Live from IBS with Jenna Kimberley: Kimberley Development
This week on The Building Code we are LIVE from Las Vegas at the International Buildersโ Show! On this episode, Paul and Tom are joined by Jenna Kimberley, vice president of Kimberley Development Corporation and board member of the National Association of Home Builders of Greater Des Moines. Listen to the full episode to hear them talk about dynamics of a family-owned business and Jennaโs success in a male-dominated industry.
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Kimberley Development Corporation
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Zach Wojtowicz:
Welcome everybody to โThe Building Codeโ. Iโm Zach Wojtowicz.
Charley Burtwistle:
And Iโm Charley Burtwistle.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Charley, howโve you been, man?
Charley Burtwistle:
Iโve been fantastic. I feel like Zach and I work together quite a bit. Weโve talked about that before, and weโre always in business mode and weโre trying to get stuff done and we never have a whole lot of fun. And then we jump into the podcast studio and itโs the highlight of my week.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Thatโs true.
Charley Burtwistle:
Very, very excited to be here. And itโs a beautiful Friday afternoon.
Zach Wojtowicz:
People stop us in the hallway and say, โPodcast day.โ Itโs got a different energy.
Charley Burtwistle:
Yeah, a little different mood. A little pep in our step. And itโs 4:30 on a Friday, so very, very excited to be here. Zach, tell the people listening who we have on this episode of โThe Building Codeโ.
Zach Wojtowicz:
You got it. Today weโve got Eric Pierce from Color Houses down in Houston, Texas, and weโre here to talk a little bit about his experience using Buildertrend. Heโs got a really interesting backstory I do want to give a little nod. If youโre not watching this episode on YouTube, youโre going to be missing out on something special.
Charley Burtwistle:
We did hear he will be joining from his country, like out in the country, so heโll have a nice scenic background behind him. Very, very excited to see.
Zach Wojtowicz:
His country of Texas.
Charley Burtwistle:
His country of Texas.
Zach Wojtowicz:
All right, letโs get Eric in here.
Charley Burtwistle:
Hey Eric, welcome to โThe Building Codeโ. Really excited to have you here today. Thank you for joining us from the country. First time out in the rural areas of Texas. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in construction?
Eric Pierce:
Yeah. Well, so myself and my business partner Zach, we were both teachers in-
Charley Burtwistle:
No way.
Eric Pierce:
โฆ in his previous life it seems.
Charley Burtwistle:
I was a teacher and Zach.
Zach Wojtowicz:
And so was Zach.
Eric Pierce:
Oh, really?
Charley Burtwistle:
Yeah.
Eric Pierce:
Oh, cool. Yeah. Excellent. Yeah, it was awesome. But he left teaching a little bit before I did, and we both separately and independently moved into historic homes in Houston or homes in historic areas in Houston and renovated them and lived in them with our families. And when he left teaching, he wanted to get into building. He knew thatโs what he wanted to do, so he started buying one house at a time and renovating it and then selling it and moving on to the next one. But he really carefully renovated them because they were also historic homes. And so he would do that. So he did that for a few years or a couple years, and he decided he wanted to go back to school and get his masters in architecture. And so he went to U of H and started working on his masters in architecture.
And about that same time, I decided to start looking for a new career. My wife is also a teacher and we were having kids and weโre likeโฆ I just wanted something new. A challenge. And he and I had been friends for a while at that point, so I knew what he had been doing. And when he went back to architecture school and I was telling him I was leaving teaching, we started talking about working on things together. We had both renovated a couple of homes each at that point. And so at that point he started building a house for himself, a custom home, and he asked me to help him because he was in school. So I basically project managed it for him and it went really well. And we decided to just take a shot at mixing friendship and business. And so I joined Color Houses and at that point he had had the company for a couple years for his renovations. And so I joined up and we became partners and weโve been doing it ever since.
Zach Wojtowicz:
I love it. I mean, itโs actually really common. We always like to joke, constructionโs kind of like a quilt. We get a lot of different backgrounds to end up in this amazing industry, really exciting. What did you teach? Did you teach construction sciences or youโre like aโฆ
Eric Pierce:
Oh, no, no.
Zach Wojtowicz:
โฆ science teacher?
Eric Pierce:
No, yeah, I taught middle school language arts and history.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Nice. Thatโs awesome. Also a former history teacher.
