Ultimate Guide to Custom Prefab Homes: Design, Permitting, and Construction - More Than Just a Kit

Show Notes:

If you’re looking to build your own custom panelized prefab home, this episode breaks down exactly what it takes to turn your dream design into a reality. You will learn that true prefab building goes far beyond simply ordering a pre-cut kit; it involves navigating complex local building codes, optimizing for energy efficiency, and adapting your design to unique environmental factors like steep mountainsides or earthquake zones. By listening, you will discover the crucial steps of pre-planning, how to avoid common permitting pitfalls, and why having customized, direct support throughout the entire structural and architectural process is the absolute key to successfully building the exact home you want, exactly where you want it.

Transcript:

Steve Tuma: That’s that’s the very important key. Is customer service knowing that Landmark is the best panelized home company they can work with anywhere in the country or around the world and and we provide the best service.

Host: Hello everybody and welcome to episode 86 of the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show. With me today as always is the president and founder of Landmark Home and Land Company. A company which has been helping people build their new homes where they want, exactly as they want, nationwide and around the globe since 1993. And that is Mr. Steve Tuma. Steve, how are things buddy?

Steve Tuma: Yeah, things are going well. You know, as always, we’ve got some cool projects going on and interesting customers building houses all over the country. So it’s a pretty exciting time.

Host: I like status quo. That’s good.

Steve Tuma: Yeah, well, you know, it’s status quo in the sense that we’re busy, but all the different types of customers, where they’re building, the reasons they’re building, the different budgets, the different designs… that that’s always interesting because we’re able to get, um, help people get the houses that they want, you know, a custom design instead of just a a standard house someplace. It’s kind of cool.

Host: Good. So we had a theme going on a couple of episodes back where I was just asking you questions that um the the potential or even past uh Landmark Home and Land Company um customers had. Um, basically what’s on everybody’s lips for every potential homeowner builder across the land. So if you’re ready to start fielding some pretty basic questions, but ones that I think are important, uh, let’s do that.

Steve Tuma: Yeah. Well, what do you have? Let’s see.

Host: Well first, first off, what is what is Landmark? I just want the president of the company to explain… what does Landmark include in their, in your packaging, in your design, in all of that work that you do? What do you have that other companies just don’t include in in their uh their basic uh customer plan?

Steve Tuma: Well, I think it’s kind of an interesting question because a lot of people want to say, “Well, we include this, or we include this” as far as a physical item. And that is part of the answer, but a lot of it is also just the attitude and understanding and desire to really help customers build the right home for them, make sure that the house gets designed right, make sure structurally it’s sound, mechanically it’s sound, energy efficiencies are taken care of, you know, sitting on the land properly, and taking care of the building department requirements. So it’s, I I would say Landmark in a sense is a is a desire to help people get the house that they want, whether it’s a little house, a big house, a medium house, an ADU, a vacation home, whatever it is. So in that, you know, in our desire to really help people get a cool house, we do a lot of things for them.

Um, the, you know, panelized homes, a lot of people think, “Well you just order it and a kit shows up.” Well in the case with us, we believe we’re the best panelized company on the planet and uh you know, we we work hard to do so, but it’s because we go beyond just the product. It’s making sure the product is designed right, listening to the customer to make sure that what they want we we end up putting on the plans properly, make sure it works with the codes, make sure it works with the the building site, make sure it works with the energy efficiencies. So it’s not like going to a lumber yard where like, “Hey give me a stack of wood, I’ll nail it together and make a house.” It’s it’s the pre-planning, all the work and support and experience that we have that gives people the ability to build the house that they want and know that it’s the best house that they can get for for what they want to do.

That I think is it. So I guess it’s basically caring and our our experience and our attitude to really do it. But beyond that, I think what people wanted to hear or thought they might hear is we got a great panelized system. Um, we we have different floor systems, dimensional wood like two by tens, two by twelves, um two by six exterior walls are always typical, roof truss or rafter systems. Um, we can do the complete structural design that matches the energy calculations that also matches the architectural design. So, um, I guess that’s the long way of answering the question, but bottom line is we we take the time to make to listen to a customer to find out what they need so that uh we can draw it up right and make sure that that ends up in the house that they’re moving into. We we have a philosophy: if someone’s gonna work as hard as we do to make a living, you better get the house you want. So we’re we’re here to help.

Host: See, now that’s when you’re talking to the president of the company you’re going to expect, you know, the “let me blow my own horn for a while.” But I think when you… you, Steve Tuma, seem to take things back to to the customer satisfaction as opposed to just touting your own horn. And that’s… you know, and that goes back to my next question ’cause it said that Landmark Home and Land Company’s uh customer service is is the best there is. Now that’s a bold statement, my friend, but I’m sure you can back that up.

Steve Tuma: Well, the reason why is uh I work directly with every single customer. I’m a founder of the company and I work with every single customer, and I’ve done so for what we’re going on 33 years. So there’s a lot of experience, there’s a lot of knowledge, there’s a lot of understanding, and if if for some reason there’s a question a customer asks that I don’t have, I I have the availability of the people that might have, you know, deeper details on on extreme specifics. But I think that’s the case about is the passion and understanding to be able to listen to what a customer wants and make sure it gets taken care of instead of just, you know, some production line, you know, type of situation where you order something and something shows up.

It’s a situation of let’s make sure it’s taken care of because a lot of people may not realize initially, they’re like, hey I want this house, it’s it’s gonna go on this piece of land and it’s just gonna be great. Well, as you get deeper into the thought processes and the understanding of hey energy codes or how you want the house placed on the land or hey what type of window you want to look over the backyard to see the kids… your thought processes get a little deeper and it brings up more questions, and we’re here enabled to help. Uh, our customers with with answers, details, suggestions and how to how to put those details together.

It’s actually a lot of fun because we get to know our customers. We enjoy it, and I believe our customers enjoy it as well. Many come back and build another home or or uh recommend a friend, or some of them just become friends. You end up talking for decades later just seeing how they’re doing. So that’s that’s a key element to it is the the desire to really get into it, make it happen. Um, our panelized homes, there there’s a lot of work and thought that go into it. Not all plans are the same, not all panelized homes are the same, not all companies are the same, and customer service is definitely different. We we do our best… in fact, every customer I work with has my direct cell phone. They can call me at their convenience, and if I’m awake, I answer the phone. Yeah. I don’t think you see that anywher...