Episode 36-Your Guide to Successful Homebuilding: Strategies and Steps to Navigate Challenges

Looking to build or remodel a home? Then you're about to gain a wealth of invaluable knowledge from this podcast episode. We pull back the curtain on the crucial role of a builder right from the initial lot scouting stage and share our comprehensive pre-construction checklist of 35 essential steps to streamline operations. Navigate the challenges of dealing with utility companies and maintain transparency with clients using our hard-earned wisdom. We also shed light on the engineering aspects and effective communication strategies that will aid you on your homebuilding journey.

The second part of our episode puts the spotlight on whole home remodeling. We dissect the process, from selecting a roof color to making significant exterior alterations, and how these changes contribute to the home's aesthetic. Understand the importance of having an estimator skilled in both construction and design services, and why setting an allowance for faucets, fixtures, and lighting is essential. Lastly, we delve into the world of trends and their impact on product pricing, focusing on the soaring demand for gold fixtures and handles. Stay tuned for a deep dive into our world of homebuilding and remodeling. Don't miss out on these insights, stay connected with us on our YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and visit our website at www.thethombuildingshow.com.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The Homebuilding and Remodeling Show. Let's go. Welcome everybody to the Homebuilding and Remodeling Show. My name is Chris Kirby and I'll be your host. I am the owner of three construction companies on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The show is about residential construction. We're going to cover topics of homebuilding and remodeling. Are you thinking of doing a remodel or building a home? Are you a contractor looking to improve your knowledge base or grow your business? Have you ever done a remodel project or built a home? There were so many things you wish you knew or that you could have done differently during the process. Then this show is for you. We break down the process of building and remodeling and how to have the best results during your project. Whether you are a DIYer looking for tips, someone looking to hire a contractor to do a project, or a contractor looking to expand your knowledge base or your business, welcome aboard. Glad to have you. Stay tuned. We kick off the show with my thoughts on homebuilding and remodeling. I'll share best practices and talk about some of our experiences in business and out in the field. These shared thoughts and lessons learned are meant to help you on your very own journey. Let's go.

Speaker 1: 1:28

One of the toughest things in construction or for the client in construction is getting them to understand how much legwork is involved in preparing a piece of brawland for construction. We're going to talk through that, I know here at Kirby Homes and Kirby Custom Innovations we have pre-construction checklists. I also have a pre construction coordinator that helps the client walk through the entire step, the entire process of pre-construction. Our checklist has 35 items, believe it or not. So there are 35 things on our checklist that have to be done before we even break ground to start the building.

Speaker 1: 2:13

So we'll go from really the beginning, which is identifying the lot. And why you want your builder involved when you first start looking at lots is because the builder is going to take a look at the lot and he's going to understand the site and prep work that it's going to take to prepare the lot. But not only that, he will also he or she will also understand what it's going to take to get the utilities to the property, whether or not you're going to have to have a septic or will you be on public sewer, are you going to have to have a well or are you going to be, on public water, can you even get utilities to the property, depending on how rural the property is.

Speaker 1: 2:56

And then sometimes that will deter a client from buying that piece of property because it does cost a lot to do the site prep and get it ready for the utilities to be connected. So it's going to take the builder, the engineer, the actual electrical company, the electrical engineer from the electrical company to come out and take a look and then you can determine the cost right. So how much does it cost to run electrical a thousand feet into the woods and how far will the electrical company go? And then can I get my electrician to tie in from where they're going to set that power, that box? There are limitations on what you can do, depending on the property, where it's at, how rural it is, whereas in a subdivision an empty lot let's just say an empty lot, that's clear is much easier to prepare for building on. So your builder should be looking at that and telling you okay, most likely you're going to be on public sewer, public water. Here's how much it's going to cost to connect to those here's who you need to call. These are some of the things we do, and that's why just identifying the lot and then looking at and evaluating what it's going to take to prepare the site to build your home. So that is the first step in our checklist.

Speaker 1: 4:26

And now we move into Shop Talk. It's the portion of the show where I bring in a co-host and we cover trending topics in home building and remodeling. Hope you enjoy. Let's go. They put you in a situation every build you're going to be dealing with the same people. So you do not wanna. But on our part we're listening to the client, ask what's the problem, what's the status and what updates and you know we're transparent.

