Well, good morning East Tennessee.
Boy, it's a great day to be at Tennessee Vol, right?
Hosting Texas A&M, should be a good game.
Should be beautiful weather.
That's the best part, beautiful weather.
That's really what we're looking for.
Hey, my name is Scott Brockamp.
I am your host for Around the House here on News Talk 98.7.
I am one of the owners of his security and technology
and we are your local source for all things, well,
security and technology related.
There's a lot going on this weekend,
besides the fact that, well, we're hosting Texas A&M today.
Kickoff is at 3.30.
If you don't have tickets, you can catch the game on CBS
and on WIVK, the flagship station of the Vol Network.
The Dixie Lee Farmer's Market is open for just three more
Saturdays.
The market is on Kingston Pike near Renaissance,
Farragut and open today from nine to noon.
Also one of my favorites, Boo at the Zoo
is open from 5.30 to eight at Zoo Knoxville.
Tonight, Star Wars characters will
be roaming the zoo as part of the entertainment.
This 37-year tradition is fun for kids of all ages.
And yes, that includes grown-up children like me.
To get your tickets and find a complete list of events
happening around your house today, go to visitnoxville.com.
That's visitnoxville.com.
So if you listened to us last week,
we have another, well, long-standing tradition
that is happening this last weekend, this weekend,
and next weekend.
And that is the Home Builders Association of Greater
Knoxville Parade of Homes.
This is the 40th, what, 42nd year?
43rd.
42nd.
42nd?
42nd.
42nd year.
That's, well, that's longer than Boo at the Zoo.
So only by a few years.
It'll wait.
But if you were listening last week,
we were talking about some of the exciting homes
that are in the parade.
And well, we're going to recap some of those homes
a little bit this morning as I have my great guest with me
again this weekend.
We have Lisa from Ferguson and Becky from, well,
Lewis Construction.
Good morning, ladies.
Good morning.
How are you all doing?
Good.
Great.
It's a hectic day today.
I'm just going to tell you.
On the drive in here, I already saw
people pulling into the stadium getting ready to tailgate.
Man.
Man, this is early.
Well, that's where I'm headed afterwards.
I'm going to go get ready for tailgate.
Yeah.
Yeah, we actually are.
We're going to be set up at Circle Park in Vaughn Village
today.
So yeah, I'm right there with you.
I'm going to leave here and go down to the stadium.
You know, that's, I'm just going to say,
that's one of the things, like myself,
I'm not originally from here.
Now, I've lived in the South longer
and I've lived anywhere else.
But one of the cool things is just
the culture and the nature of, well, Saturdays here
in the fall.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
You know what I mean?
Game day is just, I mean, you're all in.
I mean, you just don't have a choice.
Yeah, there's this electricity in the air.
Everybody's excited.
Everybody's out there supporting our team.
It's just great.
It really is.
And speaking of supporting our team,
you guys are here in support of the Home Builders Association
of Greater Knoxville.
Both of you have been longstanding,
longtime members.
And well, quite frankly, I think,
is there a position that y'all haven't really
fulfilled in the volunteer capacity at the Home Builders
Association?
No, well, Becky is going to be our president next year,
which is exciting.
And I'm on the executive board.
And I've been nominated to get on the ladder
to become president in three years.
So I mean, that would be, I guess,
we're fulfilling our last things.
But we're right now getting ready.
We're gearing up for our holiday party and the parade
and membership.
I guess we have been on almost all the committees.
Yeah.
Or we give opinions on all the committees.
Yeah.
I mean, that's the important thing, right?
As long as you can give your opinion on it,
it's really what matters.
Yeah.
So all right.
We talked last week about we're going
to discuss some of the homes that were looked at this week.
So well, what do you got?
We've got 33, 32, 33.
33 homes to look at and walk through.
So they're all in person.
They're not virtual.
So you can go in there and see for yourselves
the different trends, just new builds
if you're looking for a builder, a remodeler, ideas.
Lisa's been in a handful of them.
So she'll definitely be able to talk about what's
trending right now.
Well, I noticed in my travels this past week and last week
that the trend of gold in fixtures, in hardware,
and all of that, it's either the bright gold
or it's the softer satin gold, is still very, very heavy.
A lot of people are moving into almost a burnished color now.
And in my regular world where I sell plumbing, lighting,
and appliances, people are still really heavy on the gold.
Gold and black, I mean, almost everybody walks in and says,
I love gold.
I love black.
So that's really good still.
But I noticed.
Just tell me the brass is not coming back.
It is.
But it's the unlackered.
Everybody likes the unlackered brass that's
going to change and live.
So it looks like you have something
antique in your house or old.
And I think that's a really, really pretty look,
especially if you can let it go and let it become
its natural self, wallpaper.
I was in a house.
And Rarity Bay yesterday, I walked down into the rec room.
And I looked.
And I had been in this house several times,
because they're one of my clients.
And I looked at the wall.
And I said, oh, they bricked that wall.
And I walked in the room.
And I was like, that brick looks weird.
And I said, it's just so perfect.
I was like, how did they get this brick so perfect?
And I walked up closer to it to touch it.
It was wallpaper.
So it was perfect brick wallpaper.
But from far away, and even I didn't
realize it was wallpaper until I got about three feet from it.
And this customer did such a good job with wallpaper
that I went into the laundry room.
And it was wallpaper in the laundry room.
And I was like, what a pretty tile to the person
I was walking through with.
And when we went back in and were talking to the builder,
he said, what did you think about the tile
in the laundry room?
I had to go back in there and touch it
to feel that it was not.
So it's very realistic looking wallpaper.
It's gold finishes, dark and moody.
Love dark and moody.
Dark and moody powder rooms.
In several of the houses, there's
this really beautiful gray people are using.
Oh, and stained wood.
A lot of stained wood doors, stained wood beams, mantels,
things like that.
People are using a lot of stained wood where leading up
to this, there was still a lot of paint in trim.
They're not really doing the wood trim as far as baseboard
and crown molding.
But the doors, they're painting around them.
And they're doing a beautiful natural wood door.
And then a lot of people are painting the doors.
Like your trim will be one color.
And then your doors will be painted a darker color,
which is a great trend.
It really makes everything pop.
It's not like you see a wall and then there's a door.
Everything's the color of the trim.
And then you see more wall.
And I don't think that would be too trendy to wear.
It's going to go out of style in five, 10 years.
No.
Because I mean, first of all, paint is amazing.
Use paint.
I mean, I know for a long time.
