The Fine Homebuilding Podcast
The Fine Homebuilding Podcast is all about answering YOUR construction, design, and building science questions. From foundation waterproofing to roof flashing, we take on your building, remodeling and design challenges with the know-how of North America’s most-trusted home building brand.
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Every Friday, we discuss listener questions and offer advice following best-practice building techniques and principles. We love hearing from you, so if you have a question or project you want us to dig into, please send an email to [email protected] or ask your question on social media.
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Want more from Fine Homebuilding? Check out our website, finehomebuilding.com.
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Facebook: @FineHomebuildingMagazine
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- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 51 minutes
- Episodes
- 729
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
#149: Insulation for old farmhouses, antique-home inspections, and smart ductwork details
The Fine Homebuilding staff gives their best advice for improving leaky board-and-batten walls, buying old houses, keeping HVAC systems within conditioned space, and safely venting gas appliances.
In…
#148: Siding Woes, Life-Changing Tools, and Newbie Home Builders
The Fine Homebuilding editors contemplate listener questions about cladding choices, sheathing layout, and wall-framing techniques.
After chatting about some of their own roofing and cabinetry projec…
#147: What's the Best Way to Build a Detached Garage Workshop?
The Fine Homebuilding editors debate the pros and cons of stem walls, monolithic slabs, and pole barns to help a listener design a new outbuilding.
As usual, there are plenty of home-building and rem…
#146: Why do contractors have such a bad rap?
Patrick, Rob, and Matt cover a wide range of topics in this week's podcast, including building wood sheds, wrangling missing contractors, choosing an air conditioner, sealing cracks in garage floors,…
#145: Do Whole-House-Fans Really work?
When a listener asks what measures he should take to keep cellulose from falling through his exhaust fan when insulating and air-sealing his attic, the Fine Homebuilding Editors wonder if he should g…
#144: Why Won't My Wood Floors Stay Flat?
Justin Fink is back after a few weeks’ hiatus, and he teams up with Patrick and Matt to talk about cool new tools Patrick spied at the STAFDA tool-dealers show in Phoenix, to revisit the topic of bui…
#143: Get Rid of That Scary Knob-and-Tube Wiring
The Fine Homebuilding editors discuss what to do if your house has an ancient electrical system, whether or not shoring up a steep hillside is a DIY project, and and how much of a gap you really need…
#142: How can you build—or rebuild—homes to survive hurricanes?
After following up with a professional inspector's response to last week's discussion on home inspections, Patrick, Matt, and Rob share their findings on what makes some houses more stormproof than o…
#141: Is Water-Heater Maintenance Worth The Hassle?
Patrick McCombe, Rob Wotzak, and Colin Russel kick off the podcast with a discussion about water-resistive barriers (the materials under your siding that protect the walls from moisture intrusion) be…
#140: Getting the Details Right When Re-Siding
Editors Patrick McCombe and Matt Millham welcome Fine Homebuilding’s new Digital Brand Manager, Rob Wotzak, to the podcast this week. The team discusses topics ranging from how far to dig into an old…
#139: Matt’s Walls are Weeping
Justin and Patrick roll up their sleeves and wade into the flood waters to help Matt figure out what to do about his wet basement. This, plus code interpretations when it comes to deck footings, and …
#138: Smarter Business for Builders, Part II
Join Justin for the second episode of a two-part series in which he interviews friend, Fine Homebuilding ambassador, and building-industry business consultant Shawn Van Dyke.
#137: Rethinking I-joist Rafters
Justin and Matt welcome video director Colin Russell to the podcast round table, where the day’s discussions range from Justin regretting his advice on I-joist roof rafters, the perks and scary downs…
#136: Smarter Business for Builders
Join Justin for the first episode of a two-part series in which he interviews friend, Fine Homebuilding ambassador, and building-industry business consultant Shawn Van Dyke.
#135: Rotunda, Revisited
Justin, Matt, and Patrick field a follow up question on a particularly frightening rotunda framing job, and discuss options for building a round structure from straight joists. Other topics include p…
#134: Painting Kitchen Cabinets
The guys take a deep dive into the options for updating outdated kitchen cabinets before turning to questions on scratched tile and foundation options for a shed on a sloped lot.
#133: Martin is Back!
GreenBuildingAdvisor.com editor Martin Holladay returns to the show to tackle tough building science questions like heat-pump efficiency at different altitudes, radiant barriers and heat transfer thr…
#132: East Coast vs. West Coast
Justin, Patrick, and Matt discuss how power tool preferences differ from one coast to the other, consider less expensive alternatives to cedar, and do a deep dive on troubleshooting a problematic att…
#131: Dealing With Wet Decking
Justin, Patrick, and Matt discuss solutions to concrete piers that fall below grade, how to diagnose and deal with pooling water on a deck, and troubleshooting a tongue-and-groove cathedral ceiling i…
#130: Where New Meets Old
The guys work through the best way to tie new construction into old, out-of-whack structures. Other topics include roof rafters, job-site tool transport and storage, and whether to paint trim before …