Build Your House Yourself University

So, should you hire an interior designer?  Well, Interior designers will tell you that you should absolutely hire them to help you decorate your new house. But ask a barber if you need a haircut and you know what he’ll say.  Whether or not you hire an interior designer is an incredibly personal choice.  There’s no right or wrong answer.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

According to the National Council for Home Safety and Security, only 17%  of houses in the US have a security system.  Many people have avoided home security because of the costly, long-term monitoring fees and annoying false alarms that plagued home security systems decades ago.  But systems today have improved. Systems are both simpler to use and more sophisticated than ever before. 

Homes that are targeted for crime are usually unoccupied homes with lots of cover, such as lots of tall bushes around the house. Homes with easy escape routes and easy access through unlocked or unsecured doors or windows are also favorites of criminals.  Home security system deters criminals. Think about it, When an alarm sounds and interior lights come on in response to an alarm and when exterior lights start flashing or a voice comes through a video doorbell when a potential intruder approaches, the bad guys are more likely to leave your house alone and go after an easier, quieter target.

Homes without alarms are three times more likely to get burglarized according to The National Council for Home Safety and Security. Some say that statistic is overstated since overall crime rates have dropped over the last several years. But whether that number is inflated or not, I don’t think anyone can argue that home security systems, at the very least, give criminals pause when they are considering which homes to violate.  And for many people, especially as they age, a home security system brings peace of mind.

This week, I’ll give you the basics of home security systems.  You’ll be able to find lots more detail on the websites of specific brands, but this mini-lesson should help you decide whether you have enough interest in home security to seek more information.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

After discussing outdoor cooling methods, including outdoor fans, in last week’s episode, I realized we haven’t really talked about indoor ceiling fans.  So, this week, I’ll give you some quicks on how to select, use and maintain your ceiling fans.

The right sized ceiling fan will keep you cool and save you money. Ceiling fans cost very little to run as compared to air conditioners. Running a fan will allow you to set your thermostat at a higher temperature when it’s hot outside so you can save money on your monthly electric bill.  According to Energy Star, you can save 3-5% on air-conditioning costs for each degree you raise the thermostat.

Unlike air conditioners, ceiling fans don’t lower a room’s temperature or remove humidity from the air. But what we learned last week is that fans make us feel more comfortable by blowing humid air away from us and allowing the moisture on our skin to evaporate more readily.  That’s what cools us down, making us feel 4-8 degrees cooler.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

In this week’s episode, I have some helpful strategies that we can use to keep the inside and outside of our homes cooler and more comfortable during the hot summer. I did some research on what we can add to our homes that will make high outdoor temperatures more bearable.  I’m talking about things we can include in and around our homes beyond an energy efficient air conditioner for our houses that have been sized according to Manual J calculation.  We’ll discuss things like awnings, outdoor solar shades, solar screens and other shading products, outdoor fans, misting systems, swamp coolers and outdoor portable air conditioners.

And since not all cooling systems work well in all climates, I’ll tell you which ones are best for dry heat and which are better for hot, humid climates.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

This week’s episode is inspired by one of my favorite resources for homebuilding and design ideas and advice: Houzz. Houzz is spelled and it’s short for House buzz.  That site not only gives you access to thousands of inspiration photos, but also short blog posts and a helpful forum called Gardenweb. 

When I was looking through the “building a home” section of the forum and saw a couple of valuable discussions that inspired this week quick tips — one discussion having to do with the inclusion of a job site visitation policy in the contract and one discussion regarding deleting items from the initial specifications list.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

After I finished last week’s episode, I thought of a few more design features you should consider for your home if entertaining friends and family is important to you.    If you didn’t get a chance to listen to last week, check out episode 126 called Designing your Home for Entertaining and Family Gatherings.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

Most of us building custom homes are not just doing it for ourselves, but so our friends and family can enjoy the space too.  Even if you don’t plan on being the central hub for regular cocktail parties, game nights and potlucks, your nice new house will probably be the spot for holiday dinners and casual family barbecues at least once or twice a year.   So, in this week’s episode, I’ll give you some quick tips on how to design a home for entertaining— with features that will make your parties run more smoothly, make your guests feel comfortable and features that will help you enjoy more time with friends and family during get-togethers.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

In addition to the suggestions and tips that I gave you episode 125 called “Consider These Things for Your Electrical and Lighting Plan”, I’m giving you 21 bonus tips that I’ve curated from past BYHYU episodes. So that you can easily access our lighting and electrical tips for your own lighting plan, I’ve put them all together in one and a half episodes.  You’ve heard these 21 bonus tips before, but I think this will serve as a nice refresher for many of you, plus it will save you the trouble of having to listen to several episodes to find lighting tips that that scattered around in different places. If you haven’t listened to episode 125, you’ll definitely want to do that too, as the lion’s share of the lighting and electrical plan suggestions are in that episode.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

After giving a general overview last week of what’s needed for the specifications for the plumbing, mechanical and electrical subs, I thought it would be helpful to go into more detail about the lighting and electrical plan that you will need to give to the electrician.  There is so much to consider.  I’ll give you a list of 50 suggestions that you can use as a checklist that will help you develop a pretty complete electrical and lighting plan before you even meet your builder or electrician for the lighting walkthrough. 

The lighting walkthrough typically happens in the rough-in stage, after framing is complete and before the drywall goes up.  Usually, the homeowner will walk through the framed house with the electrician and/or builder and discuss where fixtures, outlets, and light switches will go. 

But thinking through the electrical and lighting plan well before you do the electrical walkthrough will allow you more time to consider exactly what features and outlets we want, and where. This decreases the chances of you forgetting an outlet or light switch somewhere.  It will also give you an opportunity to develop more detailed specifications so you can get more accurate electrical bids. 

I’ll give you some suggestions in list form.  50 suggestions here and 21 more tips in the bonus episode.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

I just came back from the Tulsa Parade of Homes. The real estate market in the Tulsa area is pretty underrated. There are beautiful homes and neighborhoods there and I love their parade of homes. This was my third or fourth year going there for the parade.

Like always, this parade of homes allowed me to see what features are popular in new construction, at least in that part of the country. But I also saw some features in houses that gave me pause. Features that we should definitively think twice about before putting them in our new homes. That’s what I want to talk about in this week’s episode.

Show notes at BYHYU.com