Build Your House Yourself University

Kitchen islands.  They’re one the most requested kitchen features in new homes.   This week’s quick tips will cover how to best organize your kitchen island and what type of island storage might work well for you and your family.  You should customize your kitchen island to reflect your habits, needs, and desires.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

Lots of people like the idea of building green, or a least a greener.  But, although the term green building is often used, many of us are not quite sure exactly what green building is, or where to go to get easy to understand information about green building options.  This week we have an interview that will help explain what green building is and why it’s important.  We’ll hear from Sheridan Foster, founder of Elemental Green, a great online educational resource for green and sustainable building products and techniques.

Shownotes at BYHYU.com

www.Elemental.Green

Last week, we talked about creating wow factor on the inside of your home.  This week we’ll delve into what we can do to our home’s exterior to add curb appeal. Now remember, you shouldn’t include features in, on or around your home to just impress others. Instead, design a home that inspires you and your family and build one that you’re proud of. And just By doing that, you’ll often increase your home’s value.  We’ll go over the first part of our list this week and finish the list next week.  Before we go any further we need to define this week’s pro terms.

Pro Terms: Portico and Porte Cochere

Show notes at BYHYU.com

Even if you want a simple home, without over-the-top features, adding surprising, or unique elements will make your home more interesting and distinctive.  All homes should have some degree of the wow factor.  Things that make your house different from your neighbors’. So, in this week’s mini-lesson, we’ll cover a list potential wow factor features that you can include in your house.  But, only consider adding those things that resonate with you.  Don’t feel any pressure to add something just because it’s on trend, impressive or popular.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

Pipes and plumbing fixtures are found everywhere in a new house.  Pipes run out of the house, under the house, within walls of the house, and finally arrive at many different fixtures, like sinks, toilets and tubs. Some pipes carry water and others carry gas.

Pipes are made different materials, either metal and plastic, and each material has its pros and cons.  We’ll talk about the pros and cons of different pipe materials and I’ll tell you what you can request from your plumber to keep your pipes quiet and to eliminate the noise of an upstairs toilet flush that can be heard by you and your guests while you’re sitting downstairs.  I’ll also give you a list of some things to consider to help improve the quality of your plumbing job.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

Because your home’s plumbing is used every day, several times a day, you want to make sure that you get quality products and materials and that those materials are installed by a reliable plumber. 

This week’s mini-lesson help you give you a basic overview of your home’s plumbing system and it will give you some advice on what type of plumber and plumbing fixtures you should choose for your new home— whether brand name fixtures really are better than off-brand ones and whether it’s ok get your plumbing supplies from a big box store.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

This week, I’ll tell you about the home design trends that I saw a couple of weeks ago at Design and Construction week in Orlando.  In preparing for this episode, I reviewed episode 5, called Home Trends 2016.  All the design features that I mentioned last year are still relevant in 2017, so talk a listen to episode 5 to hear what those features were.  But, 2017 brings with it some additional home design trends that you may want to include in your new home.   Plus I’ll tell you about a pro secret that I learned from a seasoned builder.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

This week you’ll hear from HGTV star Chip Wade. He tells us what 3 things he suggests homeowners include in their new homes. We’ll also hear from some exhibitors (Armstrong Flooring, Feeney Inc, Phantom Screens, True Residential, and Rangecraft) who showed off their products at the combined International Builders Show and Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. That show was held couple of weeks ago in Orlando, FL. I was there to get the scoop on both new and tried-and-true products for new homes.

Show notes at www.BYHYU.com

Show Links:

www.chipwade.com

www.armstrongflooring.com

www.feeneyinc.com     

http://www.feeneyinc.com/ShowUsYourView

www.phantomscreens.com

www.true-residential.com

www.rangecraft.com

If you decide you want move to another house, one of the first decisions you’ll  have to make is whether to buy an existing house or build a new one. Each option has advantages and disadvantages. Today’s mini lesson will explore the pros and cons of buying a house versus building a house.   We’ll also talk about building allowances.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

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If you’re anything like me, you like to actually see what you’re getting before you pay for it. But, what do you do when you’re building a house? I know you’ll have blue prints, but for some of us blue prints are difficult to read and visualize.  For some reason, my brain has trouble translating blue prints into a good mental image.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see a 3D, photograph-like image of what your house will look like before you build it?   To have a color picture and maybe even an animated aerial video of the outside or inside of your house? Then you could show it to contractors and suppliers to ensure that they know exactly what you want to build? 

Today, you’ll hear from Rob Clasby, CEO and Founder of Viz Source, the Rendering Company.  Since 2006, Viz Source has been in the business of providing photorealistic 3D images and animations for all types of projects, including new homes.

Show notes at BYHYU.com

www.vizsource.com/

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