Ep # 147 Renovation Without The Stress

Renovation shouldn’t feel like a gamble. We sit down with Charlotte general contractor Eric Fiel of Beyond Home Services to unpack how a true design-build model calms the chaos of remodeling, from the first consult to the final walkthrough. With 30 years of residential experience and a studio partnership with his wife Sarah’s interior design firm, Home Theory, Eric explains how integrated planning, tight scopes, and frequent communication deliver beautiful spaces without the headaches.

We dive into the biggest myths about hiring a contractor and the exact steps to verify a North Carolina licensed general contractor through the state board. Eric shares how his team uses documented processes and CRM tools to keep clients informed on selections, change orders, and timelines. We also cover real numbers: typical project minimums around $60,000 to $65,000, what goes into a high-end bathroom or kitchen, and why aligning design choices early prevents budget creep. The conversation maps out service areas across the Charlotte metro—from South Charlotte, Ballantyne, and Matthews to Waxhaw, Marvin, Mooresville, and Sherrills Ford—and why staying in North Carolina helps maintain quality control.

What sets this story apart is resilience. After a devastating house fire in 2022 destroyed their home, office, and vehicles, Eric and Sarah finished active projects on time and rebuilt stronger systems—an experience that deepened their empathy for clients living through change. That perspective, along with recent honors including multiple Charlotte Area Remodeler of the Year awards and a 2025 NARI Southeast Regional win, reveals a team built on integrity, craftsmanship, and calm under pressure.

Thinking about a remodel or addition and want less stress and more clarity? Subscribe, share this conversation with a neighbor, and leave a quick review so others can find it. Ready to start your project? Visit beyondhomeservices.com and hit Contact, or call 980-866-5175.

Beyond Home Services
Eric Fiel
Kannapolis, NC
(980) 866-5175
beyondhomeservices.com
admin@beyondhomeservices.com
NC General Contractor License: 87435

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet The Host And Guest
• 0:20 What Beyond Home Services Does
• 1:34 Eric’s Path And Values
• 2:43 Awards And Local Impact
• 3:20 Ideal Client And Process
• 3:57 Contractor Myths And How To Vet
• 5:15 Integrated Design With Home Theory
• 6:00 Services, Budgets, And Scope
• 7:00 Overcoming A House Fire
• 8:20 Service Areas And Licensing
• 8:52 How To Get In Touch
• 9:32 Closing And Listener Nomination

Transcript

Intro/Close: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Regina League.

Regina League: 0:10

Hi, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, based here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Excited today to introduce you to Eric Fiel. He is the owner and general contractor with Beyond Home Services. Welcome, Eric.

Eric Fiel: 0:26

Thanks for having me.

Regina League: 0:28

Yeah, I'm so excited to talk to you because uh I'm looking to remodel some things in my house. So I've got a lot of questions for you.

Eric Fiel: 0:36

Excited to learn more.

Regina League: 0:38

Yeah, yeah. So tell us a little bit about yourself, uh, your journey here in the Charlotte area, and what brought you here and about your business.

Eric Fiel: 0:48

Sure. So Beyond Home Services is a full-service design and build company serving clients through the Charlotte throughout the Charlotte metro area, including South Charlotte, Valentine and Waxaw, and the Marvin communities. We're focused on reducing the inherent stress of renovations by approaching our clients with our 30 years of experience, systematic process from start to finish, and frequent communication. Our team is extensively trained, licensed, and insured to ensure our clients' projects go smooth, even when we uncover those surprises that you know come up in every single project.

Regina League: 1:23

Yeah, thank you, HGTV, right?

Eric Fiel: 1:26

Right.

Regina League: 1:27

Because we all know now when Chip uncovers something, how traumatic that conversation could be. What made you get into this industry?

Eric Fiel: 1:37

Yes, I've been building and creating uh in the in the residential space for over 30 years. I was born in the Midwest and raised to learn the value of a strong work ethic and integrity from an early age. Uh, beginning in my early teens, I was blessed to learn hands-on from my dad uh and my grandfather. And uh when I met my wife, we clicked instantly and throughout our 20 years of marriage, we worked side by side, renovating and creating uh and bringing spaces to new life. In 2018, we moved to Charlotte and we found an opportunity here to apply our skills and talents in the Charlotte's growing communities. You know, the the communities here have just exploded, uh, and we're we're constantly ranked in uh one of the most sought-after areas of the United States to move to. So in 2021, I passed my exams and became a licensed general contractor, and we both opened our own companies. Uh, Beyond Home Services is the general contractor side of the business, and home theory is my wife Sarah's interior design business. And together we've met incredible clients throughout our journey that have invited us into their homes to transform their spaces, and most recently have won awards for our work in 2024 in 2025, including five Charlotte Area Remodeler of the Year Awards, uh, and most notably the 2025 NARI, which is the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, Southeast Regional Remodeler of the Year award for a project we competed in the residential interiors category from 100 to 250,000.