Eric Pierce:
Awesome.
Charley Burtwistle:
Yeah, Zach constantly makes me feel bad about just my general knowledge, I guess.
Zach Wojtowicz:
But then he hits me with a data science formula and Iโm like, when I look at him angrily.
Charley Burtwistle:
So remind me again, Eric, I may have missed this at the beginning, but about how long ago was that when you and Zach started Color Houses?
Eric Pierce:
So Zach started the company in 2010 and I joined him in 2013 and we became partners at that point.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Nice.
Charley Burtwistle:
Gotcha. Yeah, for a while. Yeah, I was going to say coming up on 10 years.
Eric Pierce:
10 years next year. Yeah.
Charley Burtwistle:
Very cool. So howโs the company grown and kind of evolved to where it was at 10 years ago to where itโs at today?
Eric Pierce:
Oh, man, itโs grown a lot. We started basically just doing so well. Like I said, he had started doing renovations, buying a house and renovating it and selling it. So I started helping him with that. Once we finished his house and we realized that this was a thing that we could do and pursue that, we would buy a house and renovate it. And we also started putting our name out there, friends and family and that sort of thing. We just did some bathrooms and small kitchens and things like that. But through Zachโs going to architecture school, heโd always had a passion for the design side of things, but heโs also just super energetic, loves to be in the mix, in the middle of things. He wants to be on site.
And so when he got out of school and we kind of had a couple of little projects behind us, we really looked at making Color Houses a small design build firm, and quickly realized that we or I didnโt have the expertise to be behind the computer drawing stuff, designing, and he didnโt really want to be. He wanted to use that knowledge on site to build interesting things for architects and that sort of thing, and so we had started developing relationships with some of the local award-winning architects in Houston. And we started getting our name out there and showing off some of the stuff that we had done previously and picked up a couple of additions and things with some of our local architects and realized that that was what we wanted to do. We basically wanted to be the architectโs builder for Central Houston and for those historic areas around Houston, which we found was really kind of a niche that the architects were looking for as well. I mean, there are tons of great builders in Houston, but thereโs so many custom builders that are doing really big projects.
There are smaller builders doing just small renovations and nothing that really needs design and plans. They all need design, but they donโt need these huge sets of plans or anything. And so the architects we talked to had a really limited pool of builders to go to where they have these super crazy 30 page plans with drawn out details and all these things and that the builders that they had worked with just werenโt quite equipped to deal with, and we felt that that was an area that we could really excel in based on our knowledge of plans and design on our end, and then our passion for just being out there and being a part of the actual construction and being part of the cruise and being part of the action. And so weโve really kind of built our company around that. And now we typically take on, Iโd say six to eight projects a year. Weโve grown a lot in the last few years, and theyโre all typically historic renovations plus additions, and itโs all generated, itโs all designed by these local architects that every project is a custom build.
And so weโve come a long way in the last several years when weโve really transitioned to getting our name out there to different architects and just moving along and building up our connections to that. And weโve gotten to the point where now we have a few architects where they get a client, they do the design, sometimes weโre involved really early in the design with pricing and just talking through some of the design elements based on the budgets that the architects have. And some of our architects are, weโre on a short list of builders that the architect just sends the client out for bids once the plans are done. So we kind of have a mix of those things, but weโve gotten to where generally weโre on this short list of builders who these architects really want to work with. And so itโs been really exciting with us because weโve done some just really cool things that weโre really proud of.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Yeah, I bet. That sounds awesome. Iโm really interested, before we go too far, about two ex-teachers getting into building, what was the elevator pitch to get the architects to take a flyer? And youโre like, โHow did you break into that connection?โ Or did Zach meet him through architecture school or, Iโm really-
Eric Pierce:
A couple of ways. Yeah, Zach met some through architecture school. We did a couple of new construction builds that we bought a lot with an old house on it. And we renovated the old house and sold that and then split the lot and put up some new construction. And so for that, we went to a local architect and got some of his plans and worked with him to build those. And from there, in many ways, I mean, Houston is huge and there are so many builders, so many architects. But again, in a lot of ways the architecture community is really small. I mean, we definitely work with architects who have gone to school all over, but a lot of the architects we worked with have gone to Rice or U of H for architecture school. Even if they didnโt get their bachelors there, they just kind of ended up going there and then sticking around in Houston and doing their thing.
