If you are building a new home or remodeling your existing one, most cities throughout the country require building permits. If you are one of the lucky ones building in rural areas or in a county that only requires a few permits then just smile and enjoy life while listening to this episode!! Those of you in the city, here's a person that can make your life so much easier!!! Joining us today is Ramie Elizondo, owner of Permit Pros. She is a permitting professional whose entire job is working to get you that permit in an expedited fashion. With her specialized running shoes, JK, she is online ..read more

Ever had a tee time scheduled and mother nature has other plans? No worries!! Play that round of golf in your simulator room! The bonus? You can play Pebble Beach, Pacific Dunes, Whistling Straits and more right from the comfort of your home.  Golf simulators have seen tremendous advances in the past few years. To discuss all of that and more we took our show on the road and traveled to Craig Nomes' house, regional salesperson for Full Swing. We had a blast trying out the simulator and practicing our putting on the latest putting green! Interested in a simulator or do you have a client in ..read more

When it comes to building a custom home, just remember, this is a prototype! It's never been built before! With that being said, the inevitible will happen and that's what we call a change order. This isn't always a bad thing and those two words more often get a bad wrap! Today the three of us discuss what change orders are, why they happen, ways to try to avoid some of them and why they have an associated cost to them.   Want to contact us? 2d1bbar@gmail.com  Steve Rudin aka The Builder, steve@loydrusselhome.com Steve Iltis aka The Home Designer, steve@steveshannondesign.com Shannon ..read more

No, this isn't a "self help" episode and you are on the correct podcast! Today it's all about controlling your lighting, tv's, speakers, and ceiling fans! Find out how to provide adequate hallway and step lighting during the night that is motion activated! What about figuring out what type of recessed lighting you need, not to mention what color temperature!! Let's not even get me started on WALL CLUTTER! You'll just have to tune in to find out what that means. Joining us to discuss all of this and more is Adam Henry with Capitol Technology Group. Adam and his team design, engineer, program, i ..read more

No custom home build or major remodeling project is possible without plumbing fixtures, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, door hardware and cabinet hardware! The overwhelming feeling you get when your builder gives you this list of items and tells you to go make selections for each of them is almost unbearable. That is why you need a great supplier and even more importantly a friendly, knowledgable sales associate to guide you along the way. Enter Chadney Alvarez with Baths of America! Chadney has been my salesperson for the past several years and I couldn't do my job without her! Well, I probably cou ..read more

Keeping up with design trends is one thing but then you have to figure out the materials that you're suppposed to be using! Countertops is one of the selections I get asked most about. What should I use? What's the difference between quartz, quartzite, marble, granite, porcelain and this new product called Dekton? What's the most durable? Least maintenance? Joining us to answer these questions is Camila Castaneda with Cosentino. The Cosentino Group is a global, family-owned Spanish company that produces and distributes innovative, sustainable and high-value surfaces for the world of architectu ..read more

We've touched on this subject in a previous episode however, we are hearing that word on the streets is people are still wondering the best way to go about this.  Today we put Rudin on the hot seat to share with us the different approaches you can take in gathering a list of builders to talk to and then ultimately selecting one of those builders.  Have you subscribed to the show? Shared it with friends? Rated it? Please do all of those!  Steve Rudin steve@loydrusselhomes.com Steve Iltis steve@steveshannondesign.com Shannon Vestal shannon@steveshannondesign.com   ..read more

It will be if Johnston Waterproofing is on the job! On this episode we are joined by Jeremy Johnson, owner of Johnston Waterproofing. He's going to share with us all the ways to keep water out of your house! This is not only your doors and windows, but includes balconies and much more. Find out what disasters can occur and some you might not even know about for years!! Thanks to all of our loyal listeners and those of you that are new to the show! We'd love to hear from you! Contact us? 2d1bbar@gmail.com Have you rated us? Subscribed? Shared? What about our Instagram page? Are you following us ..read more

But when I do it's because the window was open!!!!! Let me start by saying that our two guests today will definitely be back! Slade Sloan, GM of the custom window division at Builders First Source and Lance LeBlanc, a window nerd and expert on large doors (he said it, not me), builder sales rep for BFS not only provided us with valuable information but kept us all laughing in the process. We discuss the types of windows on the market from a material standpoint as well as price point and value. From there we move on to sliding doors! No, not like the sliding door you had in your first apartment ..read more

I call it "The Fluff"! She'll kill me for saying that but y'all know I often say what I want!! We welcome to the show, Vyara Noeva Johnson, Interior Designer and owner of Aveon Designs. I like to call her my friend and officemate! Vyara shares with us her love for not only Interior Design but seeing the excitement in clients faces when they walk into their newly remodeled and furnished space. Pulling together every aspect of a project from the hardscapes such as tile and countertops to the luxurious fabrics, wallpaper and window treatments, Vyara provides her clients a visual of the transforma ..read more