Pat Buchanan of Buchanan Construction Systems has been building custom homes in Boulder since the early '90s. He started as a framer, moved into supervision six months into a five-year build of a 16,000 square foot house near NCAR, and went on to work for years with Tom Stanko at Harrington Stanko. He says he still quotes Tom to subcontractors about three times a day.

Alex and Pat talk about what happens when a builder steps into design. Pat walks through an architect's flooring spec he couldn't stand behind: 5/8" engineered plank, a 2mm wear layer, a pine core, 9" wide, over radiant heat. One substitution rippled into the paint colors, the cabinets and the schedule. They cover the liability that comes with changing a spec (the Spearin Doctrine), and what Alex calls being the steward of the design.

They also get into Pat's 5% target on budget and schedule, why he sets a tile order date 12 weeks before install with a confirmation meeting four weeks before that, how his escalation allowance went from 7% a year to 30 to 35% after COVID, and why he recommends an owner's rep to every client. Pat also explains what a CLT roof fabricated in Austria bought him: a roof installed in two weeks, at roughly a $200,000 premium. The conversation closes on panelization and double-stud walls.

The Build Project gives the mic to everyone who builds a house, from the architect to the person sweeping the floor. Hosted by Alex Molkentin of Fernhill Build Studio.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:50 From framer to supervisor on a 16,000 sq ft house
05:21 When the carpenter becomes the builder
09:15 Lessons from Tom Stanko and Harrington Stanko
16:35 Stepping on design toes
19:46 One flooring spec, a whole project changed
26:17 Budget and schedule within 5%
28:51 Escalation after COVID
34:43 Why a builder wants an owner's rep
40:04 Picking subs
46:03 How the builder's role is changing
51:48 CLT roofs and commercial methods in custom homes
55:02 Panelization and double-stud walls