The Fine Homebuilding Podcast

Listeners write in about handyman businesses, NASA's stuck screws, and leak detectors and ask questions about old houses, sizing beams, and restoring windows.

A talk with Heather Clark Director of Building Emissions for the White House Climate Policy Office and feedback on missing water, Bay Area renovations, and pex manifolds.

Listeners write in about choosing pipe material, finding a good contractor, charred timbers, and PV utility costs, and ask questions about venting metal roofing, air-sealing, and foundation drainage.

Listeners write in about work vehicles and faulty LEDs and ask about extension jambs, charred timber frames, and wood flooring on concrete.

Listeners write in about producer Jeff and moving heavy things and ask questions about WRBs, cavity insulation without sheathing, and IV drips for mold.

Listeners write in about HVAC design, missing water, and a young builder and ask questions about rotted sills, builders and their comfort zone, and roofing shoes.

Listeners write in about home-repair businesses, vertical siding, and click-together flooring and ask about stucco, build teams and building product warranties.

Peter is navigating the Massachusetts stretch building code. Jim needs help choosing a domestic water pipe system. Wayne wants to tighten his attic. Adam asks about long-term tests of AeroBarrier.

The crew hears from listeners about contracting in high-end zip codes and the economy of electric cars. Discussion questions include installing shou sugi ban forest products, saving leftover material, and how to air-seal a floor system that overhangs the foundation.

The editors discuss widening an existing deck, modern timber-frame buildings, inexpensive building products, work vehicles, and installing a vented bath fan in this best-of compilation.

Peter's DIY addition appears on Google Street View. Ed shares a chart of common house problems. A listener says ethernet cables are not for lighting. Evan asks for help flashing the bottom of a metal building.   Listeners email about energy retrofits and siting new houses.

The crew hears from listeners about protecting buried posts, hydronic HVAC, and building affordable houses. Discussion questions include small low-slope roofs, calculating heating and cooling loads, and encouraging the next generation of trade workers.

The crew hears from listeners about housewrap, replacing windows in brick openings, and managing heavy beams. Discussion questions include wood foundations, raising a ceiling in a ranch, and sealing up panned joist returns.

The crew hears from listeners about tight-fitting batt insulation, integrating HVAC equipment, and housing affordability. Discussion questions include foam insulation instead of a concrete slab, closing gaps in laminate flooring, and rainscreens under board siding.

The crew hears from listeners about stair design, broken tool batteries, and toilets from the box store. Discussion questions include buying rental property, attic venting, and modified Bonfig walls.

Consulting engineer and self-described compulsive measurer Marc Rosenbaum talks to Brian and Patrick about improving the comfort and efficiency of residential buildings.

The crew hears from listeners about ceramic paint, prefinished siding, and tiny houses in Texas. Discussion questions include flashing windows in masonry walls, protecting buried fence posts from rot, and using boilers for domestic hot water.

The crew hears from listeners about EV charging, aging in place, and dowsing. Discussion questions include customer communication, covering exposed foundation insulation, and HVAC design.

The crew hears from listeners about ICFs, remodeling a small kitchen, and affordable net-zero and then takes questions on rebuilding a cabin, leaks from wind-driven rain, and refilling hydronic heating systems.

Nic and Carson have thoughts on LEDs. Phil asks about self-stick underlayment on Zip System roof sheathing. Buzz wants to add a shade structure over his paver patio. Knot Painter asks about priming new drywall. Mark is trying to lower his home's humidity.

The crew hears from listeners about gas stoves, screw-pile lighthouses, and LEDs. Discussion questions include roots lifting a garage, leaky porch ceilings, and central dehumidifiers.

The crew hears from listeners about WRBs, Brian's porch piers, and hidden costs of construction. Discussion questions include tightening a stone foundation, stucco on straw bales, and low-buck energy upgrades.

The crew hears from listeners about manufactured houses and DIY lighting with LEDs. Discussion questions include unstuck flashing tape, sealing the bottom of new windows, and EV chargers.

The crew hears from listeners about affordable net-zero, roofing underlayment, and garage separation. Discussion questions include fixing trusses, frost-protected foundations, and air-control strategies.

Listeners share thoughts on condensate drains, fake shutters, and silicosis. The crew takes questions on insulating a floor system, converting a former storage building to living space, and how to use LED strip lighting.