Those who got the chance to attend our event at the Wolf/Sub-Zero showroom last month will remember Matt Mitchell of James Andrews Custom Homes. The panel discussion, which was moderated by our founder and publisher Candy Evans, centered on innovation in the building industry and how technology was changing the face of the custom home. 

No one was more fascinating than Mitchell, who turned the idea of how a home is built in the Dallas area on its head, introducing the concept of Structurally Insulated Panel (SIP) construction to many luxury real estate agents. It was eye-opening, and definitely speaks to the spirit of innovation that the Dallas Builders Association fosters in its members.

With 15 years in custom homebuilding, Mitchell brings a wonderful amount of experience to the market, and we’re happy to give our readers an inside look into what makes James Andrews Custom Homes a wonderful choice for custom home clients in this week’s Dallas Builders Association Member Spotlight.

Get to know Mitchell as the CandysDirt.com highlights some of the spectacular members of Dallas Builders Association right here, asking these consummate professionals all about their business as a way to brag on the many quality, trustworthy builders in the North Texas area that can count themselves among their peers in the Dallas Builders Association.

To learn more about James Andrews Custom Homes, keep reading!

What location or area do you primarily build in? What about the location makes it especially attractive?

Currently inside the LBJ loop. Most recently in East Dallas. There is a laid back, sensational vibrancy. How is that for a dichotomy? It is close to a huge amount of the best entertainment Dallas has to offer while at the same time being in a quiet neighborhood. It easily allows one to dictate the pace of their lifestyle rather than the roller coaster dictating to you.

What’s your go-to architectural style? Traditional? Contemporary? Old World? Modern?

I have always loved Old World styles since living in New Orleans for five years as a kid. I was steeped in it. But I also love transitional contemporary because of the order to the chaos it implies to our insanely busy lifestyles.

 

How does your company provide value to your clients?

I build houses that are at a much higher standard than typical houses. By that I mean, particularly that which one cannot see (inside the walls, roof, and foundation) and might not consider as relevant to a typical buyer, is built to an extremely high standard and I will do it at a competitive price. I do this through the use of Structurally Insulated Panels, and Tella Firma suspended slab foundations.

Have you received any recent awards? What for? From whom?

I am currently a finalist in three categories for the SIPA Excellence in Building Awards: Best Addition for a remodel up in Lucas, best High-Performance House for a Dallas house, and Best house under 3,000 square feet for the same house in Dallas. This is an international competition so it is a huge honor just to be in the conversation. I know that two other finalists are from Australia and often some are from Europe. It will be interesting to see how things shake out when the winners are announced in March. The winners are always outstanding.

Considering the competition, how does your brand distinguish itself?

I build a house to last 500 years as opposed to stick-built houses, which are designed to last 60 to 80 years. I fully expect my house to perform in 300 years just as it performs the day I hand it off to a client. With stick-built houses, you are lucky if they perform the same way after five to 10 years.

What does being a member of the Dallas Builders Association do for you and your business?

I am an executive officer of the DBA because I firmly believe in the work the association has done over the last 75 years and is currently doing.

1. The educational opportunities are outstanding. I am scared to think about how non-member builders and trades are keeping up with the educational demands of the ever-changing and increasingly more stringent codes. I walk through houses all the time and I am shocked and stunned by what I see that the buyer will never see and would not reasonably understand if they did see it.

2. The governmental advocacy work being done by the association at the national, state, and local level is incredible and is saving the public huge amounts of money and aggravation to buy a home.

What is the biggest challenge you face in the current market? What are you doing to overcome it?

The labor shortage over the last several years has been brutal, particularly in the last year because of hurricanes Harvey and to a lesser extent Michael. I build fewer houses per year (typically no more than 2 homes/year) so I can spend more time onsite overseeing progress. I also give clients a very realistic view, regardless of how dark of a picture, of the market and what to expect on the front end so the expectations will be set accordingly. This last year was far crazier than builders have ever seen the labor shortage.