Speaker 1: 4:57

We use a program to communicate. We use a program called Buildbook and we're able to communicate through that every day. Us, the designers, everybody who has an interest in this build is able to go and build our subs and communicate to the homeowner so they knew what was going on. But to hear day after day wait on the power company, it becomes frustrating.

Speaker 2: 5:21

It does, and the other part of that equation is within the entity, like, for instance, the power company. It depends on who you have coming up to check that? Yeah, absolutely, cause you're gonna have certain guys that are gonna be more lenient than others, and, for instance, that one. If we'd have had one guy, he might've been like does it look?

Speaker 1: 5:47

good, It'll work yeah.

Speaker 2: 5:48

Things wired good, boom, we'll wire it. But yeah, and you have this other guy where I can't reach it. I'm not gonna get up onto a ladder.

Speaker 1: 5:54

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 5:55

So I'm gonna make you know, and it falls. It basically trickles down to even when you're running underground power with that, when you're trying to tie into an existing service along the road. You've got one guy that'll be hey, if you get it within two feet, we'll cap it off. But then you got another guy that says no, I want you hooking into my back straight all the way to it and I'm not gonna do anything until then.

Speaker 2: 6:22

And that cost us on a previous job three or four days where we had to literally come in and dig two feet worth of dirt and tie in a condo.

Speaker 1: 6:31

Well, and that's where you know being a home builder is more than just the building part. You do really have to know some of the engineering stuff, because you're responsible for reviewing plans for accuracy.

Speaker 1: 6:44

They can be over engineered or under engineered and a lot of the times, you know a good engineer will go out and check the site and look before they engineer plans and you know, in some scenarios, which leads you know this is a good segue into. Our next topic is working with the building inspectors. You know, just kind of talking about what you're saying. There are different building inspectors. We deal with nine different municipalities in the county and so each municipality has a head building official and then they have inspectors that work for them. Okay, but ultimately they're overall responsible for the final decision-making on a home build. Well, you can have very lenient building inspectors. Okay, lenient meaning they're gonna call it out but they're gonna allow you to fix it on the spot where you know, and they're gonna talk to you about it and they're gonna work through it.

Speaker 1: 7:46

I wouldn't say that we've got a bunch of building inspectors running around just missing a ton of stuff. However, they're human and anytime a human is involved in the work that we do, there's errors that could happen. We have to be thorough enough as builders and as we learn and this is the professional development side To catch even stuff that they might miss, because another scenario that we have had happen, for instance, on stairs. You know where we're going through the framing and they will come in and pass the framing portion and then later, right during another portion of the inspection, they'll call out something that should have been called on framing and we have now covered it up, or you're missing a strap that's covered up, or we didn't get a picture, or something like that.

Speaker 1: 8:36

So it's due diligence, because inspectors have a lot going on. They are responsible for not just residential but commercial and revealing plans and and so much more than just coming out Looking and going that they might miss something. Yeah, and so that's part of our quality control and I know for you Specifically, you have really dialed in to all the different types of Inspections that we've gone through. Each of our homes has been custom and different from the other one, but you've really dialed into what the inspectors are looking for. We take, we compile a list of hits throughout and then we've got that for future reference, you know to the with the different municipalities.

Speaker 2: 9:23

You've got your typical, the. Irc, irc code that everyone goes by, but each municipality has the option To add additional addendums before that they're gonna enforce. So not only do you find out, they'll fall under the IRC, they actually take it one step further.

Speaker 2: 9:43

Sure so, like you have to be Cognizant about those two. When you're building in that area, yeah, we're following the local regulations and what they especially in our area being on the coast for the hurricanes coming through. Yeah, especially when you're on the coast and you go to the safe coast shores or Orange Beach area, you're dealing with a lot more More stringent rules.

Speaker 1: 10:06

Regulations, yeah, with regard to stress, well, there's yeah, there's this the hot wind rating, we get hurricanes and stuff, so and we have things like the fortification process that we go through and we'll roll right into that.

Speaker 1: 10:21

So you know, always working with the building officials, but what, here on the coast we have Gold fortification process. Okay, now our builds, all of our homes that we do, we do Gold fortification on and you know, as a custom builder and Living in this community, it's one of those scenarios where you really saw it after hurricane Sally, where there were certain homes that were blown down and the stronger homes, definitively, were standing and intact and you know they would have damage and stuff, but a lot of that was because they were properly fortified. It really does make a difference and so we've made the decision that you can build just a typical house and in accordance with the residential code and and the code is minimum standards, but for us we're going to fortify these homes because of the area we live in and that is. So explain the difference between a building inspector and the fortified inspector, and then I'll talk about even further what a home inspector looks for. But can you explain? You know, is the building?