And white is still pretty.
And I love white.
But take advantage of color.
Yes, color changes your mood.
The best thing about paint is that when trends change,
you can change the paint.
Yes.
It's, you know, I mean, like.
As a builder, paint is probably one of my favorite things
because of that.
It fixes everything.
Well, and we also, you know, what I always tell my customers
is if they're not, you know, if they're
going to have one room in their house,
that they're going to do something kind of out there.
And while doing your powder room,
you can do a lot of things in a powder room
because it's just a toilet and a sink.
You don't have to change any tile or shower
fixtures or things like that that are really hard to change.
But you can change your light fixture very easily.
You can change the paint in there very easily.
You can even, you know, it's not as expensive to change
your vanity out of there.
So if you want to try for something,
like a bright blue vanity or something,
your powder room's the place to do it.
Yeah, you can.
So go get crazy.
That way you can just shut the door if you don't like it,
right?
Yes.
And I've noticed that in these houses,
that the powder rooms are extraordinary.
It's really great.
In a minute, we'll talk about some kitchens.
There we go.
So if you're listening this morning
and you're thinking about some remodel ideas,
maybe you're in the market to buy a new home.
Now is the time to check out what's available here
in our Knoxville area.
33 homes on display through the Home Builders of Knoxville
Parade of Homes.
We are going to take a short break.
And when we come back, as Lisa said,
we're going to dive into some kitchens and some other trends
and cool things that you will see in this year's parade.
We'll be right back here on Around the House
with Scott Brokamp on News Talk 98.7 WOKI.
Welcome back to Around the House.
If you're just joining us, we are talking the Parade of Homes,
Knoxville's 42nd anniversary of the Parade of Homes
put on by the Home Builders Association of Greater
Knoxville, sponsored by ORNL Federal Credit Union
and Tindles.
This is just an absolutely amazing event
that the Home Builders Association puts on.
And this is a great opportunity if you're
looking for some ideas on remodeling.
Maybe you're looking to build.
Maybe you're looking for a builder or remodeler.
A lot of these builders not only build new homes,
but they also have do remodeling or have
a division that does remodeling.
Great opportunity for you to be able to check out
33 different homes throughout.
What are we at least, the seven counties?
Yes, we are.
We are.
We're in seven counties this year.
We haven't been up and have a presence in like the Morristown,
Hamlin County area.
We have it there.
We've always had Loudon, Blount, Knox,
and some of the other surrounding counties.
But as far as I can recollect, I don't
remember being in Morristown and Hamlin County.
So I'm headed up there next Friday.
Oh, there you go.
I'm excited about going up and seeing what we have up there.
Well, Becky, I'm going to turn to you a minute
because being in the industry myself, one
of the biggest challenges, and I don't know
that people understand this, but when you build a parade home,
there's a deadline to have this home done.
Yes.
And obviously, pre-COVID, deadlines
were somewhat flexible, but you could
rely on things being there.
You could rely on workers doing their jobs, timelines.
You could set a date on a contract
and realistically meet that date.
I know nowadays, it's not so.
I mean, just like in our business,
every time you turn around, there's this one part
that you've been able to get for months on end,
and now all of a sudden it's on back order.
So as a builder, Express, share with us
how difficult it is to hit these deadlines
and still produce such an immaculate product.
Yeah, it's not easy, and there's a lot of stress
that goes into it because these builders are putting everything
that they have into these homes.
I mean, they're showcasing their work and their talent,
and so they want it to be perfect.
And so yeah, exact same thing.
Someone tells you, oh, we'll have that for you in two weeks.
You give them a two-week notice, and then all of a sudden
you're waiting another two weeks.
And it's a domino effect.
So if one thing doesn't come in and you can't install it
or do it, then that holds up a whole list of other subs
and products that you can't put into the house.
So the builders that are showcasing their homes,
no doubt they've been living in stress.
And some of them may be doing touch-ups during the week
in between parades still that you don't even know about.
But a lot of them worked really hard.
Their houses are showcased beautifully
and their talent shows for sure.
No, absolutely.
And they'll smile.
You won't even know how stressed they were.
They'll still smile and be like, look what we got for you.
Well, again, I think it's important for people
to understand.
So when you're touring these homes,
a lot of times things are spec'd to go into this house
that maybe for some reason they just couldn't get it.
All right.
I know in our world that anytime we talk about
an electronic or an actual product
when we're dealing with new construction clients,
I'll let everybody know up front,
when you get in, when you close on this home,
we'll figure out what electronics we're gonna put in there.
Because we could talk today
and that part may not be available anymore.
It may get end of life.
There may be the new version out.
Things are constantly changing and constantly evolving.
And I know that, especially in the electronics world
and the technology side, through COVID,
it gave a lot of companies a lot of opportunity
to essentially revamp their whole entire product line.
And I know that has happened in some lighting
and some plumbing areas as well.
And so it's neat to see how some of these builders
just make that adjustment on the fly.
And you have to.
I don't have any homes in the parade this year,
but homes that I have built,
even our suppliers are left in the dark until last minute.
And we were finishing a house
and we had our floor ordered and we were ready.
And our poor supplier actually had a delivery date.
And then when it didn't show, she had a call
and they were like, oh no, that's been discontinued.
So, and I have a closing.
And so I'm like, no, I need flooring in this house.
And real quick, we had be like, okay,
who can get me realistically just show me the flooring
that you know 100% that can come in
in the next week or two.
And we're just gonna have to pick from that flooring.
So yeah, you're right.
It's scary, it's frustrating.
It's kind of our sadly our new reality now,
but yeah, you've got to be able to adjust and be flexible.
You have to be flexible.
We have a saying at the office.
Oh shoot, I'm gonna screw it up too.
Kenny-
That's a great saying.
Well, yeah, and that.
Kenny always expect the unexpected
because something's always gonna change.
It is.
Yeah, I mean it is.
And at least I know that on the supplier end of these things
that again, being on my side as a contractor,
I know how vital that communication is.
It is, it is.
And a lot of times lately, it's getting better.
I will say across the board, it is getting better.
We still have a lot of these, oh yes, we discontinued that.
And this is the new model
and you really can't tell the difference
and it's $200 more, but it's just something
that they had to change.
Or I think a lot of suppliers to us,
a lot of our vendors used COVID as an opportunity
to really look at what they were selling
and what they were not
and getting rid of the things that we're not selling.
So they could have more supply of the items
that people really liked, which is wonderful.
