You can’t beat the durability and the low maintenance advantages of synthetic, faux wood materials. But  I’ve seen lots of synthetic, wood look materials, and although a few of them look pretty realistic, some people feel like no synthetic material can match the natural beauty of real wood. And for those people, that beauty is worth the extra maintenance required to use authentic wood for the exterior of their homes.  So, for those of us considering using real wood on our new homes, whether as decking, or as exterior wall cladding, fences or garage doors, we’ll take a closer look at some of the most popular wood species used for exterior applications to help us decide which wood might be best for our projects.   We’ll also briefly consider composite and plastic wood alternatives. Show notes at BYHYU.com

Should I Consider Using Real Wood For My New Home?— BYHYU 140

Wish you knew more about the biggest investment you will most likely ever make? Build Your House Yourself University (byhyu) will teach you to save money and make smart decisions about the construction of the place you and your family will call HOME. We will help you understand residential construction— simplify and demystify the design build process. You’ll come away with successful strategies for building your own house, with or without a general contractor.  

Become an educated consumer, even if you prefer to buy, rather than build a new house. Complex construction jargon and best practices will be explained in easy to understand terms.  It’s not the typical DIY (do it yourself) show.  You will learn how to MANAGE the labor, not DO the labor for your new house.

Join me, Michelle Nelson, host and fellow informal residential construction student.  I’ll share the research I find on home design and building as I prepare to build my home. Together, our community of future home builders, will learn the tips, tricks and trends of experienced contractors and industry experts. 

I’ll interview owner-builders and construction professionals.  During our mini lessons, I’ll inform you about framing, flooring, windows, insulation, kitchen cabinets and countertops…almost anything having to do with new construction homes.  You’ll hear about energy efficiency and green building too.  There will be product reviews in which you will be introduced to cutting edge, as well as, tried and true products and services.  And in keeping with the university theme, episodes will end with short, fun quizzes. 

If we do our due diligence BEFORE we start construction, we will actually start construction with the most difficult part of the project behind us.  Let’s put in the time, effort, preparation and research BEFORE we break ground and building our homes will be much easier and more enjoyable.

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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

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

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

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

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 Her Homebuilding Journey, Part 2

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

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

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

Should I Consider Using Real Wood For My New Home?— BYHYU 140

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