Speaker 2: 11:43

official. So the villain inspector is gonna basically he's following To make sure everything is following that inner the IRC.

Speaker 1: 11:52

Yeah, and the code right is for it's for safety. Realistically, a lot of the stuff that they're looking at is safety regulations. You know electrical plumbing stuff that Could harm and going back.

Speaker 2: 12:06

I mean, when we're building a house, we're I mean, it's not just a, we're not going off of a set of just straight architectural plans. They have been Going through an engineering firm to make sure that everything is what is needed to, yeah, structurally sound, structurally, make that house resilient to the best of our abilities for a storm like a hurricane, yeah. So these inspectors are using those plans and they're going by that engineered set of plans to make sure that everything that engineer has put in right is actually been installed.

Speaker 1: 12:45

And a lot of the times, if there is a deviation needed, it's not the building official that you talked to about making it.

Speaker 2: 12:52

You have to go back to the engineer.

Speaker 1: 12:53

The building official is going to go with what the engineer says. They are not engineers right, they are out inspecting for safety, but they are going to abide by what an engineer tells them. Okay, now how is? And you go through a series of inspections throughout a home build. Your major inspection is what we call a four way. What is a four way?

Speaker 2: 13:14

Four ways where you're getting the the structural, the mechanical, which is your electrical, the HVAC and the plumbing. Yeah, all inspected, yeah, per code that everything passes. Ready for the next phase.

Speaker 1: 13:29

And that's. That's basically for us. That's about halfway and you know we really can zoom after that, but that is our biggest inspection point. And now we're going to move into the portion of the show where we talk interior design. We're going to bring in an interior designer and we're going to talk trending design and products. Hope you enjoy. Let's go. All right, christie, let's pick up where you and dad, my dad, who, yeah, we call them Paw-Paw everybody does, but let's pick up right where you left off talking with him. So when I came and got you so we can, you know, do some film and recording for the show you guys were having a conversation about what Roofs.

Speaker 1: 14:18

Okay, roofs, and pertaining to one of the remodels we're doing.

Speaker 3: 14:22

That is correct. So this particular remodel is pretty much it's not a good job, but it's, it's, it's getting there, so it's almost pretty much a whole home remodel. Right.

Speaker 1: 14:37

Kitchen bathrooms, master bathrooms, flooring Right, so yeah, so they will need a whole new roof.

Speaker 3: 14:44

So his question to me was if they, if I had met with them about the roof color, their selection and just seeing what was the next step with that?

Speaker 1: 14:54

And have you and and or did you already pick that for them, or how is that possible?

Speaker 3: 14:59

No, I haven't so yeah, we have to meet together and decide. They will most likely probably choose what they already had, because nothing with the brick is changing as far as color.

Speaker 1: 15:09

Now we did add some hardy out front and kind of because it was all brick home, they had little bits of stucco we taken all that off and we are putting hardy up front, right, we had our architect come out, redraw the front, reimagine Is it reimagined? What do you call that? Just redraw, right. Okay, so he redrew the front and now we're adding and why do you do that, like, why would you? Is that to give it some shape, some detail?

Speaker 3: 15:42

So when they came to KCR about this remodel, they already had in mind what they the direction they wanted to go. So they had already planned on removing all the stucco, adding the board and baton, and the only difference exterior that we changed is, instead of doing that to only one front gable, now they're doing it to two. To make more of a statement on the front Was that?

Speaker 1: 16:10

per you. I mean is that? Something that you kind of talked about with the client. So how do these changes right? How do those occur? Very gay remodel what's typical or atypical?

Speaker 3: 16:21

Right. So it always changes and it always ends up being usually a bigger job, and especially in this case, because, like you're saying, once you get into the walls and you might find a problem, and then there's another problem and you just it ends up being just a complaint. It's close to a good job. So, there's going to be more selections, there's going to be more choices to make. So it just it kind of snowballs, especially a job like this.

