Nikari Homes’ Chad La Pointe on how strong systems, transparent budgets, and clear communication build award-winning homes—plus the story behind The Cat’s Meow. Listen now!
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Production: Rami Films
About the Speaker
Chad La Pointe, Founder, Nikari Homes
Company founder and skilled craftsman Chad La Pointe has a passion for creating beautiful spaces, and the experience to bring your dreams and ideas to life. Chad has not only been building and managing high-end custom homes for the past 10 years, but also holds over 20 years of experience and trusted relationships in the construction industry. Chad has a thirst for knowledge and holds many tools in his toolbox: a Red Seal in Carpentry, various management courses and training specific to construction, expertise in project and operations management working for large development companies in the past, as well as experience running his own business. This building experience and a drive to do more, combined with the exhilaration made possible by the handing of keys to the thrilled owners of a new home is what brought Nikari Homes into being. He operates on the philosophy that clear communication, realistic budgets, transparent invoicing, excellent trades, organization and support are the keys to any successful project. With the heart of each of these aspects in mind, Nikari Homes has simplified the building experience for our clients and it has resulted in our easy-to-follow process we have termed The Nikari Way.
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Here's the Full Transcript of this Episode
Ep_84
0:00:03
Mike
Hey everybody, welcome back to Measure Twice, Cut Once. My name is Mike, and thanks to this show, I’m the guy who knows just enough to be dangerous.
0:00:09
Jennifer
And I’m Jennifer Lee, here to keep Mike from cutting corners, literally and figuratively.
0:00:15
Mike
And we’re going to be talking all about high -performance building, designer trends, breaking down housing regulations, you know, all the fun stuff.
0:00:23
Jennifer
Fun for us, but seriously, if you’re a homeowner looking to leverage your housing equity or future -proof your home, we’ve got you covered. We promise it’s less complicated than it sounds.
0:00:33
Mike
I trust me, it’s fun for everyone. You just got to listen to the show and follow along. And today is going to be absolutely no exception. Today’s guest is Chad La Pointe from Nikari Homes, who’s here to talk to us about the importance of having systems in place to deliver the best outcome for the homeowner. And this is going to be exciting one because Chad and I have been talking for a few months now and I’ve got to know him. He has a huge amount of great insight to share with us.
0:00:54
Mike
And this is going to be a phenomenal conversation.
0:00:57
Jennifer
So grab a notepad or I don’t know, to be honest, whatever you write on nowadays, tablet, I don’t know.
0:01:02
Mike
Join us for measure twice and cut once because twice is just too much work.
0:01:12
Jennifer
Twice is a fail. Today’s guest is Chad La Pointe of Nikari Homes.
0:01:16
Chad
This year we were the finalists for Two projects through HAVAN, Best New Renovated Space and Best Special Feature, Newer Renovated. And we were also finalists for Renovator of the Year through the Georgie Awards and Best Any Room, Newer Renovated.
0:01:32
Mike
Which is phenomenal because it’s really hard to win an award. There are so many homes built here and to be of that select group really speaks to the workmanship, to the quality and the passion you bring to a project. So congratulations. That’s no small feat on a company as new as yours.
0:01:48
Chad
Thank you.
0:01:48
Mike
And you should give yourself a little pat on the back when you leave today. I’m coming to you wanting to create my dream house. Do you want me to go and see a designer or architect first, then come to you with a completed solution, or do you prefer to guide me through that process? Like what’s better for you as a builder?
0:02:04
Chad
Typically it’s better if you have the builder in place originally, so that while the design is taking place, you can work with the team to design the house based on what your overall goals are.
0:02:14
Mike
Okay.
0:02:18
Chad
Typically the clients have a particular budget in mind, or they have a series of things that they want done and the builder can kind of help go over with the architect and designer, what is possible and what will fit into their budgets.
0:02:32
Mike
Before we talk about the project itself, which is called the cat’s meow. How the heck did you come up with that name?
0:02:41
Jennifer
I know why, because I, because he has two cats, but not just, I looked at this project, the kit, the room has like a special cat door, right?
0:02:49
Chad
It does. Yeah.
0:02:50
Jennifer
So the, the original design was for the laundry room so that they could house the mechanical cat litter box for the cats and mechanical.
0:03:02
Chad
Yes.
0:03:02
(Speaker 6)
So does it clean itself?
0:03:03
Chad
It does clean. Yeah. So the room was designed around this piece of machinery and the thought was, well, how are the cats going to get in and out without, with a door there? So the designer created the key hole in the door so that the cats can come and go. Um, the cats meow came from when we were doing the awards entries, because a lot of the pictures, actually the cats were in it.
