  Show notes at BYHYU.com https://www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 prices and give you some miscellaneous home building tips and tidbits. Show notes at BYHYU.com www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 lot needing a septic system could be right for you. Sewer systems are more common and usually preferred, because they're funded and maintained by local governments. But as people move further away from cities, septic systems are becoming more popular.  About 1 in 5 US households use septic systems. Septic systems are environmentally friendly, and give homeowners full control over their drainage. Plus, being open to lots that require a septic system gives you so many more possibilities for your homesite, especially those sites in rural areas. Many people are apprehensive about the costs and maintenance involved with a septic system. But does a septic system really cost more and require frequent maintenance? That’s some of what we’ll talk about today.  And If you fall in love with a lot needing a septic system, this episode will help you decide whether to put that lot on your shortlist of possible homesites, or whether to scratch it off your list altogether.   Show notes at BYHYU.com www.facebook.com/BYHYU

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 reduce your need to just a few squares per bathroom break.     As you’ll hear, you’ll want to tell your electrician where you want to include toilet seat bidets so he can install an outlet near the toilet to power the bidet.  But what I’ve learned since that show, is that you’ll also want to instruct your plumber to plumb those bidet toilets with both cold and hot water.  Typically a toilet only gets cold water, but if you’re adding a bidet, you don’t want a shocking blast of just cold water on your bottom when you activate the bidet.  You’ll want comfortably warm water, so make sure you tell your builder or plumber that you want a cold and hot water mix for your bidets.    We’ll also discuss radiant floor heat for master baths.   Show notes at BYHYU.com

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

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 builds—features that made life easier and/or more enjoyable. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 connection is especially important if you or your family members are gamers or movie or tv buffs who regularly use streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. Or if your household has multiple people using the internet simultaneously.  So in this week’s mini-lesson, I’ll tell you about fiber optics internet, the fastest type of internet connection available. And we’ll also compare it to the other internet options. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 the DOE Zero Energy Ready program, the Northwest Energy Star program, and EPA Indoor air PLUS program.  And this home costs the homeowners only $21 per year for utilities. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 showcased in an event called, not Dream Home, but Dream Street.  The 3 luxury showhomes were in all on the same street in Southlake, TX, a suburb outside of Dallas. Each house had a different builder and designer so I knew it would be interesting to see the similarities and differences that showed up in the different houses.  Going to these showcase homes often lets us in on what’s up-and-coming and tried and true in homebuilding and decor. Some of the most prominent design features were those that I’ve talked about before and ones that I’ve seen in previous parades of homes.  But to me, it’s always helpful to know what’s still trending and what has gone by the wayside. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 traditional and contemporary decor.  Patterns and colors of furniture, rugs, and art leaned just a little more traditional than contemporary, probably because of the southern sensibility of the homes, buyers, and designers.   But materials and fixtures had mostly clean lines and sleek finishes and were similar to what I’ve seen used throughout the country and on design websites and in magazines. Show notes at BYHYU.com

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 buying a hot tub. Show notes at BYHYU.com Email me at michelle@BYHYU.com if you’d like to be a guest

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

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

We've all heard how loud opening a garage door can be, but what you may not realize is that opening a garage door doesn’t have to be that noisy.  There are garage door features you can choose that can make opening your garage door much quieter, which is particularly important for attached garages and garages with rooms above them.    We’ll also cover when choosing 2 single garage doors is better than choosing one double-wide garage door. Show notes at BYHYU.com