But I still have several vendors
that it's taking over a year to 18 months
to get materials from them.
And that is a really hard thing for customers to understand
because we don't have a room in the back of our showroom
where we go and make all these products.
We order them from vendors
and we are reliant on them to give us their best guess
of when it will come to me,
which is what I pass on to my customers.
And sometimes it's just not correct
because some of these things are coming from Italy,
some are coming from France,
some are just coming from Arizona.
So you just don't know what you don't know.
And I think a lot of my vendors are still having trouble
getting components from people that they buy from.
So it's just a really difficult place we're in right now.
And a lot of that is due to our labor shortage
across basically the world.
There's a labor shortage.
And we try really hard through the Home Builders Association
to support workforce development
and get kids to understand that there are good paying jobs
in all of the construction industries.
You don't have to wanna be a builder.
You could do HVAC, you could do plumbing,
you could do electrical.
You could just be a framer,
you could just be a trim person,
somebody who really loves working with wood
or who is very artistically inclined.
Being a trim carpenter is an amazing thing.
Some of these houses, one in particular I'm thinking of,
have some amazing trims on the walls.
Like it's almost like art on the wall,
but it's done all with trim.
And it is just stunning that you could make
one whole room in a house look like art
just by the way you apply wood to the wall.
And it's a very, you know,
I feel like that would be a very fulfilling thing.
I wish I was inclined that way.
I'm not.
I mean, I'm really bad as far as working with my hands,
but I can do other things.
But there are those people out there
and there's a place for everyone
in the construction industry.
Hey, you're great with working with your hands.
I've seen you.
The product comes in and you deliver it right there
to your client.
That's right.
I'm good at carrying things.
I'm good at stacking.
It's just a matter of perspective.
It's all how you look at it.
Yeah.
We didn't touch on how people can get books
for the Parade of Homes.
They can get the Parade of Homes book
that they can look at all the,
it has all the house plans in it.
It has directions.
It has information about the builder.
Those are ORNL and Tindles and every parade house.
And Becky, what is the website?
Theparadeofhomesnoxville.com.
Yes.
And you can look at the book online too.
So if you aren't stopping by any one of those places
before you get to a house to grab a physical one,
then you can get on there and see where the houses are,
who's built them, their price range.
Now there'll be pictures of the outside of the house,
like a rendering of the outside of the house,
but you have to go to the house to see it,
to see all the trim details on the wall,
the moody bathrooms and kitchens.
You're gonna talk about kitchen.
Yeah, no sneak peek in the magazine.
No, yeah, no sneak peek.
You've got to go check it out.
Is actually though a YouTuber,
and I have heard this through the grapevine,
so I don't know how to find it,
but there was a YouTuber that came through Knoxville
this past week that all he does is go to parade houses.
And he went to three of the parade homes
and did YouTube videos on them
talking about all the features of the homes.
And so somewhere online on YouTube, you can find that,
but he does that as his YouTube channel.
He goes to different parade homes across the country.
So if you're really interested in homes and design,
that might be a great YouTube channel to look at,
but I have no idea what his name is,
but I'm hoping that you could just maybe go
Parade Home Guy on YouTube and find him.
Let's face it, at the end of the day,
these 33 beautiful homes just need people
to come walk through them.
So you can recap your visit when you find the YouTube guy.
How's that, right?
Yeah, we need to walk through these houses.
We need to show our builders in Knoxville some love.
But if you will go to, excuse me,
theparadeofhomesnoxville.com,
you will find a listing of all the homes.
You will find a map.
You will get directions.
It is a great resource and a great tool for,
well, helping you make it the tour
of this year's candidates of the parade of homes.
See what's going on, see what's new,
see the awesome trends.
And well, quite frankly, the workmanship
of probably your neighbor or somebody that you know,
because that's what I know,
is that we all, you know, look, we all live here.
We play here, we work here.
And most likely somebody you know
was involved in one of these homes.
We are gonna take a short break,
but when we come back, as Lisa promised previously,
we're gonna talk about kitchens, what's new, what's hot,
and what you're gonna see when you tour
these amazing parade homes here
in the parade of homes in Knoxville.
We'll be right back on Newstalk 98.7 WOKI.
Welcome back to Around the House.
I am Scott Brokamp.
And with me this morning, I have Becky Snyder,
the co-chair of the parade of homes.
Lisa Smith, the chair of the parade of homes.
No, we're co-chairs together.
Oh, you're just, I mean, nobody really wants
the responsibility, you're just gonna share.
Not single-handedly.
Yeah, not single-handedly.
We do a lot of that.
Becky and I are like.
Yeah.
It's all right, way to work together, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, we work together.
That's good, that's good.
Well, as we have been speaking,
we talked about it last week, this weekend,
the second weekend of the parade of homes.
So the homes are open from 12 to five.
They'll be open today, tomorrow from 12 to five,
and then next weekend is the final weekend
of the parade of homes.
So homes will be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
from 12 to five.
So make sure that you go to theparadeofhomesnoxville.com.
You can see where all these homes are located,
who the builders are, price ranges, et cetera.
There's a map right there available online
for you to find out how to get there.
But this is a great opportunity to look at new homes
in different areas.
As we mentioned earlier this morning,
in seven different counties,
there are homes that are on display.
And so maybe you're thinking of getting outside
of Knoxville, and this gives you a great opportunity
to look at some of the homes that are being built
in those areas, some of the communities
that are there as well.
One of the things that we wanna talk about,
we've put it off long enough.
Kitchens.
Lisa is here to tell us all about what,
well, obviously she's furnished a lot of these kitchens,
but she has been to a lot of the parade homes,
and she's gonna tell us about the trends that she has seen.
I am seeing so much still of the perimeter cabinets
being one color and the island still being a different color.
Whatever the predominant color
that's an accent color for the home,
they'll do the island in that color,
and then they'll do the wall perimeter cabinets
in a different color, which to me is really, really pretty.
I like that contrast in there.
It draws your eye in a little bit more.
I saw a lot of that.
I've seen a lot of metal, like cabinets
where there would be glass,
the glass cabinets that you normally see.
I've seen several homes that have had metal,
decorative metal in a different color
where that would have been.
Lots of, and this is new, probably,
we've been seeing it for about four or five years.
It's very prominent in this year's parade, a back kitchen.
It's not like your normal butler's pantry
where you would just have a little sink
and maybe some glassware or something to help you serve.
This is a full, like a back kitchen
where if you had a caterer, you were having a party,
and you were laying everything out in your kitchen,
a place you could put all the platters and things in,
all the platters and things that are coming out next.