And so once we got in with a couple of them, they would talk to their friends who are in this community and theyโd say, โOh, yeah, these guys did good work if youโre looking for someone.โ And so we just slowly over the past 10 years have just grown into being a part of that community. And now our name is starting to get outside of that smaller community from within those two schools and into some other stuff that weโre really excited about. But thatโs kind of where we started was focusing on this architect community through Rice and through University of Houston. Zach and I would both go toโฆ Rice has a big design association, and they do a big house tour every year. And so for several years weโd just go on this house tour and meet the architects who are on this tour, and weโd start to just put our name out there, โHey, weโre doing this project down the street, weโd love for you to come take a look.โ
And some of them did, some of them didnโt. So weโve kind of grown through that. So a lot of it was very specifically targeting people to come and take a look at our work and take a look at our finished product, take a look at what weโre doing at framing and roughing and whenever they want to come by, just bring them by so they can see our whole process and understand that.
Charley Burtwistle:
Yeah, thatโs awesome to hear the growth and obviously congrats on the 10 years. Curious, how many employees do you have now or whatโs kind of like your team setup look like?
Eric Pierce:
Yeah, our team setup is Zach and I, and then we recently hired an office manager and sheโs been incredible. Weโve really been working on really integrating Buildertrend into these processes. And weโve gotten big enough where we needed someone else on the backend to just help us keep things organized, keep our calendars organized, help us with our to-do list, just build all of that stuff out and keep everything in Buildertrend. And then also get that stuff from Buildertrend sent out to our crew. And then beyond that, weโve brought a trim carpentry crew and our painters in-house. And so thatโs really allowed us to really focus on some of the more complex details that weโre working on. We work with a lot of really good subs for all of our trades and framing and some of those pieces, but having our trim carpentry crew and our paint crew, they both know each other very well.
So thereโs a lot of communication between our carpentry and painters so that itโs not just carpenters come in and do their thing and then leave, and then painters are left to fix a nail hole or do this or do that. Theyโre really working together and theyโre cognizant of what the carpenters are cognizant of what theyโre leaving for the painters. And at the same time, the painters know the carpenters theyโre all kind of integrated together in the same company. And so they have no problem giving our carpenters a call and say, โHey, weโve got this and this and this. Hereโs a small punch list before we really get going. Can you come take care of this?โ And carpenters are like, โYeah, weโll be there.โ We schedule them based on our workload and everything. And so thereโs just a lot of really good energy within our company and between those two groups.
And so we have a crew of three painters and four trim carpenters. And we can also grow and shrink that as needed based on our project load. But those seven people are really the core of Color Houses. And so theyโre with us all the time, theyโre with us full time, and theyโre fantastic. Theyโre all experts in what they do. And itโs also allowed us to really experiment with different materials, different methods, and in some sense, itโs not just a cabinetry crew. I mean, theyโre capable of doing some really nice woodworking and different things. And especially in these historic houses, sometimes weโre able to offer fabricating trim or corners work or whatever that will match up with the existing house. Or if stuff is broken and weโre repairing it, we have the capability of being able to fabricate the things that we need to really bring that authenticity to the new part of the construction. So itโs been really cool and weโve done some neat cabinetry, some a little bit of furniture, and nothing crazy.
Weโre not out selling furniture or anything, but-
Zach Wojtowicz:
Not yet.
Eric Pierce:
โฆ just some nice pieces for clients that are like, โOh, hey, can you build this thing for us?โ And weโre like, โYeah, we can.โ And so itโs been really awesome.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Did you know those guys previously, were they subs and then you decided to bring them on staff? For whatever reason, a lot of the builders Iโve worked with in Texas have more and more started to bring the trades that they really trust for certain carpenters, so that quality control, obviously, itโs a huge opportunity.
Eric Pierce:
Exactly. Yeah. Weโve worked, especially in those two areas, weโve worked with several different subs and just at different points in our progress, weโve worked with these people and we would get to the point where we were requesting from our sub who has maybe several groups or several teams of carpenters and painters and whatever like, โHey, we really want this guy on our project because we know that they are capable and we know that they are going to really take care of the job, especially for what weโre doing.โ And so as those relationships grew, we got to know those guys. And really it had to do with, a lot of these guys are working for people that are paying them by the job or by the week or whatever. And so thereโs no real consistency. If thereโs a lot of work, then theyโre making really good money and theyโre doing their thing. And then if the work falls off for whatever reason, then theyโre stuck for a day or a week or however long, and they really have to plan for that.
