Eric: Howdy, everyone. Welcome to Tilson Live. It is Tuesday at 2:00, and we are live on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram to talk about all things building a custom home on your land. I'm Eric Alarid, part of the fourth generation of the Tilson family. Tilson is an on-your-lot builder here in Texas, and we have been doing it for 94 years. I'm joined every week by the great, marvelous, masterful Dawn Dantzler, Tilson's Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience. Good afternoon, Dawn.

Dawn: Hey, Eric. I'm doing and going just fine. It is warm, it is mid-August, and school is starting back for some people. We have school-bus traffic, car lines, and moms dropping off their babies and taking way too long to say goodbye. We also have summer heat.

Eric: We are excited to be here and talk all things building a custom home on your land. Jump into the chat and tell us where you are watching from, where you are building, and what part of the process you are in. You are the reason we do this show. We are somewhere around 250 to 300 episodes into talking about building custom homes on your land in Texas, which is all Tilson does.

Eric: We will talk about septic systems, water wells, site development, financing, design customization, energy efficiency, and anything else you want to know. There are no dumb questions except the ones you do not ask. We want you and your family to have as much information as possible so you can make the best decision for your family. Dawn, tell us what is happening in the Republic of Tilson.

Dawn: This episode is all about answering your questions. If you have a burning question before you visit with one of us, or if you have already met with us and need an answer, ask it here. This weekend, the Boerne office is covering construction, including why we choose the materials we do and how we build our homes. The Waco office is covering financing options, including our EasyBuy program and other programs. Friends from Wagon Hill will be there to answer questions about other available financing methods.

Dawn: We also have a muddy boots tour at a customer's home in Toledo. If you want to attend, register today because only two spots remain. We limit these tours because we are at a customer's property and want to keep the group smaller. It is a great opportunity to see a home under construction.

Eric: It is a rare chance to visit a job site, meet us there, and see how we do what we do in the wild. You can also meet other Tilson prospects and customers. I was in Waxahachie last Saturday for a great seminar. More than 20 people showed up, asked lots of great questions, and the Waxahachie team had tons of ice cream. I did not partake because I am trying hard to stay in a caloric deficit, but they put away four gallons of ice cream.

Eric: Maybe you are thinking about building because the kids have been home all summer, or the neighbors have been home all summer, and your world is caving in around you. Maybe you want to move a couple of miles out and get an acre or two of land. Maybe you already bought land and are wondering how the process works, what you need for power and water, or whether you can change a plan or move a utility room.

Eric: Maybe you have completed your site evaluation, signed your contract, chosen a plan, and are working with your sales consultant. Maybe you have made color selections, or maybe you are under construction and watching the whole thing unfold. Or perhaps you are enjoying your new Tilson home in the AC and watching other people stress about their decisions. Wherever you are in the process, let us know. There is a path to success.

Dawn: Ed is joining us from the Pacific Northwest. Congratulations on your lot, Ed, and welcome to the Tilson family. We also have a viewer on YouTube from Conroe who says they just completed underbrushing on their lot at Republic Grand Ranch. They met Eric's son during stakeout and say their experience so far has been A-plus.

Eric: Thank you for indulging Jacob. We had a couple of interns this summer, and my son Jacob was our stakeout intern at Republic Grand Ranch. He met his first rattlesnake and was humbled by the experience. I was born in Conroe, Texas, so I am kind of a local hometown boy. Do not worry, they bulldozed the hospital where I was born. Jacob loved riding in the air-conditioned truck, especially now that he is doing two-a-days for football.

Dawn: Joe says a lot is happening in his world. His water well is in, the power pole should be in this week, the ground survey should be back soon, and the Weatherford office continues to amaze him. He says the process has been long, but it is progressing.

Eric: Joe has been talking to us for a long time, so saying the process has been long may be an understatement. I was driving back from Katy yesterday through Pattison, Monaville, and Waller County. I am a back-roads guy, and I saw a Tilson Shiloh hiding out in Monaville. Joe started with the Shiloh, and I remembered that. Thanks for trusting us, Joe. The Weatherford team has you in great hands.

Dawn: Adriana is in Katy, working with Ashley on a San Antonio plan that will be built in Gonzales County. She is at the start of the process, finalizing floor-plan changes and trying to figure out all the land-preparation items.

