What does it take to build a home?

Blood, sweat and tears?….or perhaps a great construction manager? We interview Chris Fisk, who has been turning other people’s visions into homes for his entire adult life.

A buyer walk-through/orientation is standard with most new construction builds. It lets the buyers ask the person that built their home any questions.

Today I sat down and got the pleasure of interviewing Chris Fisk who is currently the construction manager at Titan Homes in the Tri-Cities, Washington. Chris went into the business right after receiving his diploma from highschool, and has been building ever since. His role has changed over the years and now he manages the builds for one of the most prominent production builders in the area. Here is our interview:

Lexi: Hi Chris! Thanks for doing this. How are you handling the stay-at-home orders these days?

Chris: To be honest I am still working every day because I am allowed to to essential things. I also have to check on the sites to make sure there is no vandalism. Essential warranty items can be handled as well, like plumbing leaks or an electrical emergency but most of the work can’t be taken care of at this time. *NOTE-Covid new construction mandates have changed since this article was written. see end of article for info.

Lexi: Let’s switch gears and talk about how you came into the industry.

Chris: As soon as I received my high school diploma from Kennewick High School I became a carpenter and joined the Carpenters Union, that was around 2000. I worked full time doing some commercial work and some residential. It was around 4 or 5 years later that I became a general superintendent at Sullivan-Rowell Homes. I built homes for SR for almost 9 years and probably built 200 homes. (Note: Sullivan-Rowell built hundreds of residential homes throughout the Tri-Cities for many years. They are known for quality in craftsmanship, nice layouts and they are proving to hold value very well. They are no longer in business but the owners are still active in the community.)

After SR I went on to work for other builders around town including Oasis Custom Homes, and when they stopped building new homes, I became the Construction Superintendent at Titan. I have probably built over 400 homes over my career so far.

Lexi: Why do you like your job so much? It seems so stressful managing all of the subcontractors on so many homes?

Chris: I love construction in general because of the information you can learn. It is a continuous learning curve. It honestly takes a special kind of person to not just see what needs to be done, but to know how and WHY it needs to done. My mind just gets it. I have watched every process of building a home from beginning to end so many times that I can give a legitimate break down of the process for everything.

Lexi: What makes you good at what you do?

Chris: As I said before, it is that I know the PROCESS of building really well. I have self described myself sometimes to others as a “trouble-shooting specialist”. I know how everything is installed, and why it is done that way. Also, I have a lot of patience. You have to have a lot of patience with this job. Sometimes homeowners can’t see why something is done a certain way and if I can explain the process and why we do things, they can understand and feel confident it is being done correctly. I would also describe myself as an “issue minimizer”; if I see something that is wrong and I can fix it, I will get it done. Sometimes a company will hire a non-experienced super for peanuts and they won’t know how to do simple fixes. Being able to solve issues myself without calling subcontractors back ultimately saves the company more money in the end and also valuable time.

Lexi: How do you organize everything, with so many jobs, so many subs, so many homeowners, etc.?

Chris: I think it is not so daunting for me because when I started we didn’t have computer programs and scheduling applications, we did everything by writing in notebooks, phone calls and in our heads. So it put the process in my head. Now that we have those apps and programs, they are more of a crutch, I am not relying on an app to do my job but it is there to help. I see that when companies and their construction managers become reliant on apps it can lead to some problems. This is mostly because another key component of the Construction Superintendent job is to legitimately CARE. Some people in this position see it as a way to pay bills and use the apps to get by with the minimum amount of effort. If he or she does not care, then there will always be nonsense issues. The building inspectors can’t catch everything they are human too so that will mean more issues for the homeowners.

Lexi: From your perspective, what should people look for when shopping for a new construction home?

Chris: I would say, 1) Start with builder reviews and reputation. Don’t just rely on computer ratings either, many times only the people that had issues use those to vent frustrations and don’t adjust their ratings if the issue ever got fixed for them. 2) Call the builder up yourself. Ask him or her what their most common warranty issues are. 3) Ask the builder who their superintendent is and how many years of experience they have. -take note, it is not just years under their belt but hands on experience that counts too. I would say look for one that has at least 7-10 years under their belt. 4) City Building inspectors reputation plays a role. If the city is known for tough inspectors, that is better for you! If you can choose which city you can live in, pick one that (in addition to meeting your families needs), has an annoyingly strict building department. *hint- Richland is known for tough inspectors. 5) If you want a custom experience, choose a custom builder. Production builders offer speed, set pricing, and have a build-system in place. If you are the type of personality where you want to be at the site everyday and change things, production building is not for you.

Lexi: What should buyers do or not do when their home is under construction?

Chris: Please please please if you are making changes after the contract is written up, do them at least 3 weeks to a month in advance. It gives the builder the grace time to order the material, have it shipped, and have some wiggle room. Do NOT get offended if a builder tells you something is their standard. The builder decides what is standard, the construction manager makes sure the build meets that standard. Know that in a production build, the construction manger is not on an individual site 24/7 -that does not mean that they won’t catch anything that is incorrect, it just means the correction will happen at a later date.

Lexi: I heard you are finally building yourself a home! Tell me about that

Chris: Yes! I am building a Titan home for myself in the West Village neighborhood in Richland. I am taking a standard plan and then hope to add some cool detailing including ceiling treatments and some exterior elements. My girlfriend Jen is excited to help pick all of the interior colors, tile, counters -all the fun stuff.

Lexi: Thanks so much for your time Chris!

NOTE: At the time of this article Washington State Governor Jay Inslee declared construction non-essential. “In general, commercial and residential construction is not authorized under the Proclamation because construction is not considered to be an essential activity,” Inslee wrote. To see the memorandum in its entirety, click here.

Note: since this article was written the restrictions on new construction have changed.

See the Governor Jay Inslee’s website for Covid updates

Also see the local HBA website for updates