Regina League: 3:14

My goodness, congratulations. Yeah, on your website, and your work is stunning. So who is your ideal client?

Eric Fiel: 3:23

Our ideal client wants a uh full service uh start-to-finish uh company to come in and and give them, uh breathe new life into their spaces, uh bring new ideas, uh, and bring along a licensed and uh creative team with them uh to complete their space. Uh our team is is again uh highly extensively trained, fully licensed, uh, and committed to uh our projects in the process.

Regina League: 3:57

So, in this work and line of work in such a competitive industry, what are some of the misconceptions you're you run into?

Eric Fiel: 4:06

One of the biggest myths I run into is uh contractors are a commodity, and all licensed contractors are not licensed general contractors. So, first, many contractors say they are licensed, but this may only be a business license. Uh, for you to check and make sure that they are a licensed general contractor, visit the website, North Carolina Licensing Board of General Contractors, and search for the number they provide and their name or their company name. Make sure their name matches what the board's website states. Uh, no two businesses are alike, and the good ones have well-documented processes, lines of communication, and detailed scopes of work and estimates. Look for contractors who use CRMs or customer relationship management software to communicate your project's progress and send contracts and change orders. Do your research and choose the one that best fits what you value in a team and your project.

Regina League: 5:02

Oh, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, it's it's overwhelming when you sit there and think about it. And then is your wife's side of the business involved in all the projects from the interior design aspect?

Eric Fiel: 5:15

Yeah, so uh my wife who owns Home Theory is my interior designer. Uh, every single one of our projects uh is is given to Sarah to work with the client. Um most of the time it's the homeowner uh to bring their vision to life. Uh we don't my business is a is a build, uh is a is a full service design and build company. So we don't we don't work with uh homeowners who want to do their own interior design.

Regina League: 5:46

Gotcha. So let's talk about the different services on your website. Obviously, it's clear kitchen and bathrooms. Um what other kind of services do you offer?

Eric Fiel: 5:56

So we'll we'll renovate any space uh inside the home, uh whether it be a laundry room, kitchen, bathroom, multiple bathrooms. Uh we'll even do additions and outdoor spaces. Uh so it really we're talking high-end typework. Uh usually these spaces are uh projects that that don't uh usually fall below $60,000, $65,000. Bathrooms, you know, bathrooms start right about that for us. We're talking uh full tile showers, frameless glass, uh shower doors, uh semi-custom cabinets, upgraded types of countertops and tile. So uh any place inside the home, we'll touch, but uh usually we start around 60,000, 65,000 for that space.

Regina League: 6:49

That helps. I think that helps a whole lot. So in your journey on opening and running a business, have you run against up against any hardships that you'd like to share?

Eric Fiel: 7:00

Yeah, so uh is a personal hardship. In 2022, our family suffered a loss of our house due to a house fire. Uh, this is a brand new house we had bought um to uh to move into and raise our kids. So, in addition to the place we call home, we also lost our home office and the vehicles we use every single day for life and for work. Uh so through this struggle, our community rallied around us and we pulled ourselves up, and our perspective ironically was able to change that we could do this setback as a challenge. Uh, our Midwest upbringing taught us to be fighters and problem solvers, and uh, we were right in the middle of multiple renovations at the time, and all of which still completed on time uh without any delays. So the added stress of dealing with the house fire and rebuilding uh the house over the following years, uh, raising our kids through it all and propelling our business forwards made us stronger as a team, uh, and my wife and I as a couple.

Regina League: 7:59

That is amazing, story. Congrats on that as well, because oftentimes things can go the opposite way. And then you talk about your community. That that's incredible. So you you can work Lake Norman. You do you go, you said you go down to Waxaw Marvin, uh up. How far north do you go of Charlotte?

Eric Fiel: 8:18

So we'll we'll go within an hour of Charlotte. Uh, we'll go up to Mooresville, um, Sheryl's Ford, that area, uh, all the way down to uh Ballantyne, uh, Matthews, Waxaw, Marvin. Uh I'm a licensed North Carolina general contract contractor, so I don't cross that line uh there in South Carolina. So that's really the extent uh that we go and as far north as, like I said, Mooresville and Sheryl's Ford.

Regina League: 8:46

Hey, I'm sure that keeps you plenty busy. So uh tell our listeners how to find you. Let's repeat your business name, your all your contact info.

Eric Fiel: 8:57

Right. So it's uh my website is beyondhomeservices.com. Uh to get started with us, visit the contact us link at the top of the page and fill out our contact form. Uh and someone from my office will be in touch with you to get started, learn more about your project, or you can call our office at 980-866-5175.

Regina League: 9:18

Well, Eric, congratulations on all your success overcoming a massive hardship. And uh really I can't wait to talk to you uh on a personal level. Thank you.

Eric Fiel: 9:29

It sounds great. Thank you.

Intro/Close: 9:31

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpsouthcharlotte.com. That's gnpsouthcharlortte.com or call 980 351 5719.