Eric: Ask any land-preparation questions here, Adriana. That is what we are here for. We can help throughout Gonzales County, including Gonzales and Waelder. We can answer questions about water wells, clearing, culverts, construction drives, design changes, reversing a plan, switching a washer and dryer, financing, whether land must be paid for, interest rates, and whether you can sell your house first. It is hot outside, so energy efficiency is another good topic.

Dawn: Ed says he has mostly sorted out his future build and is finalizing a few minor details before visiting the Boerne office in a few weeks. He has one question that might be a little wordy. We are ready.

Dawn: A common question is how long the process takes. It varies, but we should explain it in two parts because most people have not built a custom home on their own land. From the slab to completion, it is not all that different from a production subdivision build. The difference is that we have you make cabinet, countertop, plumbing-fixture, light-fixture, cabinet-pull, paint-color, and design-change decisions before construction starts.

Eric: We do not want you making rash decisions while the house is under construction. It is like trying to load a train while it is going down the tracks. Before construction, we are doing both land development and construction planning. Most sites do not yet have power, water, gas, sewer or septic, clearing, or even access. Site development can happen at the same time as color selections, design changes, loan finalization, and appraisal.

Eric: The upfront process is about four to six months, depending on where you are building and what criteria apply. A property owners association or architectural control committee may need to approve the plans. We conduct geotechnical investigations and site evaluations, have an engineer design the foundation for the soil types, and submit permits to the county, city, or other authority. In a subdivision, all of that was finished before you ever visited the sales trailer.

Eric: The construction portion is about seven months. Our current average is 208 days. That is from when we install the foundation through completing the home, doing your walk-through, handing over the keys, and closing at the title company. Overall, 10 to 12 months is a good estimate, and 12 months is a safe expectation.

Dawn: Ada asks about the septic system. Does it need to be installed before the house?

Eric: Very rarely. A septic system may need to go in first if it is an especially tight lot and we will not be able to reach the area behind the house later. For example, if you have only about five feet on either side of the house between you and your neighbors. Broadly speaking, though, we recommend installing it after the exterior of the home is complete, whether that exterior is Hardie, stone, brick, stucco, or something else.

Eric: At that point, the heavy equipment is finished around the house. We do not want to damage tanks, sprinkler heads or lines on an aerobic system, or field lines on a conventional system. We flag it thoroughly. Traditionally, installation happens much later in the process, about three or four months into construction. The design and permitting must happen up front.

Eric: Counties differ, but most want to see a wastewater plan before issuing a building permit. Some, such as Montgomery County, issue a combined building and septic permit. Others require a septic permit first and include it with the building-permit application. With very few exceptions, I would not recommend putting the septic system in first. My brother's house was an exception because he wanted us to do it all wrong.

Dawn: Paula says they are building the Guadalupe B in Lamar County and just received their 911 address. That is very exciting. How close are you to Paris, Texas, Paula?

Dawn: Ed's question is about an Angelina C. He plans a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace with a traditional hearth, an oversized wood mantel, and a working gas fireplace insert. He intends to center a flat-screen TV above the mantel. He asks whether Tilson can guide the best mounting location or recommend TV mounting systems. He is considering a flush mount to stone or a niche for a recessed look, with a pull-down mount. He is leaning toward making the niche only large enough for the mount, not the TV, and asks whether fireplace heat could risk the TV.

Eric: Heat can affect a TV, but it is generally limited to the biggest, higher-end gas fireplaces. Those fireplaces have criteria for how close you can put a mantel, never mind a TV. In my house, there is a two-foot gap from the top of the fireplace to the mantel because of the solid steel above the opening. The installation information makes the required clearance crystal clear. We will make sure nothing is mounted within that space, and stone covers the gap.

Eric: I love the pull-down feature. Motorized models with a remote are very slick, and some let you grab the TV and pull it down so you do not have to crane your neck. Flush-mounting on stone can be challenging because stone is bumpy and uneven. If we know where the TV is going, we can provide a recessed arrangement for the 110 outlet and probably a tube to feed HDMI to one side, the attic, or another location.