Speaker 3: 16:50

So it just kind of happened that way, but they are very open to making it look the best they can, and if that includes adding another I think just proportionally wise with the exterior of their home, it just will look better. So we kind of came together on that one.

Speaker 1: 17:07

Yeah, and then the same architect drew a new porch for them on the back. So we're going to do a covered porch and stuff which all of that has to be done before we do a total re-roof and we're getting to that point. We're a few weeks away from closing this job out and for us this was a larger remodel, like I said, a whole home. It's the house over 3000 square feet. But you know we're going down this path because it all started from termite damage.

Speaker 3: 17:36

Right.

Speaker 1: 17:37

Right, and there was some lawsuits and all those different stuff involved, because termites can get sticky just like mold or any other situation like that. And what we're finding as we're going through this remodel and we, you know, are prepping the bathrooms, we're taking off the drywall and stuff to look for rot and all that we're finding more termite damage and it just continues to compound. But we were in a situation like you told me earlier with their mudroom, where the mudroom was an atom.

Speaker 3: 18:09

They weren't originally doing the mudroom. They didn't think well. So when I had gone for my consult, our estimator had already gone out and given them the estimate for the remodel. Yeah, he was actually the one that told them about curvy interior design services. So he, we, whatever. The next time I went out with them and so when we were walking through the house going over the changes they wanted to make, they mentioned that they really wish they could do a mudroom.

Speaker 3: 18:43

And so I'm just standing there looking at them all and like well, you can. I don't know why, can't you? And then I'm asking the estimator, like why?

Speaker 1: 18:50

can't we? Why can't we yeah?

Speaker 3: 18:52

Because he does construction too. So a benefit to having an estimator that does both of those, yeah, and then we can do that. So we eyeballed it and did the measurements and so that's kind of how that happened. So that automatically added on to their estimate. But they are super excited about that space, yeah, so in.

Speaker 1: 19:15

You know, in addition to all the work we were doing, we added the mudroom.

Speaker 1: 19:18

But again in the mudroom there was a ton of termite damage and had that not been something that we added on, that termite damage wouldn't have been exposed, and you know stuff like this it happens in our industry where one small thing just turns into this huge thing. But when it comes to the client making these selections, as we have gone through this process, we have talked a lot about timeliness, selections, budgeting right and I pick because Christy has a handwritten sheet that she's tracking a lot of the stuff. We have a software program, build a book that we use to communicate and has allowances and things. So let's get down to the basics. What is an allowance?

Speaker 3: 20:11

An allowance is the amount that we are projected, I guess would be more or less yeah. Projecting for the yeah To spend for faucets, fixtures, lighting, so give me a scenario Maybe use this as an example but of what?

Speaker 1: 20:31

a line item for a line item?

Speaker 3: 20:33

should look like Okay, so an average cost of a faucet, just sink faucet.

Speaker 1: 20:39

Sure.

Speaker 3: 20:40

We would probably give them an allowance of 250. Gotcha.

Speaker 1: 20:43

Now how does?

Speaker 3: 20:44

that work Well right now, so gold finishes are really gold is back.

Speaker 1: 20:50

Yeah, it is the colors of that, those Yellow gold, shiny gold, ripe all of it, all of it Really, but mainly the brush gold.

Speaker 3: 20:58

But still, that throws your faucets, your finishes up in price. It does so 250 might seem a little high, but it is really not.

Speaker 1: 21:09

So you can go with that. Color matters on price or finish.

Speaker 3: 21:12

Yeah, that is finished. Okay, it really does. So I have it a client right now, not black and gold. So all their fixtures are more than what just came with.

Speaker 1: 21:23

still Now have you noticed that and we'll get back to the allowance line item. Sorry I'm just digging in a little bit on this, but because it's going to help our clients who are watching this.

Speaker 3: 21:32

Right.

Speaker 1: 21:32

So have you noticed that if you know an item is trend or a color is trending, that the price of product goes up, does that happen Like it does so if it's more trendy, right? So you're saying that gold is in stock?

Speaker 3: 21:49

Yeah, so a gold handle. That should be a metal right now. Really Okay For fixtures and what yeah.

Speaker 1: 21:55

Yeah, Thanks for joining us today. As always, we are grateful for our listeners and your continued support. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on social media via Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Get more info at our website, wwwthethombuildingshowcom. And, as always, remember who we are the Homebuilding and Remodeling Show.