0:03:26
Jennifer
And so a lot of the entry photos.
0:03:28
(Speaker 11)
The client’s cat was in the photo.
0:03:31
Mike
No wonder you got nominated. Cute kittens.
0:03:34
(Speaker 10)
Well, it was an amazing project too, but I always, I’m always curious about how each person names their projects.
0:03:40
(Speaker 9)
And in the back of my mind, I’m going, well, what am I going to name my project?
0:03:43
Mike
Right. Dog, dog’s bark. I was going to throw everyone for a loop and call it operation Thunderhawk, but M we’ll see. So we have to take a quick break to thank our awesome sponsors.
0:04:02
Jennifer
But when we get back, we’re going to talk about what it takes to be a successful builder, what are some of the elements you put into place behind the scenes in order to ensure that process is continuous throughout the entire experience for a homeowner. So we’ll be back in a couple of minutes, OK? Measure Twice Cut Once is grateful to our podcast partners FortisBC, BC Housing, and Trail Appliances.
Support from our partners helps us share expert knowledge and resources with families looking to build, design, and renovate the home right for you.
For BC Housing, creating access to housing solutions that meets everyone’s needs is a guiding principle. BC Housing is working with governments, nonprofits, and residential construction industry members to create practical solutions to BC’s housing challenges. To learn more about BC Housing initiative programs and services, go to www.bchousing.org. And we all need reliable and efficient equipment for better comfort, health and safety of our homes. Whether you want to adopt some energy saving habits or take on a major energy efficiency upgrade, FortisBC can help you save energy. Be sure to go to FortisBC.com where you can also find amazing tips on low and no cost ways to save energy.
Plus great information on what FortisBC is doing on low carbon energy with solutions such as renewable natural gas. Trail Appliances makes everyday life better with the best selection in Western Canada. Hassle -free delivery and a price match guarantee. You’ll always get the best deal. At Trail Appliances, you’ll love buying an appliance as much as you’ll love using it. Affordable, accessible, quality housing is a top of mind issue for many British Columbians.
0:05:59
Mike
All right, we are back. And one of the first things I had to learn when I joined this industry about six years ago was Becoming a successful builder is more than just technical skills. There is a certain amount of business acumen and management skills require as well.
So I’d like to go on a little journey and talk a little about like that conversation, because I think a lot of people watching, you know, they’re, they’re looking at the process. And if we sort of peel back the plastic curtain, as it were, what goes behind all of that in order for you to do what you got to do. So let’s talk about your experience and what skills are required to be a successful builder, because it’s a lot more than just putting that house together. Can you talk about some of the things in the skill set that you brought that make you successful with your company and that helped create these great projects?
0:06:18
Chad
I think one of the big items that we pride ourselves on is having a very organized billing system and an organized office. A lot of the stuff that clients don’t see is the behind the scenes, the time that you have to spend in the office to order everything, to secure the materials that are needed, and then of course managing their budgets. We use a budget software, it’s called BuildXact, and it allows us to take the drawings, the architectural and design drawings, and enter them into the program.
0:07:13
Mike
And we’re able to pull actual measurements from the program to create our budgets.
0:07:19
Chad
So we can create linear feet of drywall, square footage of flooring, square footage of drywall, and we can enter them as line items in our budget so that we know exactly what we’re pricing and why we’re pricing it. For people who don’t know, there’s that method or sort of just estimating, right? Yes, it’s so that’s one of the things to look forward to when hiring a builder is when you’re looking at a budget, some some builders just estimate.
0:07:45
Mike
You want to look at a budget and not see a whole bunch of zeros at the end of the numbers.
0:07:49
Chad
You’ll know that they haven’t received quotes or that they put the time in to figure out what the actual costs are for these items. Why is that important? It’s important because you don’t know if you’re actually going to have an accurate budget.
0:08:01
Jennifer
You’re going to end up getting a Numbers at the end of the job or they’re gonna try and mark it up at the end saying well We didn’t realize that or we didn’t see that To have an accurate budget. You should be getting quotes from all of your sub trades so that The numbers are reflected in the budget and they’re accurate because the sub trades are going to be the ones essentially doing the work at the end of the day But it’s always a tricky one because You know, we don’t love it when the budget goes up and we want to know exactly what we’re doing. So it’s really important to have a system in place that is very well thought of.
0:08:38
(Speaker 5)
Budget is a hard pill for most clients to swallow because, you know, we would love it if everything could be for free.