Eric: We have framed an area without stone before, possibly on a Barton Springs fireplace, and that is an option. You could leave out stone only where the mount goes. TVs change like the weather, though. You will likely replace yours two or three times while you live in the house, and the chance that every replacement will fit the same niche is low. I would probably stone the whole thing and use a thin, low-profile TV and mounting system designed to sit razor-thin behind the TV.

Eric: You will need to manage a few cables, plus an Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, or soundbar. Zip ties or Velcro straps are helpful. I Velcroed mine to the back of the TV. The niche is a cool and universal idea, but I am pro no-niche if you want stone all around it. You can still make the wiring work behind a low-profile TV.

Dawn: I agree that TVs change so much that I would hate to see someone design their house around one. We have all seen older houses with a TV recess that is no longer useful. I would flush-mount it to the stone, knowing it will sit a little out from the wall. If you leave out part of the stone, make sure that space can also work for an art piece if you no longer want a TV there. Plan for the future. I am interested in motorized mounts because physically pulling a TV down makes me nervous.

Dawn: Kevin on Instagram suggests a Samsung Frame TV. Those are nice, with a matte screen that can look like artwork if you do not want to stare at a TV all the time.

Dawn: Adriana asks whether the site evaluation and stakeout happen at the same time, or whether they are different trips. They are the same thing, although they can involve more than one trip. We used the word stakeout for years and realized it was a Tilson term that not everyone knew. The police know what a stakeout is, but it has a very different meaning for them. We started calling it a site evaluation, but new names do not always stick in a 94- or 95-year-old company.

Eric: You will hear us use site evaluation and stakeout interchangeably. A land-prep specialist and a stakeout person are the same role. It can take a trip or two. If the land has not been fully underbrushed, we may do part of the work first and return after clearing to complete the site evaluation. When we say we stake the house out, we literally mean driving wooden or rebar stakes into the ground to establish the corners and show you where the house will sit relative to your property lines.

Eric: We are not sitting there with binoculars watching like a cop, although we may have donuts and kolaches. At Republic Grand Ranch, it is definitely two trips. We do one trip to determine the underbrushing, then return after underbrushing for the actual placement of the stakes.

Dawn: Adrian says hello from Douglass, where he is building an Angelina C. Matt has done an amazing job keeping them updated. Their build slowed for about a week while they waited for Douglas fir timbers, which arrived yesterday. Work is supposed to resume tomorrow, and they are loving what has been built so far.

Eric: Sometimes lead times are a thing. Getting Douglas fir from Oregon, Washington, or somewhere in the Pacific Northwest can take time. Ed may need to go get it for us. Adrian, thanks for sharing, and I am glad you are loving the house.

Dawn: Stacy asks what it would take to make the shower a zero-entry shower. They are building the Woodland A in Tarrant County and want to know whether it is possible with that floor plan.

Eric: It is totally possible. By zero entry, I understand that you mean no step at all. We traditionally drop the shower about an inch and a half to three inches when we pour the foundation, as we do for porches and garages. We do not use fiberglass shower pans. We build a custom tile mud pan and slope it to the drain, which may be in the center or at one end. We can create a smoother roll-in entry.

Eric: We still drop it a little, but we make the bathroom tile flow into the shower. That affects the tile you can choose for the rest of the bathroom. I prefer smaller tile on the shower floor, about 3x3 or less, because more grout provides grip. A 12x12, 18x24, or 12x24 tile is not safe on a shower floor. Many tile lines pair a 12x24 floor or wall tile with a 3x3 or 2x2 tile.

Eric: Matching tiles are not always made in the same facility, dye lot, run, time, or factory, so there can be slight color variation even when they have the same color name. You will most likely still have a door, and I recommend one so the shower does not get too cold. It can swing out. We may put the drain at one end and the shower valves on the outside so you can turn on the water without entering.

Eric: If someone needs a roll-in shower and may have assistance, that is another consideration. If you simply want to avoid a trip hazard, it is very workable. You do need to accept that water will splash out, so do not place a cabinet nearby and use floor mats. The curb and dropped shower normally keep water in. With a zero-entry or roll-in shower sloped from the master bathroom floor, some water will splash out.

Dawn: A YouTube viewer in Dallas asks whether we build on a customer's lot using their custom floor plan. It may be a one-story plan near 4,500 square feet.