So a lot of people in that back kitchen
have a sink and maybe a dishwasher.
So they'll have a second dishwasher outside the kitchen.
That just sounds like way too much work.
I don't know that I want that many people
at my house at one time.
You're not entertaining them.
To me, I always worry about the way my kitchen looks
on Thanksgiving when people get there
because I've been cooking all day
and I have the food prepared,
but then there's always that mess from cooking.
This way, you have a second dishwasher
that you can have going while people are eating
that have all your pots and pans
and things like that in it.
And it doesn't have to be as nice as your first dishwasher.
It can be just a dishwasher
that maybe doesn't have a third rack,
but it does have the soak and scrub for pots and pans.
So there's a lot of that I've seen.
I've seen a lot of butcher block tops.
Some have been left natural and some have been stained,
which is a really pretty look in pantries,
just regular pantries.
Another big thing that I saw yesterday
that was so pretty is in a kitchen,
they had the two doors that would be
for a regular pantry cabinet.
And when you walked through them,
they were actually like little double doors
for a door that you walked through
that took you into the pantry.
It was a little walk-in pantry.
We just did that on a remodel.
I love those.
Love that.
It looked so nice
and you didn't have just a random door in your kitchen.
It was part of the cabinetry.
And it looked really good.
Still see a lot of white kitchens,
lot of white kitchens out there.
I was gonna ask,
cause you're talking about people are starting
to go a little bit back to the woods
and the stains in the home.
I mean, not like the 70s oak, right?
We know how Scott feels about the 70s,
but not like the 70s oak,
but having more stain in the kitchen.
Cause that's, I mean,
that's what I'm just as a builder designer.
And like, and I don't,
I'm not good with making sure I'm like keeping up
with the latest and what's in designs,
like other designers,
but I love having that natural wood
and stains in the kitchen
and then mixing it with paint to painted cabinets.
There are a lot of houses that do have wood cabinets.
They have, and I was in house the other day,
yesterday actually,
that had almost every, the kitchen, the bathrooms,
every cabinet was different.
Like they had some wood mixed in their kitchen
with some painted cabinets.
The bathrooms had different colored cabinets.
Some were white, some were wood, some were like blue,
but that is still something
that people are doing a lot of things.
I felt like this year,
there was more personality in these houses.
Nothing was cookie cutter.
Everything was very designed.
It looked very nice.
Our builders have knocked it out of the park this year
as far as offering people ideas.
I know Becky and I,
we did a parade house together last year, I think it was.
Maybe two, we've done two.
Past two years, yeah.
But we did a brick backsplash.
I saw a brick backsplash in one of the houses
and it looked really pretty.
But yes, and I saw a stone backsplash in a house
and that was beautiful too.
Oh, and a lot of people are doing custom hoods.
We've had some plaster hoods that were really pretty
that had like metal accents.
All of that's good.
Lot of microwave drawers.
They're very handy because if you don't have a place
to put your microwave, you can put it in your island
and it can be like a drawer.
And honestly, for people who are aging in place
or with young children, it's safer
because you're not reaching out of the microwave
and pulling something towards you.
You're lifting it up and sitting it on the counter
so you have more control over what you're doing.
So I like to, a lot of bidet seats too
in the bathrooms I noticed yesterday.
I was like, wow, these are really taking off.
And that's like, I spoke last week about the fact
that that gives people longer independence
so they don't have to ask somebody to help them.
So a lot of people, oh, walk in showers with no doors,
really big this year.
And a lot of them were like a zero curb.
So you walk straight into it and the shower kind of,
it just kind of slowly slopes towards the drain
so it doesn't come out into the main bathroom
but you don't have that curb there that you could trip over.
So these homes are homes that people can live in long-term
and love for a really long time.
So I'm gonna take you back to kitchens a minute.
So what about open shelving?
Are you still seeing a lot of open shelves?
Not as much as we have in past years
but there were still some open shelves out there.
I will say I work a lot and the thought for me
of having something else to dust when I did my kitchen,
when I redid my kitchen, I was like,
well, I could put some up right here
and it would look really pretty
but then I'm gonna have to dust it.
And I was not for them but there were some there
and I noticed that they looked really pretty
and I was like, maybe I should have rethought that
and taken the extra 10 minutes to dust them.
I would think that there's still, again, I like them
because I think especially now you go shopping
just for your glassware in your kitchen,
things are becoming just prettier and ornate
and to be able to showcase that a little bit,
I think it's okay to, if you get some of those
really nice wine glasses to have those out
and not just hidden behind a cabinet.
I'm with you too, it's not like I'm gonna
dust it on the regular basis.
We have some, we have some open shelving
and that was my concern.
I'm like, oh man, I could just,
don't put any stuff we're gonna use on them, right?
It's just gonna be a knickknack.
So we're just taking up space
but what we have found is we have a couple
that we utilize constantly and for us,
what we have found is we have items
that are on those open shelves, they're used regularly.
So I don't have to worry about getting in there
and all that dusting and cleaning
and so they're really, I didn't,
I guess this is just from my own opinion.
I didn't think that they were gonna be as functional
and as useful as they are.
So it brings a cool look and a contrast to our kitchen
but yet those concerns that I had about the desk collection.
Now, listen, I've got one, I've got,
we've got a few of them that they're,
they hold knickknacks, trinkets
and you got to constantly clean
but I think the key to utilizing those open shelves, right?
Is using products and things that you use regularly
to where you're not getting all that settling.
Well, my husband really wanted them.
He comes from the restaurant world and he said,
no, I would put all of our plates up there
and I would pull them off and plate as I was cooking.
And I said, okay, so we're gonna have two plates up there
cause there's me and you most of the time.
And he was like, no, no, no,
we'll stick all the plates up there.
And so it was just, you know, it was a decision for us
but like I said, I love the way they look
and I really have rethought it since I didn't do it.
The other thing I was gonna say is in one of the houses
I saw a cute little shelf made out of the countertop material.
They had the countertop material as the backsplash
but there was a little shelf built in for salt and pepper
and a few, just a few little spices
right there above the cooktop.
And it was a fantastic idea.
I've never seen that before.
Or like you could do even like a little niche
like you do in a shower.
That would be cool to do there too.
Well, we are gonna take a short break.
We're gonna come back and wrap up talking
about the Pray to Homes.
