Listeners write in about landscape lighting, airsealing porch ceilings, and foregoing inspections, and ask questions about DIY dense-pack insulation, fixing a wonky door, and detailing envelope penetrations.

#631: HVAC Systems, Foundation Footings, and Sinking Garages

12 days ago 1h 6m

Listeners write in about ADUs, data-hogging washers, and foregoing inspections. They ask questions about replacing functioning HVAC systems, reinforcement for footings, and repairing a garage built on fill.

#630: Conversation with HVAC experts Eric Weiss and Cristi Pedotto

19 days ago 55m 11s

The FHB Podcast discusses refrigerants, the HVAC industry, and HVAC worker training.

#629: With Building Scientist Monica Rokicki

26 days ago 1h 1m

Listeners write in about outdoor showers, a Philadelphia carpentry teacher, and the science of hail damage. We ask building scientist Monica Rokicki-Guajardo questions about building performance, HVAC systems, and indoor air quality.

#628: Porch Railings, Porch Flooring, and Japanese Footings

Apr 19th, 2024 57m 27s

Listeners write in about shade structures, metaphors for air-sealing, and the HVAC industry and ask questions about porch railings, porch flooring, and Japanese footings.

#627: Leaky Doors, Flashing, and Kneewalls

Apr 12th, 2024 1h 2m

Listeners write in about off-site construction, displaying old walls, and building outbuildings and ask questions about leaky doors, missing flashing, and insulating kneewalls.

#626: Walls with Fiber Sheathing, Optional Building Inspections, and Heat Pump Water Heaters

Apr 5th, 2024 1h 6m

Listeners write in about high water bills, soggy straw bales, and house fires and ask questions about tightening wood-fiber walls, places without inspections, and heat pump water heaters.

#625: Roof Insulation, Band Joists, and Small Houses

Mar 29th, 2024 52m 12s

Listeners write in about EVs, sources of CO, and structural engineering and ask questions about roof insulation, rim joists, and shrinking houses.

#624: Good Builders, Roof Insulation, and Ice Dams

Mar 22nd, 2024 58m 48s

Listeners write in about water conservation, useful books, and work trucks. Questions include builders in Oklahoma, roof insulation, and fixing ice dams.

#623: Condensation on Windows, HVAC Registers, and Water Heating

Mar 15th, 2024 1h

Listeners write in about the value of FHB and ask questions about basement flooring, condensation on windows, HVAC register locations, and heat-pump water heaters.

#622: Wood-Slab Walls, Sealing a Crawlspace, and Pipes that Don’t Drain

Mar 8th, 2024 59m 54s

Listeners write in about off-site construction and ask questions about board-framed walls, sealed crawlspaces, and overflowing laundry standpipes.

#621: Building Inside a Barn, Porch-Roof Flashing, and Treated-Lumber Longevity

Mar 1st, 2024 1h

Listeners write in about Super Insulated Houses and water pipes and ask questions about building a house inside a barn, sidewall flashing, and chimney dampers.

#620: Witnessing Bad Work, Semi-Conditioned Spaces, and Extra Minisplits

Feb 23rd, 2024 59m 14s

Listeners write in about high-performance builds, wall insulation, and EV vans and ask questions about bad building, insulating a lean-to, and minisplit air distribution.

#619: Old-House Construction, Sizing Lumber Beams, and Window Restoration

Feb 16th, 2024 59m 51s

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

#618: Heather Clark of the White House Climate Policy Office

Feb 9th, 2024 58m

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.

#617: Venting Metal Roofs, Air-Sealing, and Foundation Drainage

Feb 2nd, 2024 56m 39s

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.

#616: Short Extension Jambs, Charred Timbers, and Hardwood on Concrete

Jan 26th, 2024 56m 1s

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

#615: Spray-on WRBs, Wall Insulation, and IV Drips for Mold

Jan 19th, 2024 51m 13s

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

614: Structural Lath and Plaster, Coaching your Builder, and Shoes for Roofing

Jan 12th, 2024 1h 2m

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.

#613: Soil Against Stucco, Finding the Right Build Team, and Building Product Warranties

Jan 5th, 2024 1h 4m

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

#612: Water Pipes, Attic Air-Sealing, and the Durability of AeroBarrier

Dec 29th, 2023 1h 1m

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.

#611: With Bill Beleck: Shou Sugi Ban, Surplus Building Products, and Air-Sealing Overhanging Joists

Dec 22nd, 2023 1h 1m

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 ove

#610: The Best of the Fine Homebuilding Podcast, Volume 6

Dec 15th, 2023 59m 36s

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.

#609: Flashing a Metal Building, Energy Retrofits, and Siting a House

Dec 8th, 2023 1h 8m

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 ret

#608: Roofs with Self-adhered Membranes, Heating and Cooling Loads, and Introducing People to Trade Work

Dec 1st, 2023 1h 6m

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