So when some of those guys would be stuck, theyโd call and say, โHey, do you have anything to do?โ And weโd finally just say, โHey, look, we can bring you on and pay you consistently, give you some time off and whether weโve got specific carpentry work to do or not, we always have work of some sort, whether itโs running through a framing punch list or trim punch list or just whatever.โ And so it was really beneficial for both of us where they would get a consistent job career and worry less about the day-to-day, week to week paycheck. And all of our guys are really great. They very much specialize in what they do. Theyโre experts in what they do, but theyโre also willing to do whatever needs to be done for the company. So sometimes theyโre building a fence, sometimes theyโre building walnut cabinetry. So most of the time theyโre doing the walnut cabinetry kind of stuff. But every now and then theyโre willing to just jump in and help, which has been amazing.
Charley Burtwistle:
Thatโs awesome. Well, Zach and I know all about doing what you have to do for the company. Youโre talking to a data scientist and a customer success senior manager who just happen to host a podcast now.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Yeah.
Eric Pierce:
Right.
Charley Burtwistle:
I would like to say we were chosen for this, but I think we were the only two that volunteered. Here we are.
Zach Wojtowicz:
It wasnโt a long list.
Charley Burtwistle:
But no, thatโs really cool to hear and like Zach mentioned, I feel like thatโs something that people are slowly starting to shift to more and more is bring things in-house, standardized processes, just more consistency in the day-to-day obviously, continues to allow you to scale at a faster and faster clip. Iโm interested to hear, weโre always answering or asking this question, but Iโm interested to hear from your perspective as someone that came into the game cold and now has been a part of a very successful business over the past 10 years thatโs been able to scale. What kind of advice would you give to people that are maybe looking to start out and started anywhere in the construction industry or even people that have been around for maybe 20, 30, 40 years that are looking to grow their business?
Eric Pierce:
So the biggest thing that weโve learned is in order to scale, you have to have your processes and systems in place. And that goes from the beginning, from your sales process through the construction process, and even just your process for communicating with clients, your process for getting your selections done, processes for change orders, all of that stuff. We learned all of that stuff along the way. And there are times when youโre just winging it and then you realize weโve got to get this down, written down and built into the process that weโre working on and build out checklists and build out calendars and those things to help you just maintain that consistency throughout your projects and make sure that you have your notes and just all of that stuff when you have a meeting with the clients or with your subs or whatever, have your agenda.
And Buildertrend has been really helpful with that. I mean, we take our notes and then we put it into Buildertrend, we put it into a daily log or into a change order or selection or whatever. And we have all of that data right there, and the client has access to that information, we have access to that information because weโre doing projects that are, at this point, theyโre a year long plus and you start out, luckily weโve had really, really great clients to work with so far for the most part.
But even with great clients, you talk about something back in framing and then you get to trim or paint or whatever, and they walk through and theyโre like, โHey, why did we do this?โ And instead of just being like, โOh, remember we kind of talked about that one time,โ we can go back and pull up the notes and say, โOkay, we decided on this. This is why we make that decision at the time. It still is relevant today. Or maybe do you want to change something? If so, we can write up a change order real quick and figure out the cost and discuss what makes most sense for you guys and go from there.โ So really having those processes built into everything that weโre doing throughout the entire project and across our projects has been just really, really huge for us.
Charley Burtwistle:
Yeah, we love to hear that. And we tried not to make it too salesy on the podcast Buildertrend, but you just kind of did it for us. So if youโre ever looking for another gig, we can get you up to Omaha and get you on the phones and sling some builders for us.
Zach Wojtowicz:
You want to call the call.
Eric Pierce:
Yeah, I mean it really has been helpful. Yeah. We really enjoyed working with you.
Charley Burtwistle:
Iโm curious, howโd you guys discover Buildertrend and about how long ago did you implement it?
Eric Pierce:
We started implementing it right around at the beginning of COVID.
Charley Burtwistle:
Oh, gotcha.