So again, go to theparadeofhomesnoxville.com
to be able to get a listing of all the homes and maps
that are in the parade for the 42nd year here
in Knoxville and surrounding areas.
We'll be right back on Around the House
on News Talk 98.7 WOKI.
Oh, welcome back to Around the House.
I am Scott Brokamp.
And in the studio this morning,
we have Becky Snyder of Loomis Construction
and Lisa Smith of Ferguson, supplier of, I guess,
almost all things now for your home.
Yes, we supply a lot of different things now.
I was actually on the website last night.
We were talking about my stove off air.
And I was actually,
cause remember I saw that one in the showroom
and I was like, this is what I want my stove to be.
I was on there last night looking.
I was like, I need a 42 inch.
Yes.
And you can find anything on build.com.
That's our website.
You can narrow it down.
We have tile, we have rugs.
We have all the faucets, appliances, lighting,
but yeah, it's a great website.
I go on there sometimes and I'm surprised.
I was like, oh, I didn't know we sold that.
It's like the Amazon of new home construction.
It is, it is.
That's a good comparison.
And we daily, somehow with an algorithm
that's way above my head,
they go on and price us competitively across the internet.
And so our prices are always very competitive,
which is a thing I've heard about us.
Oh, you're too expensive.
We're really not.
We have all different price ranges.
And if you go in and talk to our, you know,
our consultants in our showrooms, they will tell you,
you know, there are certain things
that are very inexpensive, but you know, they'll say,
well, if you're gonna live in your house for 10 years
and this is really what you want,
or are you gonna live there forever?
Because if you are, let's look at this,
because you know, they're very skilled in fantastic products
and all our products are really, really good.
It's just, you know, maybe you really don't want to have
an un-lacquered brass faucet.
If you are gonna want it to say shiny all the time,
you're gonna have to polish it.
And so our showroom consultants
will tell you something like that.
Right, it's always, you know, we have those conversations
with clients as well, right?
Is something may look nice and fancy and shiny,
but you have to understand what is gonna be required
to keep what you want, right?
What is the end result gonna be?
You know, understanding the longevity of it,
which is always important.
But most of your stuff is on display
in these homes anyways.
So it's like a, you know, I mean, the showroom is nice
and I would encourage everyone to go to the showroom,
but to actually see it in the kitchens and the baths
and in these homes too, like you said.
It is, we have a lot of displays out there,
but, and that is where our Parade of Homes,
our builders that work with me,
that's where the customers there came and picked out
most of the lighting, the plumbing,
and the appliances for their homes.
We did a lot of the Parade Homes.
I think there was just one
that we didn't have a part in this year.
So we were really excited about that.
We love our community of builders.
Well, I just wanna touch on kitchens one last time
because, well, I like to cook,
but you know, one of the things that I have noticed
over the past several years is in our kitchens,
we're seeing more and more,
I'm just gonna call it more commercially equipped kitchens
than we have regularly seen in my opinion.
We're seeing more, even though they're made for homes,
but more robust cooktops in stoves
and in these huge Arctic fridge
and all these other items that we're seeing in homes
that for years, parents have said,
why do we have to have five fridges?
I mean, now these big things, these big items
that we would see typically in a commercial environment,
now it's not so strange for us to see in a home now.
And to me, I think it's awesome, like my cooktop,
I'm like, I wish I had one of these
that was nice, big, commercial grade, heavy duty
with a good hood over the top of it.
And seeing those in kitchens, I personally, I really like.
Well, a lot of people are going
with more commercial appliances
and what has happened is that the vendors
have seen this trend and it is becoming more affordable
to have that 48 inch range because it used to be,
you would go to your Thermador's or your Wolf's
or Viking to get that.
There are a lot of the less expensive brands
that are also making a 48 inch range
so that you can have that commercial look in your home.
I personally, in my house, I have one big refrigerator
and then I do my freezer in my garage
because I don't use a freezer that much.
And if I want ice cream, I should have to walk to get it.
So I have just one big 30 inch refrigerator
because we need a lot of freshness.
Even the big refrigerators have become very affordable.
You can do a big 60 inch fridge freezer
for a very, very, very affordable price.
So that's one of the things that our consultants
help you do is you come in, tell us what your price range is
and what your dreams are.
And then we help you bring those to life.
All right, so Pray to Homes,
42nd anniversary of the Pray to Homes.
Go see some homes, go see some houses.
You can go to thepraytohomesnoxville.com
to find out where all of these homes are located.
Look at the floor plans, look at the price ranges
and well, just get you a map of figure out where to go.
Before we wrap up this hour,
I do wanna mention our wonderful segment,
the topic of the day.
And well, today,
we're looking up at the sky trying to catch a solar eclipse.
You've probably heard on the news that East Tennessee
will see a partial eclipse during the lunch hour today.
The moon will start to cross over the sun
at 11.43 this morning.
Peak coverage will be at 1.10 this afternoon
and the eclipse will be done by 2.40.
Folks in the desert Southwest will see a ring of fire
in the sky, that's where the moon shadow exactly lines up
with the sun, except the moon isn't big enough
to create a total eclipse like the one we had
a few years ago.
Instead, the outer edges of the sun will shine around
the outline of the moon.
That's not gonna happen here.
Instead, the sun will just have a notch in it
where the moon covers a small section of it.
All the safety warnings still apply,
protect your eyes today if you're tailgating
and watching the eclipse.
And be sure to check out your Facebook feeds or Instagrams
or whatever it is you're on because this ring of fire
from out there in the desert is gonna be,
it's gonna be pretty cool just to see that.
I'm excited.
I didn't realize that was today.
That's really great.
Yeah.
See?
See, you've got Parade of Homes, you've got UT football.
This is a, you've got an eclipse.
This is a fantastic weekend, great fall weather.
I mean, go see our homes, see the builders,
cheer on the Vols and watch an eclipse.
I'm telling you, what more could you ask for, right?
I mean.
If he doesn't end the show with either ring of fire
or total eclipse of the heart, I'm gonna be upset.
I'm gonna Google that now.
Chris, I guess you got your orders now, so.
Oh my goodness.
Well, Lisa, Becky, thank you ladies for joining me.
Yeah, thank you.
Last weekend and this weekend, it has been a blast.
I always enjoy doing everything we can to help support
and let people know about our local
Home Builders Association.
They're so vital to our community
and to the homes that we build.
We are gonna take a break here at the top of the hour.
We'll be back on Around the House with Scott Brokaw,
a news talk, 97 WOKI.
Good morning, welcome to Around the House.