Eric: Yes, we do, and yes, we have. If the lot accommodates it, we can do it. We want to get the floor plan in front of the Melissa sales team as soon as possible to make sure we are a great fit. We have a couple of one-story homes under construction that are well over 4,000 square feet, including a 5,000-square-foot one-story home. It is still a big house, although it is not as unusual as it once was.

Dawn: Tracy is building the Angeline in Victoria County and has her first appointment with Lucky on September 1st. She asks whether tile, cabinet, lighting, flooring, and other options can be emailed ahead of time so she does not spend so much time at the design appointment.

Dawn: We have PDF options for those items. Reach out to Lucky, and we can see about sending them in advance. It is not something we do very commonly, so we may not have absolutely everything in the PDFs. If there is something specific you are concerned about, we can send that over. Tell Lucky or your design consultant the styles you like, such as modern farmhouse or shabby chic, and especially styles you do not like.

Eric: Your consultant can pare down what they show you, so it does not have to feel overwhelming. Some things in the color room will be easy to dismiss based on your taste. With Lucky's guidance, you can narrow choices to the six or so options that are right for you. If you live near a design center and the color room is not in use, you are welcome to visit and look at it as many times as you like before the appointment.

Dawn: Ed says they have watched many Tilson videos looking for references of TVs mounted on fireplaces, but it has been challenging. They do not want the TV to be the focus of their beautiful fireplace. Paula says Paris is about an hour and 25 minutes from our Melissa sales office, depending on traffic. That is close, and Paris has an Eiffel Tower.

Eric: Paris, Texas, even has an Eiffel Tower with a cowboy hat on top, and there was a Netflix movie about it. My wife's family is from Paris, so I need to head out there and see it. Tracy says she has ideas in her head, which will help. Send them to Lucky, and she can guide you at the appointment. Also, I said McKinney office when I meant Melissa office. We use those terms interchangeably because people used to not know where Melissa was. Now they have Lucky, but it has been 20 years and the old name persists.

Dawn: Roberto asks how much Tilson charges for drafting and design for our homes. We do not charge customers anything for drafting and design. You are welcome to come in, redraw, and imagine with our team. We will work out exactly what you want and draw it up. There is no charge for designing your home, making changes, or putting those changes on paper.

Eric: The only cost associated with changes is the cost to build them. If you add square footage, that involves extra concrete, flooring, and walls. If you add cabinets, the cabinets cost money. We do not charge a fee for the design phase, which is common with other custom builders. We charge for what happens in real life, not for paper changes.

Eric: We have an incredible, award-winning design and drafting team that helps the sales team make sure changes are functional. Do not hesitate to mark up plans and ask whether a dishwasher will work in a particular spot, whether an island can go somewhere, or whether there is enough room in the utility room. We do not charge for that. The house ought to work.

Dawn: Virginia in McLennan County asks whether she can mix and match interior designs between farmhouse and coastal, and between base and upgraded options. Absolutely. Our website has pre-designed packages under Our Homes and design choices. If you are looking for coastal, farmhouse, or Hill Country, we have already paired cabinets, countertops, and other options that work together.

Dawn: You can mix and match all of those styles in the design center. You can choose a base flooring option and upgrade your cabinets, for example. You are making those choices as you like. You can paint with all the colors of the wind.

Dawn: Someone also asks whether we do 3D visualization ourselves or outsource it. It depends. The material you see on our website is outsourced. The 3D visualization completed by our drafting team is done in-house. Marketing visualization is usually done by an outside company. If our drafting team does it, you can expect every stud to be in exactly the right place even if you cannot see it.

Dawn: A YouTube viewer asks about spray foam insulation. It is noticeable in the models in Spring along the busy frontage road. They ask whether spray foam insulation is used for interior walls as well.

Eric: No. When we use spray foam, it goes on the backside of the roof decking, opposite the shingles, not on the attic floor. Exterior walls are spray foam, including an exterior wall between the house and garage. The exterior walls of the garage itself are not spray foam. We call the exterior walls of the home the building envelope, or the conditioned airspace.

Eric: There is a supply in the attic, so it is cooler than it otherwise would be. You could compare the San Jacinto model in Spring, which is not spray foam, with the Brazoria, which is spray foam. It is significantly different. You could work and live in the attic of the Brazoria, although I do not recommend it. It is dark, dank, lonely, and has very limited flooring space. You will be very close to the air-conditioning unit.