Eric Pierce:
So, three years ago now, four years ago now. And really, once we had grown from doing these smaller jobs that are only a couple of months long or a few months long, or plus one or two big projects to where we were managing four, six, eight year long projects, it just got overwhelming. I mean, we just couldnโt keep up. And there was a huge learning curve there. Just trying to figure out those processes, and basically we Googled what are good project management software. We used some other project management software that is more generic and itโs like $25 or $75 a month, whatever. And we used it for about six months and it was good for what it did. But during that time weโre always looking during that time for something more comprehensive. And we had come across Buildertrend and a few other pieces of software. And at first the price was just given where we were at the time, the cost of Buildertrend just seemed really high.
And when we were using this really cheap project management software, and it wasnโt built for builders or for construction, itโs just one of these ones that you find on the internet thatโs like, โHey, pay us 25 bucks a month and weโll give you a calendar and some other things to use. So during that time we really started looking in more and more to Buildertrend. And so around six months of using this other one, we kind of dove in and we called up and started a trial and got connected with a trainer. And from there we really worked hard to implement it properly. And the deeper we got into it, the more we realized just how valuable it really is and the time savings and like I said, building those processes around what Buildertrend offers. And it was really easy because Buildertrend is geared towards builders.
And so you had the processes that we were trying to figure out. How do we do a better change order process so that weโre not just eating cost or just telling clients, โYeah, we can do that, no problem.โ And then weโre like, โOkay, thatโs 500 bucks or whatever.โ And theyโre like, โWait a minute, you said you could do that.โ And weโre like, โYeah.โ So just working through, figuring out how to do those processes efficiently and Buildertrend had so many of those things already built in. And thereโs a learning curve for sure for Buildertrend because itโs got so many pieces, but the trainers are excellent. We worked really closely with the trainer for the first few months and then since then the catalog of trainings that we can do on our own, plus your customer service.
I chat with someone on customer service every few months just because something weโve started to work with a new piece of the software or weโre, or weโre getting deeper into a part of the software and like, โWait a minute, how does this connect to this?โ And we get on and chat and they work through it with me and now Iโve got it and move on. And so it was a combination of working through our process and finding something, some software that would help us to build out those processes most efficiently. And that would allow us to just really communicate with all of the parties because weโre not spec home builders where itโs just me and Zach going through and saying, โAll right, weโre going to do this and we want to put this here and whatever.โ Weโve got owners to deal with. Weโve got the architects to deal with, the subs, and then each other, me and Zach and then in our crews.
And so finding something that could accommodate all of those various parties and do it efficiently and honestly in a way that made sense was difficult to find until we really got in and evaluated and looked at Buildertrend and saw what it could do for our business.
Zach Wojtowicz:
And I imagine too, Iโm interested with your historic home market. I wasnโt sure if these were the architects driving a lot of the renovation or are a lot of your clients they already own the property and youโre coming in and renovating it? Or are they resell, are they-
Eric Pierce:
All of our clients at this pointโฆ Every now and then weโre about to start a new construction project with an architect. So every now and then we do those. But for the last five or six years, almost all of our projects have been owners who have this wonderful bungalow or craftsman style house or something. I mean, when I talk about historic homes, sometimes Iโm talking to people in the northeast or something Chicago or San Francisco, even where theyโre like, โOh, 1910, thatโs young.โ
Zach Wojtowicz:
Thatโs not historic.
Eric Pierce:
What are you talking about? But in Houston, where everything is always new all the time, having something that is actually historic and has some of our unique vernacular for the south.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Texas flare.
Eric Pierce:
Yeah, not everyone is capable of dealing with those things. And so all of our projects are in these historic neighborhoods. Theyโre typically dealing with obviously, an older home, but a smaller home, 1,000, 1,200, 1,500 square feet. A lot of them are basically two bedroom, one bath kind of things. And in some of the areas they do have just different designs. We do a lot of bungalows, a lot of craftsman style homes, and then a lot of dog trot kind of homes with breezeways and that sort of thing. And all of these homes, theyโre historic to Houston specifically, and they were all built before we had insulation or the new insulation that we use now. I mean, theyโve all got some cotton fiber or different methods of cooling the house, but it was all before air conditioning. Theyโre all using this old heartwood pine for ship lap and the guts of the house.