If you've been listening with us for the first hour,
I wanna thank our guests, Becky Snyder and Lisa
from Ferguson's.
Becky is the co-owner and carrying on Loomis Construction
out there in the Sevierville area.
Thank you ladies so much for being here this morning.
Go to theparadeofhomesnoxville.com
to find a list of the parade houses
and a map to be able to find out where they are.
But I guess most likely, you're probably gonna be
paying attention to this little thing
we have in town called football.
The Vols are in action today against Texas A&M
at Neyland Stadium.
They're honoring Eric Barry today
for being voted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Eric and his basically entire family will be here.
They have great heritage here with our Tennessee Vols.
Kickoff for the game today is at 3.30.
If you don't have tickets, you can catch the game on CBS
and on WIVK, the flagship station of the Vol network.
The Dixie Lee Farmer's Market is open
for just three more Saturdays.
The market is on Kingston Pike near the Renaissance Farragut
and open today from nine to noon.
Boo at the Zoo is open from 5.30 to eight at Zoo Knoxville.
I always look forward to that kicking off every year.
Tonight, Star Wars characters will be roaming the zoo
as part of the entertainment.
This 37-year tradition is fun for kids of all ages.
I'm trying to figure out what my costume's gonna be
this year, Big Jim.
To get tickets or find out a complete list of events
happening around town, go to visitnoxville.com.
That's visitnoxville.com.
Well, tomorrow's weather's supposed to be a little chilly.
It's been a long time since we've had temperatures
stay below 60 degrees.
So what do you do if you turn on the heat
and nothing happens?
I know what I do.
Sometimes switching back and forth between heating
and cooling can cause your compressor to lock up
or trip a breaker or some kind of other havoc.
Here to talk about HVAC issues is Big Jim, Jim Michaels,
founder of HCS Mechanical Contractors.
How you doing this morning, Big Jim?
Great, great.
Got prey to homes going,
got the Tennessee Vols this afternoon.
Couldn't be a better day.
You know, we hope it's gonna get a lot better
today this afternoon.
About 7.30 maybe?
Well, you know,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
right there, 6.36, yeah, mm-hmm.
Yes, indeed.
So Big Jim, obviously I know you well
and I know what you guys do, but for our listeners,
tell us, tell us all about who, who is HCS Mechanical?
Who are you?
What do you, what do you stand for?
What's your mission?
What's your goals?
We are a residential light commercial company.
Do a lot of new homes.
It's kind of transitioned over from when I started
from doing change outs and remodels
and there's not very many houses left
that have like window air conditioners left to do.
So we're kind of in the new homes business now.
We did 213 houses in 22.
Wow.
Got some great builders we work for.
Just, that's where we are.
Got a good, great service guys.
I'm just, I'm so proud of Matt and Michael
that it's just very proud of them guys.
They, they busted.
They get better reviews than I could have ever gotten
by myself.
Well, that's, I mean, that's, that's a big feat
because I mean, I know you, right?
And for people that do know you, you're, you're,
well, quite frankly, you're, you're a really likable guy.
You know, you have, you always seem to have a smile
on your face and you always bring charm and delight
with good conversation.
And you know, it's always, it's always just good to see.
It just is.
So for them guys to get better reviews
than what you would have got on your own.
I don't know, man.
They do.
It's pretty hard to beat that right there.
So how long have you guys been in business?
I started doing heat and air in 1987
and went on my own in 91,
but we just, I was very small,
but in 2000, 2000, I think it was 2001, maybe
I incorporated, got me a state license and here we went.
My, my old friend, Cecil Hopkins, used to own Shamrock.
He came in and got me started doing commercial,
light commercial stuff back then.
And God, I miss him every day.
He was a great friend and a wealth of knowledge.
He's probably as smart on doing these commercial stuff
as anybody I know.
And he passed away several years ago.
And in the last four or five years, maybe six,
we've really turned over to new construction
and just like I said, got some great builders I work for.
Right.
So, you know, the past week and this week,
the first hour is we have been talking with the co-chairs
of the Bray to Homes from the Home Builders Association.
So, I mean, you know, I just don't think of HVAC
as one of those ever changing sexy components
that we talk about in a new home, right?
Changes every other month.
It does, don't it?
Yes, it does.
It's constantly changing.
It's constantly changing and let's face it,
one of the main factors in our homes that we all expect
to provide us comfort is our HVAC system, you know?
It's the, it's kind of one of those
that nobody really talks about.
Nobody hears about it until it breaks.
That's true.
Me, Sheila and I, we keep our house
at like 64 degrees year round.
She was very cold blooded when I married her
as far as the temperatures in the house.
I've got her climatized now.
I don't know if I could handle 64 degrees on a regular.
Free sleeping nights.
Yeah, it'd be good for sleeping.
I mean, cuddling up and that'd be,
I'd be good with that, I'd be good with that.
So, we briefly talked about it, the Bray to Homes.
Do you even know how many Bray houses that you're in?
Yes.
How many?
Three.
You're in three Bray houses.
We did three for Mike Stevens.
All right.
And I'll tell you, these houses are absolutely gorgeous.
If I'm not mistaken, I think they're furnished.
And to the nines, I mean, they are absolutely gorgeous.
They've got one at North Shore Town Center.
And I'm not gonna mention the name of it,
but it has, because it's the homeowner's name,
it has a hot tub and swimming pool
and a double loft.
It just overlooks, you know,
you can see the mountains and everything.
And you can pretty much with all of them,
but this one is just really done to the nines.
Yeah.
And I haven't, I need to go check it out
because we also have worked on that project
and it had some unique challenges,
having that swimming pool in the middle
and then having the, well,
I guess we'll call it detached living quarters,
but you know, it had some uniqueness in it,
but it was such a neat design in such a neat house.
Just to be able to be a part of that.
Well, I mean, quite frankly, it's, you know.
That's what Mike Stevens does.
He's got his own in-house designer.
Yeah.
And they work with the homeowners
and been working for him for about five years now.
And he's got him a team now.
And it's things are a lot better than they were
or different, not better, different than when I started.
Yeah. Oh yeah.
Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, let's face it.
We've all had to make some changes,
had to adapt and, you know,
look, technology is afforded us a lot of opportunities
to make some changes, to get some more cohesive teams
and really allow us all to kind of elevate what we do.
And I, for one, obviously, technology guy,
I embrace it.
I love it.
You know, just the modern conveniences of things
that we can get from technology.
Hey, you did my building.
I love it.