0:08:45
Chad
But having someone lay it out for you in a proper way of what each person’s doing and what the cost is, it’s probably easier for the client to be like, OK, now I understand what I’m paying for. Yes. That’s part of the reason why we provide those detailed estimates as well and budgets is because We find that the relationship throughout the build is better when a client knows what they’re going to be spending and that there’s no surprises. And I’ve been in situations where the budgets have been done and they weren’t done accurately and the clients are upset and they’re trying to figure out, well, why? You should know this business. You should know what’s going on.
0:09:28
Chad
You should know what it costs to build something.
0:09:30
Jennifer
And oftentimes it’s because Some people keep their numbers low so that they win the bid. And that’s always a tricky part in this business because initially people are bidding low so that they can get the work, but then we try to build accurate or bid accurate so that we can keep the relationship throughout the job. Yeah, because it’s a hard thing too. You can’t, you also have to know that there could be some unforeseen stuff too. And it’s about having that communication with the client because there’s sometimes, especially in a renovation, you have an idea. what could happen.
0:10:08
Jennifer
But sometimes there are some things that weren’t documented properly beforehand by the, not the state, but just naturally.
0:10:16
Chad
And then all of a sudden you find something and you’ve got to be able to pump the budget up. But again, you have to have that communication with the client. Yeah. And we’ve run into situations like that before where we’ve, uh, we were working on an old 1910 house and someone had come in and renovated it. And the clients are like, we want to do some renovations. We want to change out the flooring.
0:10:36
Chad
And we’re like, sure. You know, everything looked good. We’ll just swap out the floor. But then when you pulled the flooring, you saw that, you know, they shimmed it in a whole bunch of locations and the flooring was really at a level. And, um, the new flooring that was going in, the manufacturer wouldn’t have warrantied it because of how out the flooring was. So. We had to have a conversation with the client of like, we need to make this better. We need to make sure that you’re getting a good product at the end of the day, and this is what it’s going to cost. they understood and they were happy to keep moving along. Yeah. And again, it’s hard for sometimes we’re like, Oh, why, why didn’t you know that?
0:11:10
Mike
But then again, at the end of the day, you don’t have like a crystal ball and you can’t know. It’s just, it’s about how you handle it because at the end of the day, yeah, that sucks to put more work in it, but you want your floor to be level and you want it to be great. You don’t want to be doing marbles on it. So. Well, and this is the thing that people don’t understand unless you’ve been through renovation is there’s always that X factor. Even a new home being built, there’s that X factor.
Let me tell you why. First of all, the price of materials fluctuates significantly, usually up. But nonetheless, they change. So when we start having this conversation a year from now, and then we apply for a permit, there’s a lot of shift that can happen during that time. But the other part, and I’d love to chat with you a little bit more about this, is our trades. We have some phenomenally talented trades working in the field, but there’s not enough of them.
0:11:59
Chad
And sometimes it’s trying to juggle multiple trades on site. So can you talk a little about the relationship between how you manage your trades and your team and how that correlates to how you manage the budget for the project overall? Because it’s a lot more than just the lumber and the hardware. Yeah, so I’ve been lucky. Throughout my career, I’ve managed to keep working with the same trades and some of them I’ve known for 10 years. So we have a good relationship.
0:12:25
Chad
We have a good understanding. We know what works when we’re working together. We know what our expectations are of each other. The budgeting factor is good.
It works for me because I will submit drawings to them and they’ll provide me with quotes. And once I have these quotes, I’ll enter them into my budgets and then my office staff will keep an eye on those budgets. They will track the payments, they’ll track the invoices and make sure that we’re staying on budget for those quotes through our subtrades. And another big part of it besides having the trades is having your own staff.
0:13:01
Chad
Do you find it hard to find skilled workers? Because I know that’s kind of like even in any construction company, and I grew up in a construction company, it’s always hard to find those people that are skilled workers. And recently, a lot of people are finding that it’s harder in the construction industry. We’ve definitely run into struggles with that, finding good people. is difficult, especially during COVID because it was crazy and you couldn’t find anybody. We were having to pay quite a bit more for wages just to bring someone to the table.
I’ve found that just bringing people in for the sake of having them isn’t a great idea. I’ve tried that, didn’t work out. Honestly, lately we’ve had to rely a lot on sub -trades. And they’ve been busy too, though. That’s the problem is in the last few years, everyone’s been so busy.