And so many of these houses in these areas just get knocked down and then someone puts up something that is kind of similar but not the same. All of this old beautiful wood goes into the landfill and itโs all new SYP and different things, and which thereโs nothing inherently wrong with that, but our goal, our passion was really trying to preserve some of that and renovate some of these homes back to what they were before. In the last couple years, weโve done several homes where over the last 100 years people will take out the breezeway, theyโll build into the breezeway, and thereโll be like a bathroom. You go through the front door and then thereโs like a bathroom in the middle of what used to be this beautiful hallway where you would open the front door in the back door and open the windows and the air comes through and circulates and thatโs how you cooled your house. And now itโs all just built in. And so weโve done a lot of work reopening those houses and really bringing them back to what they were.
Yeah, weโll put air conditioning, we modernize them, we do what we need to do, but if the owner wants to turn off the AC in the fall, because people donโt realize, people think of Houston is just hot and humid, hot and humid, and no doubt it very much is.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Thatโs what I think of. Every time Iโve been there, thatโs been my experience.
Eric Pierce:
From June to August, and this year into October, which was not cool, but it can be very hot and humid. But then you get into October, November, December and instead of shoveling snow, we have these just beautiful dry breezes coming through and people want to open it up. And so weโve done a lot of work adding onto those smaller houses, really building them out into homes that families can live in, but also that are maintaining that beautiful character from around the turn of the century and theyโre able to just turn off the AC and open the house up and enjoy the weather when weโve got it. So thatโs really been our focus. And so weโve gotten to the point where all of our referrals are through architects. They are bringing us the clients. So weโve built that reputation now where weโre not going and trying to sell ourselves. I mean, weโre always trying to sell ourselves, but now weโve built our reputation of the architects send their clients to us and weโre capable of executing what theyโve planned out and what theyโve designed.
And really the hardest part is figuring out how to do it within the budget that they want to do it in, especially this year and in the last year and a half or so, last years, thatโs getting harder and harder. But generally, weโre building these houses or weโre at renovating and adding onto these houses for families that we love the historic homes and love the historic neighborhoods, because theyโre very walkable, itโs really great communities to live in and youโre not going to get necessarily what you find in the suburbs with these giant houses, but they want a little more space and they want to be able to have a family and not have a couple of kids in one room and sharing a bathroom and that sort of thing. So they want some more space, but they want to keep that historic look and that feel of those old materials and weโre excited about that and happy to help them out with that.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. Watch this segue, Charley. Speaking of saving cost materials, Takeoff, youโve been using Buildertrend Takeoff tooโฆ See, you thought it was good. Youโve been using that with Buildertrend. We recently launched a new feature, so Iโd love to talk a little bit how that has improved your processes. Whatโs your experience been like with the new Takeoff feature?
Eric Pierce:
Yeah, itโs been really great. I think itโs huge that Buildertrend has added that piece to the software. It was another piece that we spent a lot of time looking for and looking at, and there are some really great software packages out there for Takeoff, but this one is really simple, instead of getting out a scale ruler in your plans and trying to find your square footages for tile or wood floors or whatever-
Zach Wojtowicz:
Is that what we were doing before? You were getting out and you wereโฆ
Eric Pierce:
Basically, yeah, yeah. I mean, because again, at the time when we were just a younger company, we didnโt have the money to go out and spend. I mean, some of these Takeoff packages, the really nice ones are really expensive. I mean, a lot of times weโre just old school using a ruler and that sort of thing. Sometimes Zach, because heโs capable with AutoCAD and that sort of thing, I mean, he can pull those things, those dimensions and everything if we need to, but then itโs still pretty labor intensive because you still got to get the plans in there and draw them out and not only draw them out, but dimension them and everything. This process is really easy. You just upload your pages and you pull your page on the screen and scale it and you go. And I love that itโs got all these layers.
Itโs really easy to save and print from. Frequently, I am pulling square footages and then sending what Iโve drawn on there, and youโve got a million colors to choose from and all that kind of stuff. So Iโll send them a page of the bathroom floor tile is this and itโs this space and the mud room tile is this dimension and this space. And Iโll shoot that over to the architect just to verify and theyโll say, โYeah, but we also wanted that tile here or whatever.โ And so you go back in and draw it up and youโve got your totals and then I just send it over to the vendor and the vendor can also see, itโs not just a square footage that Iโm giving them, but they can see the layout because weโre often using custom tile, or at least not necessarily custom tile, but just very patterned tile and all of these different things.