Yeah. Yeah.
You know, and actually we need to talk about it
because there's some cool new stuff that we'll talk about.
But, all right.
Anyway, but for now, what we're talking about is HVAC
and we're actually up against a break.
So we're going to take a short break.
We're going to come back and well, big Jim,
I'm just going to put you on the spot
and have you share about some of this awesome new stuff
that's happening in the HVAC world.
Right here when we come back on Around the House
with Scott Brokamp on News Talk 98.7 WOKI.
Welcome back to Around the House.
I'm Scott Brokamp and I have Big Jim Michaels here with me.
Big Jim is a founder of HCS Mechanical Contractors
here in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Great guy, great company, great folks.
Hey, if you've got questions HVAC related,
well, even maybe technology related,
feel free to give us a call.
Shoot us a text 865-656-8255.
That's 865-656-8255.
You can find Big Jim Michaels.
You can find them online at hcsmechanicalcontractors.com.
What's that?
Incorporated.
Oh, incorporated.
Well, all right.
So what's that website then?
HCS mechanical.com
or hcsmechanicalcontractorsincorporated.com.
Gotcha.
All right, sorry, had a little typo here on my paper.
It's all right.
So Big Jim, tell us,
so what are the products that you guys actually sell
in service?
Oh, we're train dealers.
Okay. Excuse me.
Nothing beats train, right?
It's hard to stop a train.
But, and we sell Goodman,
but the majority is train.
That's what most of our builders prefer.
Gonna be a lot of new changes coming.
Yeah.
The refrigerant, they're gonna change it again from 410A.
I think it's, if I'm not mistaken,
the number's R453.
And completely different base in the refrigerant.
I never thought they'd do that because 410A just works.
What they're trying to do is lower the pressure
because 410A operates at a very high pressure
and tends to leak more.
And the OR22s that they discontinued,
it ran at like a 75 suction pressure,
220 head pressure.
Well, this runs at a 140, 150 suction and a 330 on the head.
If you got a tiny leak, it's gonna leak.
Sure.
You gotta be very careful when you weld
and all the refrigerant lines and such.
But I think they're trying to incorporate something
that has less pressure and don't know about any cost.
But new things cost more usually.
Usually new things cost more when they come out,
but usually over time they tend to stabilize.
And well, either that or we just grow accustomed to it.
One of the two.
Well, in technology, as we alluded to in the previous segment,
technology changes things.
It affords us the ability to do things better.
I have this conversation with my parents regularly
and as most people my age deal with is,
well, this is how we used to do it.
Well, we've learned some things.
We have been able to use all of those smarts
that you gave us as wonderful parents,
thanks mom and dad.
And we have used those to be able to have some,
learn some things to be able to make improvements
to what we do and what we have.
And I think what little bit I know about this new refrigerant
is gonna help with our energy efficiencies as well.
And I mean, let's face it,
the cost of our utilities isn't going down.
Nope.
So anything that we can do to try to help
with those items is always a plus in my opinion.
I agree 100%.
They've got the sear ratings of these newer systems.
They've just changed over the last year.
They are indeed last year.
It's what's called a sear two.
What's that mean?
Well, I think basically what it means is like,
they were claiming a 14 sear was 14 sear on all the units.
Well, the sear rating point wise
depends on the size of the unit.
Like when you call it 14 sear,
there might be in a two to a five ton,
only one of those sizes in there
that would be a true 14 sear.
It'd be a 13 eight or whatever.
So now they've come up with,
and it has to do with the static pressure
and how it operates.
And it's kind of hard to explain to get into all that,
but they're better.
They cost more, but they're better.
They're better.
Well, and again, technology, technology.
Hey, Big Jim, we've got a caller with us.
Bill is on the line.
Hey, good morning, Bill.
How are you this morning, sir?
Hello, Scott.
Thanks for taking my call.
Absolutely.
And I wanted to ask Big Jim,
as soon as he mentioned about the new Freon,
are they gonna be phasing out the 410
and can you convert your 410 unit to the new Freon?
Or do you have to change tubing and compressors
and can you convert it like you did before?
Man, great question, Bill.
That is a good question.
Well, it's just like the R22 that they did phase out.
They don't make the units anymore
when they changed it over to 410.
Yes, they are probably going to phase out 410,
but they'll have it available to keep using
in the existing units.
But it's just like R22 and 410A.
One has POE oil, one has mineral oil.
They don't mix, they make foam, it's non-condensable.
And nobody knows what the 453 is gonna be.
If it's gonna be compatible, if you can mix it,
probably not, but the units will be R&D
to use that particular refrigerant.
So even at this point, you don't even know
if we're gonna be able to-
It's not coming out till late 24 or 25.
I gotcha, I gotcha.
So, well, Bill, great question.
Well, I guess stay tuned.
We'll see if we're gonna be able to retro and convert
to the new refrigerant from 410 as we go.
But Bill, thank you very much for listening.
Thanks for calling in.
We certainly appreciate your call this morning.
You know, and that's a great question.
And one of the things that, you know,
I was in automotive business when we saw
in the auto world to go to 134A,
I think is what it was called,
but we went from- Change now.
You know, yeah, I mean, it's changed now.
I had to have my car serviced and big to do
because my car's on this new Freon and yada yada.
And in all of those changes, you know,
there was a lot of conversation about what are we gonna do
with what we currently have
and with the new stuff coming in.
And I don't know what's gonna happen,
but typically it seems like they normally find
some type of work around for a conversion.
But from my experience,
most of those conversions never really worked very well
because those systems were designed for, as you mentioned,
with that refrigerant,
you've got different head pressures that you run on.
You got different head pressures, different suctions,
and those different pressures
and those systems are designed around those pressures
because it's refrigerant.
It's gas to liquid, gas to liquid, right?
And so as that changes, the characteristics of it change
and then the efficiency and viability of it changes.
That's exactly right.
Exactly.
I almost sounded smart for a second.
Scott.
I'll tell you a good one too.
They've talked about coming out
with a propane-based refrigerant.
Propane-based refrigerant.
Propane-based.
Yes.
I'm just wondering how you weld it.
I'm pretty sure it's gonna have to be a cold weld.
That's interesting.
I had, yeah, I haven't heard of that.
I mean, obviously the gas level of that
is easily to obtain, but-
Propane is a great refrigerant.
It, a lot of the refrigerators in like houseboats,
a lot of different things, they have the propane,
I can't remember the name of them, it's been so long,
but they used it as refrigerant.
