All About Home Construction

Hosted by local general contractor Randy Blake and Terry Gunnell-Beck, this show focuses on home construction, remodeling, and housing. It caters to those interested in building in the Appalachian Mountains, particularly in Watauga, Avery, and Ashe counties, but many listeners across NC and the USA enjoy our topics. Whether you're an experienced builder or simply curious, this podcast offers valuable insights and engaging discussions. Dive into various topics related to home construction, building, remodeling, and housing. Your House Will Thank You.

All About Home Construction is a education podcast hosted by Terry Gunnell-Beck and Randy Blake, with 210 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Terry Gunnell-Beck and Randy Blake hosts All About Home Construction, a education show with 210 episodes published.

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  All About Home Construction

  Sawmills: From the Old Days to Modern Lumber Production

  Oct 3, 202652 min

  How did we go from men cutting logs by hand to modern sawmills using lasers, computers and high-speed bandmills? In this episode of All About Home Construction , Terry Connell Beck and Randy Blake take a look at the history and evolution of sawmills. We talk about the early water-powered mills, the arrival of steam power, circular saws, portable sawmills and the development of modern bandmills. Then we step inside the modern lumber industry and look at how today's commercial sawmills use scanners, lasers and computer-controlled equipment to determine the best way to cut each individual log. We also explain double-headed bandmills, thin-kerf blades, lumber recovery and what happens to the parts of the tree that don't become boards. From small mountain sawmills to today's highly automated lumber mills, this is the story of how technology changed the way we turn trees into the lumber used to build our homes. All About Home Construction brings you history, building knowledge and practical information about the materials, methods and people behind the homes we build. Listen, follow the show, and send us your questions throughout the week.

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  All About Home Construction

  How Timber Was Logged Before Trucks and Modern Machines

  Sep 26, 202652 min

  How did loggers get massive trees out of the mountains before logging trucks, chainsaws, and modern equipment? In this episode of All About Home Construction , we go back through the history of American logging and timber harvesting — from the 1600s through the 20th century. We look at how loggers used axes, crosscut saws, oxen, horses, rivers, and eventually steam-powered equipment to move timber. You'll hear about log drives, splash dams, log chutes, water flumes, logging railroads, steam donkeys, big wheels, tractors, chainsaws, and the machines that transformed the logging industry. We'll especially look at how technology changed logging during the 1800s , when getting timber out of America's forests began shifting from human and animal power toward mechanized logging. If you've ever wondered how the huge forests of America were harvested before modern logging equipment, this episode takes you into the woods to find out. All About Home Construction — history, technology, and the stories behind how we build. ️ Listen to All About Home Construction every Saturday morning at 8 AM on WATA, Boone, and find us wherever you get your podcasts.

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  All About Home Construction

  Rubber: The Material That Changed the World

  Sep 19, 202650 min

  This week on All About Home Construction , we take a look at a material most of us use every day but probably don't think much about — rubber . We talk about where natural rubber comes from, how people first discovered its waterproofing properties, and how rubber went from a product harvested from trees in South America to an important material in the modern world. We'll look at the development of rubber boots and waterproof footwear , the invention of vulcanized rubber in the 1800s, and how rubber eventually found its way into tires, shoes, seals, hoses and countless other products. And there's another side of the rubber tree that may surprise you: rubberwood . After a rubber tree has spent years producing latex, the tree itself can be harvested for lumber and turned into furniture, flooring and other wood products. From the rubber tree to the rubber boot — and eventually to the lumberyard — we'll explore the history and modern uses of this surprisingly versatile material. Listen to All About Home Construction Saturday mornings at 8 AM on WATA, and wherever you get your podcasts. Have a question for Randy and Terry? Send it to us during the week, and it could become part of a future show.

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  All About Home Construction

  Labor Day: History, Facts and the Events That Changed American Work

  Sep 5, 202650 min

  Labor Day is more than the unofficial end of summer. In this episode of All About Home Construction , Terry and Randy take a look at the history behind Labor Day and some of the major events that shaped the American workplace. We’ll go back to the first Labor Day celebration in New York City in 1882 and explore how the holiday eventually became a federal holiday. Along the way, we’ll look at some of the dramatic and sometimes tragic events in American labor history, including the Haymarket Affair, the Homestead Strike, the Pullman Strike and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. We’ll also talk about the fight for the eight-hour workday, the rise of organized labor, workplace safety, and how tragedies and conflicts helped lead to changes in building codes, fire safety and working conditions. And because this is All About Home Construction , we’ll connect that history to the trades and the millions of workers who have literally built America. Whether you're interested in American history, construction, the skilled trades, or just want to know why we celebrate Labor Day, this episode has plenty of facts and stories you may not have heard before. Listen, learn, and share the episode with someone who enjoys American history or the stories behind how we built this country.

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  All About Home Construction

  General Stores

  Aug 29, 202647 min

  Before there was a booming Boone, paved roads, big-box stores, and modern construction, Watauga County was a collection of small mountain communities connected by trails, rivers, stores, mills, and the people who lived and worked there. In this episode of All About Home Construction , we go back to the early days of the High Country and explore the important role of the general store . We’ll look at Council’s Store , the early settlement that eventually became Boone, and how a simple general store and post office became the center of a growing community. We’ll talk about why old general stores were so important—not just for buying supplies, but as post offices, places of credit and barter, sources of news, and gathering places. It’s a look at the High Country not just through its history—but through the buildings, businesses, forests, and people that built it.

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