And itโs not as simple as just putting in some 12 by 24s or some squares. We use a lot of hex and octagonal tile with patterns or different colors. And so weโre able to work with the vendor very easily through that process to figure out how much of each color or pattern or whatever we need of those tiles. And itโs been really helpful. Weโre much more accurate than we used to be. Itโs much quicker, obviously, than what it used to be. I can get some stuff drawn in a few minutes and get it out and then get into the back and forth rather than telling them itโs going to be a couple days or whatever. And so itโs really helps streamline my process as Iโm generally in charge of working with the selections, working with the architect on the selections and all that kind of stuff.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Easy part of the job, right?
Eric Pierce:
Iโm sorry?
Zach Wojtowicz:
Easy part of the job, right?
Eric Pierce:
Yeah, right. Yeah. So easy. But yeah, it actually has made that part of the job so much easier between having the selection tab and all of that information, all those details in Buildertrend, and now being able to pair that with my dimensions and areas and all of that and put it together and shoot it off to an architect or a vendor or whatever, itโs changed my job for sure.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Love to hear that.
Charley Burtwistle:
Appreciate all customer feedback, but great customer feedback. The compliments are always nice to hear as well too.
Eric Pierce:
Absolutely.
Charley Burtwistle:
Well, Eric, we are running up on time. We could continue to talk to you forever. We could tell youโre passionate about what you do and-
Zach Wojtowicz:
And what a scenic background.
Charley Burtwistle:
Yeah, itโs been very calming watching it.
Eric Pierce:
Just happy to provide it.
Charley Burtwistle:
Yeah, but thank you very much for coming on. Would love to talk to you again sometime.
Eric Pierce:
Iโd love it. Yeah, thanks so much.
Charley Burtwistle:
See you.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Charley, you feel relaxed. You look like youโve been in nature.
Charley Burtwistle:
Yes, absolutely. That was the most beautiful background Iโve ever seen. Rivals my Mount Rushmore little spin.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Throwback to the Mount Rushmore episode.
Charley Burtwistle:
Throwback to the Mount Rushmore episode. But no, that was great. That was another episode of just talking to someone that just truly loves what they do and itโs so refreshing. I feel like we constantly, I donโt know, at least Zach and I, we talk about things that we could do better and things that we can improve on. And itโs nice talking to customers that love what they do, love our product, and you can actually see the impact that weโre making and that theyโre thus making to their clients. Really, really refreshing and maybe thatโs just me, the zen in me kind of leaking out after the scenic background behind the-
Zach Wojtowicz:
Itโs that extra energy I was talking about in the intro.
Charley Burtwistle:
Yeah, absolutely. No, it was fantastic. What do you think Zach?
Zach Wojtowicz:
Well, I was thinking about during the interview, I donโt think weโve had a historic home builder before or renovator, so that was really interesting to kind of hear that process. He does a lot of things that I think more builders are starting to do, which is bring in-house labor. You talk about finding good trades and that is a huge piece of making construction happen. Thereโs the administration, they got to have people who do great work. The craftmanship, I could really tell talking to him, heโs a guy who pays attention to the details and Iโm going to go check out his website and just see the work theyโre doing and-
Charley Burtwistle:
Oh, itโs actually incredible. I hate to admit this, but I was kind of scrolling their website during the interview just because they have a little gallery page and I was scrolling through it. Thereโs some really, really cool pictures out there.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Yeah, and heโs a former history teacher, so itโs really cool. I kind of can see him doing kind of the historic work and it was cool.
Charley Burtwistle:
It was also cool that his partnerโs name was Zach, and every time we talked about him-
Zach Wojtowicz:
Well, every time he says his name, my heart skipped like, โOh.โ
Charley Burtwistle:
Well, when you would say it. When you said it, I thought you were talking about yourself with the third person. Youโre like, โOh. So, Zach, the teacher, he was a pretty cool guy and I was like a lot cooler than this Zach, the teacher, thatโs for sure.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Yeah. If you want sick burns of Zach, join โThe Building Codeโ.
Charley Burtwistle:
No, that was a fantastic episode. Hope everyone listening enjoyed it. Weโll see you next time. Iโm Charley Burtwistle.
Zach Wojtowicz:
Iโm Zach Wojtowicz.
Charley Burtwistle:
See you.
Jenna Kimberley | Kimberley Development Corporation
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