Eric: Interior-wall spray foam is not necessary because ambient temperatures should be close from room to room. Every bedroom has a supply and return, and most studies have a supply and return. A supply is ductwork and a vent that blows hot or cold air into a space. A return is a duct that takes air back to the system to be recycled. These help keep the whole house at the thermostat temperature, so if the thermostat is set to 74 degrees, bedrooms should be about 74 degrees.

Eric: If your goal is sound reduction, we can price spray foam between walls, and it is fairly inexpensive. Sound can still travel through the studs, though. A better sound barrier is a 6-inch wall instead of a 4-inch wall with staggered studs, so the studs do not touch both sheets of sheetrock at the same time. Then you can use batt or foam insulation in that space. I mostly see that in podcast studios or media rooms with sophisticated sound systems, so Days of Thunder does not wake the dead.

Dawn: Paula confirms that the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas, has a cowboy hat. Adriana says they appreciate the ability to customize a floor plan. They started with a small plan but added key areas such as the master suite, and they love what Ashley has helped create.

Eric: Ashley is really good at that. Dustin asks whether we can add a bonus room but leave it unfinished, with a staircase to the attic and the option to finish it later.

Eric: The answer is yes, but. Some counties will not be thrilled about that. We can carve out space, but we could not provide the air conditioning or electrical for it. We could likely separate it with walls and a staircase, and keep plumbing, electrical, and HVAC from running through the middle of that attic space. It would not be designed from the beginning for the home's HVAC system.

Eric: You would need planning later, and you would probably use a mini-split because it would not simply dovetail into the HVAC system. The outlets and electrical would not be part of the initial installation. It is not as simple as carving off 400 square feet and not using it. We can put up stud walls and tell HVAC, plumbing, and electrical crews not to run through that area, but then we must seal it off with a weather-stripped door and threshold.

Eric: We must treat it as unconditioned attic space so the rest of the home performs as it should. So yes, but.

Dawn: Billy asks how customizable Tilson floor plans are. Holly, who used to work in our San Marcos office, has a favorite answer. Changes are bound by three laws: the laws of physics, the laws of building code, and the laws of your budget.

Dawn: We can do almost anything you are looking for. There are some yes-but situations, such as an unfinished bonus room, and a few things we are not comfortable with. We want to make sure our trades and warranty team can support them because we warranty our own homes. But you can generally do what you want with our plans. You can put the kitchen from one plan in another, use a bathroom from the Lone Star in a Woodland, or add square footage.

Dawn: We have seen customers add entire second kitchens for a sourdough hobby, and we have built garages larger than the living area of the home. Bring your ideas, and we will talk through how to make them work.

Eric: We have a five-minute warning, so keep the questions coming about site preparation, septic systems, culverts, water wells, design changes, appliances, customization, financing, interest rates, construction loans, and EasyBuy. If you do not ask today because you are listening later, busy working, or sitting in car line on the first day of school with the AC on high while it is 104 outside, the journey does not end here.

Eric: Every one of these episodes is on our YouTube channel, Vimeo channel, and website. That will become a much better situation in the coming months with our new website. You can also leave questions in the comments on any social-media channel, and we will answer them during the week. Our new home specialists are on standby through the website. You can text, send an inquiry, or call real human beings, not AI, chatbots, or Russian bots.

Dawn: The on-site teams and model homes are open seven days a week. You can tour models and design centers, see color selections, cabinet pulls, tile, wood floors, door hardware, electrical fixtures, and plumbing fixtures, and get familiar with them before a design appointment. As long as a color appointment is not happening, you can walk through and check everything out.

Dawn: Harley asks whether Tilson works with ROCKWOOL insulation instead of spray foam.

Eric: We have done it, but I am not a fan. I do not think it works as well or is as efficient, although there is nothing necessarily wrong with it. I prefer the house to be sealed better. In the eastern half of Texas, the main goal is avoiding the loss of cooled air, or the little heated air we need from time to time, through gaps around doors, windows, bottom plates, top plates, cathedral ceilings, light fixtures, and electrical outlets.

