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Together we\u2019ll learn the basics of home design and construction and demystify the building process, so we can get the biggest bang for our buck and build our dream homes, with or without a general contractor.

\u201cBuild tight and ventilate right.\u201d\xa0 That\u2019s a mantra that I\u2019ve heard since I started educating myself about home design and construction.\xa0 A tight house is a house with minimal air leakage.\xa0 Building a tight house is important so you can save on energy costs and make your home more comfortable.\xa0 A tight house also protects the structure of your home.\xa0 Here\u2019s how:\xa0 \xa0 If a house is built tightly, it prevents warm, moist air from entering or exiting the home.\xa0 The unwanted flow of warm, moist air can lead to moisture within your home\u2019s walls and roof, causing structural damage. Building tight can alleviate that potential problem.\xa0 You\u2019ll also need to ventilate right.\xa0 We\u2019ll discuss ventilation systems in a future episode. Today, we\u2019ll concentrate one of the first steps needed to build a tight house, which is adding a continuous air barrier to your house to reduce air leakage.\xa0

The Zip system by Huber Engineered Woods is a continuous air barrier that many contractors are using to build tight houses.\xa0 Most of them agree that the Zip System outperforms traditional building methods using house wrap.\xa0 Today, I\u2019ll review Huber\u2019s Zip System.\xa0 I\u2019m not affiliated with the product or company, and have no personal experience with it, but I\u2019ve noticed that over the past several years quality builders in my region consistently choose the Zip system over traditional methods, like house wrap.\xa0 Plus I\u2019ve read many contractors\u2019 forums and home building websites for a consensus on the Zip System.

Show notes at BYHYU.com