0:13:54
Jennifer
So I know sometimes when I’ve had to phone on behalf of my parents’ company, it’s like, oh, we can accept a project in two to three years. So how do you also do that? Like deal with that? Yeah, we haven’t had that many issues with that. When I say we bring in sub -trades, like for demolition, for example, I know staffing companies that have good quality guys that they just They basically sub out to companies.
0:14:16
Chad
I’ve worked with good framing companies that I haven’t had an issue with.
I make sure to schedule them early enough that they know it’s coming and so that there’s no delays.
I think the time management is a big thing in keeping, making sure that you’re making all your subs aware of what’s happening and what the schedule is.
0:14:35
Chad
Yeah. And again, having those relationships with people too. Yes. It makes a big difference.
0:14:38
Mike
Well, it’s not just relationships. It’s also conversations. And this is a great segue into, some of the conversations that people should be having with you as the builder, especially when we’re talking about securing quotes. If there’s one question you wished every prospective homeowner you worked with asked, what would that question be, do you think? I guess the big one would be, have you been successful in your previous projects? Are your clients happy with you?
0:15:06
Chad
That would be one good way of them determining if they would be interested in working with us.
0:15:15
Mike
Yeah, it’s a tough one.
0:15:16
Chad
I’m never sure exactly what clients are interested in. Some are interested in the budget, some are interested in the quality of the work. So it varies quite a bit. So are there systems of communication that we as homeowners should be employing when we’re working with someone like you? We typically create systems for them so that they can keep track of their budgets throughout the job.
0:15:39
Mike
We have our ongoing budgets that we show what the initial budgets were, what the actual cost was, and if there was any changes that were required throughout. And we also create spreadsheets for them to show what their payment progress has been. So every invoice number and every payment that’s been done throughout the job.
0:16:01
Chad
So that paperwork and that accounting is easy for them to look at and find. So it sounds like it’s just another way to help manage the cash flow throughout the project and drive transparency through the project as well. So when it comes to communication, when it comes to how you keep everybody updated throughout the process, what’s the preferred method of communication? Like what systems are in place to make sure this is a cohesive and smooth process throughout and that all parties get what they need out of this project? The big thing for us initially is to make sure that the clients know that they can get ahold of us at any time.
0:16:41
Chad
We’re always available. We’re always answering our phones. The other part of it is that our software, the Build Xact software, allows for a client portal so that they can keep track of progress. So we take progress photos throughout so that the client can see what’s going on without necessarily picking up the phone and saying, hey, you know, what’s happening with my project?
0:17:04
Chad
I think that’s so important because sometimes, not everyone, sometimes the job sites with some builders they don’t ever have activity on it. And you’re a great builder and obviously great reputation, won a lot of awards. It’s nice that you’re actually showing like, hey, we’re actually on your site working. We’re actually doing something, progress is happening. Yeah, I find that clients really respond well to constant communication. They really like to see that we’re engaged and that we’re showing them what’s happening.
0:17:35
Chad
They’re always concerned. They wanna know what to make sure that the project’s moving along. You asked earlier about questions clients should ask builder and oftentimes it’s, you know, what does the builder do behind the scenes? How are they managing your project?
How are they looking after it?
How do they schedule it? How many employees are working on it? You know, who’s, who’s actually going to be managing my project? Um, are you going to be on the site?
0:18:02
Jennifer
Like, yeah, and that’s often another question. Are you actually going to be the one doing it or do you have a staff that’s going to be doing it? And, For us, I have a second in command and he manages all my projects. And we talk continually throughout like almost every day about every project to make sure it’s on track and that things are moving as they should.
0:18:22
Jennifer
But that’s so important to let people know, because I know sometimes people will go to an interview with a builder and they will be like, oh, I love this guy. Like I gel with them. And then the builder won’t tell them. And all of a sudden they’re like, this is your project and this is, so -and -so and they’re going to be managing and they’re like, Oh, that’s not who I wanted. Yeah.
0:18:39
Chad
And I’ve found that throughout the year, because that’s happened in the last company I work with, where the clients were being sold by the owner of the company and then the project managers would come in. So what I’ve done is I bring my project manager to the meetings. Um, I want the clients to get a sense of who we are and who they’ll be working with. And it, uh, it creates less issues throughout the job for sure. Well, that’s really important because. As a homeowner, we did that renovation tenure more than that, but it was really frustrating because there was days there’d be nobody on site.
0:19:12
Mike
And, you know, when you’re in the middle of renovation, it’s not. a cheap process. You often have to be staying someplace else. You want it to keep moving, right? And you don’t always understand why there’s gaps in labor. Maybe it’s just trades aren’t lining up.