Eric: Neither batt nor ROCKWOOL insulation seals the house nearly as well as spray foam. Even with ROCKWOOL, I would still recommend a whole-house dehumidifier and whole-house fresh-air intake, the same things we would do with spray foam. ROCKWOOL simply will not seal the home as well. That is my opinion.

Dawn: Nicole asks whether it is more cost-effective to start with a larger plan and scale it down if needed, or start with a smaller home and add square footage.

Eric: The second option is more cost-effective. Start with the smaller home and make it larger to accommodate the features you want. We recommend looking at both plans, but identify what you like in the larger plan and let us scale up the smaller one. When we remove square footage, we must account more carefully for what happens to the exterior elevation, gables, and similar features. It is easier to predict what happens when we add square footage.

Dawn: Dustin is removing a mobile home and building a house on the property. There is an existing septic system that is probably more than 35 years old. He asks whether it can be repurposed for the new house.

Eric: Possibly, but that is up to a registered sanitarian and the county. Thirty-five years is a long time. TCEQ, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, was formerly known as TNRCC. The rules about how many gallons per day certain soil types can process have changed significantly. The odds of using exactly the same septic system are probably not good, although perhaps part of it could work.

Eric: A registered sanitarian will determine, based on the bedrooms, bathrooms, and other factors, whether any part can accommodate your plan. Let us know the house you are considering and any details about the septic system: tank size in gallons, whether there is one tank or two, and the field-line length. At 35 years old, I assume it is conventional because I do not think we were doing aerobic systems then. We will compare it with the gallons per day the new house needs under current TCEQ guidelines.

Dawn: Ed asks whether pull-down attic access ladders are included.

Eric: Yes. If the attic is not accessed from a bonus-room attic door or something similar, you will have a pull-down attic stairway. It will be in the garage, hallway area, or another location. Code requires access within a certain distance of the mechanical equipment, I believe within 15 feet, so you are not crossing 50 feet of attic to change air filters or service the AC. When you reach the top of the stairs, you should only need to take a step, if that, to get to the filters.

Dawn: Adriana is concerned about critters getting into the attic or bugs coming in through doors. How can that be prevented?

Eric: Keep your doors closed. When you build in the middle of nowhere, there is no way to prevent it completely because the critters were there first. Spray foam helps a lot. The difference between the house I built with Tilson in 2004 and the house I built with Tilson in 2022 is significant, and I am much more rural now. Ants, scorpions, and spiders know where food is, so be diligent about trash, where you put the trash can, how often you take out trash bags, and how close garbage is to the house.

Eric: I do not see anything in the attic. There are no spiderwebs or anything else. The garage is the toughest area because garage doors are not perfect seals. Inside the house, it is not usually a problem unless the dog opens the door, kids leave it cracked, or a husband leaves it open while going back and forth to the garage. You cannot keep critters out completely, but you can be more vigilant about trash storage and removal. They are opportunists and follow the path of least resistance.

Eric: I also recommend bungee cords for exterior trash cans. Raccoons, or trash-can pandas, have opposable thumbs and are good at getting into things.

Dawn: One important point for Adriana: if you have stone or brick masonry, you will see a series of small weep holes at the bottom of the house. Do not fill them. They are there for a purpose. Bugs are not getting into the house through the weep holes because there is another layer between them and the house beyond the stone. The holes let moisture out of the house, so please leave them open.

Dawn: I saw those weep holes in our house and initially thought there would be spiders in there, but there are not. It is fine. That is not how they get into the house.

Eric: That is last call for questions. It is right at 3:00. Thank you for joining us. Do not let the journey end here. Our website, Facebook page, YouTube channel, Vimeo channel, and Instagram page have lots of information. The YouTube channel has hours and hours of content and every one of these episodes. Vimeo has no ads. We also Tik and Talk every once in a while, although sporadically.

Eric: We have 12 locations open seven days a week. Call and schedule an appointment with a new home specialist. The on-site teams can answer these questions, work through plans with you, redline them, walk you through a model home, show features and benefits, and show you design-center selections. It is a lot of fun, and it is air-conditioned, which is a great thing in summertime.

Eric: Ask us questions. We are easy to reach. We are grateful you joined us today, hope you got something out of the presentation, and genuinely hope to make you part of the Tilson family. We will see you later.

Dawn: Bye, everybody.