0:19:24
Chad
So instead of waiting for someone to get frustrated by proactively keeping up to date as to what’s happening, you’ve taken away one of the biggest pain points of a project for people. And I think that’s One of the hallmarks of a successful builder and renovator is not only they do great work, but they keep their clients up to date on what the process is. So there’s no surprises and there’s no upset because I don’t understand X, Y, or Z factors as to why. Maybe it’s just, we’re waiting for some cabinets for two weeks, but if I don’t see anyone on site for two weeks, how do you know, right? Exactly. Yeah.
0:19:54
Chad
And I find too, when there’s any major purchases that need to be done, we’re always getting approvals from clients prior to doing the actual ordering.
0:20:03
Jennifer
I’ve had it in the past where clients have said a builder just went ahead and ordered things and I didn’t actually know what was going on and I didn’t approve it. I didn’t like what took place and I didn’t want it.
0:20:14
Chad
So I avoid that by making sure that we have the clear communication. in place. And we kind of alluded to it a little bit already, but like, how do you mitigate supply chain issues? Because sometimes clients don’t necessarily know like, oh, wait, okay, things are taking longer to get to site. Yeah, so we, since COVID, we’ve learned a few things about supply chain issues. And the biggest issues we have is making sure that our rough ends are in place.
0:20:41
Chad
We go through and make sure that we order all of our plumbing really early of the job so that everything’s there by the time we need it. We’ve really made sure to stay on top of that because there’s nothing worse than being delayed for something. During the project, the Cat’s Meow, most of that house was full of marble.
0:20:58
Chad
And the company doing the manufacturing of the marble and doing the installs, their CNC machine broke down. And they couldn’t get parts for it. And it delayed us for months. and it was just because of the marble. That’s a tough pill to swallow but I think people understand those things. I think what people don’t understand is the why and so you’ve done a really good job of addressing that.
0:21:21
Mike
I had no doubt that that when you were going to come on the show, it was going to be an awesome conversation. You have not disappointed my friend. And there’s so much great information we talked about today. The things that really stuck out to me is when you started talking about how to get your team in place and when you’re working with the right builder, they can build the rest of the team, the architects, the designers, and the trades around you. Absolutely love learning how you came up with the name for the Cats Meow project and sell the elements that went into it. Um, great conversation about billing, budgeting, expectations, and managing communications as well.
0:21:54
Jennifer
So phenomenal conversation.
I think you’ve shared a lot of really great insight. And for someone who’s thinking about a project, you’ve given them a lot of skills to help them select the right builder or renovator so that everyone gets an experience similar to what you and your company provide as well. At least that’s, that’s the end goal, right? Yeah. And you already gave us so many great tips today, but can you give us one more little piece of advice before we go?
0:22:21
Chad
I guess the big one would be when you’re meeting with your builders, just make sure that you have, you know, you enjoy being with them or you’re going to enjoy working with them. You’re going to be with them probably for six months to a year, depending on the size of your project. And you want to make sure that it goes well and you don’t, and that you get along with these people. So I would say, A lot of the people in this industry use a lot of the same trades.
0:22:46
Chad
So a lot of it is about relationships and who you get along with and who you want to work with. Great answer.
0:22:53
Mike
I have one more question for you.
Very important.
Do your cats have this like motorized litter box and do you have like a cool area to hide it?
Chad
I don’t know what they have in their litter box. box? You have a puppy now. You don’t. That’s the reason we call ours the vending machine.
0:23:13
Mike
And on that note, it has been a great conversation. And, you know, there’s one thing I have to do still. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of this podcast. We have to give someone a barbecue. So obviously, if you’re sitting with us as part of our audience and you’ve gotten this far, There’s been some great information. There’s probably some people in your life who’d love to learn more about some of the information Chad was providing us for today.
0:23:37
Mike
Well, you, your friends, your family can all enjoy our podcast and be entered for the chance to win an amazing Napoleon Prestige P500 stainless steel natural gas barbecue valued at $1 ,600. Compliments of our podcast partners, FortisBC. Just like and share this episode. Go to HAVAN.ca/measuretwicecutonce follow the dancing ball and do the rest. And for notes and links to everything mentioned on today’s episode, including resources shared by Chad, go to HAVAN.ca/measuretwicecutonce. Thank you to Trail Appliances, FortisBC, BC Housing, Raimi Films, jpod Creations, and AI Technology and Design. It takes a team to build a home and it also takes a team to build a podcast. Thank you so much for joining us and see you next week.