No kidding.
Yeah.
Well, yeah, I don't know, I'd be really concerned.
A lot of older manas were made with propane refrigerant.
I'd be very concerned about a leak.
That's all I can tell you.
Boom.
I'd be very concerned about a leak.
Again, right, technology, right?
We learn things, we find ways to do things better,
make improvements, not just for always energy efficiency,
but sometimes just for safety.
And again, when you mentioned this new refrigerant
when we talk about pressures,
obviously if we can operate efficiently
on a lower pressure, obviously that's going to allow
a few benefits.
If there is a leak, obviously it will be a slower leak.
It's not being forced out as quickly,
depending obviously where the leak is.
But even in safety issues, right, if for some reason
somebody decides they want to tamper with their HVAC system
that is under pressure and it hasn't been reclaimed properly
and that pressure is still on the line when damage occurs,
I've seen it, it can be dangerous.
Man, that refrigerant, that freon blowing out of that line,
it can be dangerous.
I've seen people get their fingers burnt very bad
and it blow a trader valve out, here it comes,
and if you're over it.
Yeah, yeah.
A guy I used to work with in the automotive world
almost lost an eye.
And that's exactly what happened, the trader valve popped
and he was over the top of it.
Luckily the trader valve didn't lodge itself in his face,
but he was right over the top of it
and the freon just hit him, he got him right below the eye
and I mean, he had a huge burn
and they were able to get him through it.
So again, safety concerns are always,
can be a part of it as well.
So as we talk about these things that change,
it's not always fun to talk about the change, right?
Nobody really likes change.
It's the one thing we know is constant in life,
but we still don't like it.
And with these changes, a lot of times can come cost
associated with it.
I mean, obviously from your end of it,
new freon is gonna be new tools, it's gonna be new,
probably new specialty equipment for doing your reclaims
and EVACs, stuff like that.
And so therefore there's gonna be more costs associated.
Absolutely, absolutely.
And in training, you gotta train the guys.
Boy, I tell you, we've hired some really good guys
in the last year and we were keeping them.
As far as I'm concerned, we're keeping them.
We put them on a truck with an experienced guy
and we've got some new guys that are really coming along.
They're interested, they show up to work every day
and glad to have them, because they're hard to find.
Well, they are, they are.
So we are gonna take a short break
and when we come back, we're gonna talk a little bit more
about some of that workmanship
and we're gonna learn a little bit more about,
well, Big Jim and HCS Mechanical right here
on Around the House with Scott Brokamp on News Talk 98.7WOKI.
Welcome back to Around the House.
Man, we're coming into the home stretch here
for today's show.
Hope you've enjoyed the show.
You know, I mean.
Hey, thank you for having me.
I'm glad you're here, buddy.
I'm glad you always enjoy having Big Jim around.
If you're listening this morning,
hey, send us an email at thehouseathissecurity.net.
I'd love to hear from you.
Anything that we can do to, well, make this show better.
You know, this show is near and dear to my heart
and I wanted to make sure that it continued on.
So, but let's, we wanna all work together
and make this the best thing that we can make it.
Anyway, with all that being said,
I know somebody here who likes to make things
the best way they can make it as well.
Mr. Jim Michaels, HCS Mechanical Contractors, Incorporated.
Big Jim, we were talking a little bit during the break
and one of the things that I like to talk about,
because I think it's one of the things
that makes us different as a company,
is that a lot of times when we're dealing with customers
in new construction, aesthetics come up and I get it, right?
I want things to look appealing.
I want them to look good.
When we have that finished product in place
and for us, there's a lot of products and services
that we can provide to be able to do that.
And I have been in some walkthroughs
in some new construction homes
with some other companies, not yours.
And maybe one of the spouses, you know,
I don't wanna look at that thing.
I don't want it there, I want it somewhere else.
And I, there's one home in particular
that I was a part of and the HVAC contractor said,
no problem, we'll move it here, we'll move it there,
we'll move it wherever you want.
And they moved into that house.
And within a couple of months of them living in that house,
they had a lot of issues because the HVAC system
was not up to their standard.
And again, I'm not a pro, now my daddy was,
he was a HVAC guy, that's what he did.
And-
I know that.
Yes sir, yes sir.
And one of the things that I know,
like with what we do, infrastructure is the key.
So when you guys are doing a new construction design,
the placement of the vents and the duct work is,
well, it's not just willy-nilly, right?
There's a reason for where it has got to be.
Absolutely.
And if you move that, it's going to change the efficiency
and the viability of that system,
which in this particular home is exactly what happened.
So you've been doing this a long time and I know that.
What are some of the things that obviously
that we deal with in that design concept?
Well, on a custom home, you always want the wife there.
And you're going to tell them where the vents need to go.
You're going to have it laid out to where they need to go.
And then you may have to move something to make her happy.
But we kind of really try not do that
if it's going to hurt the system.
And not cool room properly.
Like we put them under the windows.
That's where your heat and cold come through, it's to radiate.
And if it comes down to something simple like,
well, I'm putting a bookshelf right there
or mama's old clock radio is going right here,
we'll move it over a little bit.
That's fine.
But if you don't do stuff like that,
you're going to come back and be growing holes back in that floor,
fixing them and moving the vents
so that they can have what they want.
Yeah, there is a reason for the placement of these items.
And again, I mean, much like yourself,
I've been involved with new construction for a long time.
I'm on 28 years of new construction.
I figured that out the other day and I'm like, really?
And one of the things that as we speak with our customers
on all levels is, okay, I understand your concern,
but you need to understand the consequence.
That's exactly right.
And unfortunately, and I know you've seen it
as well as we have, especially in new construction,
budgets get in there and they interfere
with the ideal situation.
And I'm sure you've probably been faced with a time or two
that you've quoted out and designed this job
and somebody's probably come back and says, well,
can we just, what if we just downsize that unit a little bit?
Can we save some money here?
Can we save some money there?
Downsizing, you know, we were on custom homes,
we run a load calculation
and usually it's upsized a half a ton.
I do that by design.
I don't like phone calls in the middle of summertime saying,
how am I air conditioner?
Just not enough, you know,
and around here it gets 95 and 98 degrees
and you know, an air conditioner is only supposed
to bring the house to 20 degrees from the outside temperature.
You know, if it's 95, 75 is what you should get.
Well, we put them in there and a lot of times
they'll get colder than that on that 95 degree day.
Sure.
But like I say, that's the worst phone call you can get
is my air conditioner's not working.
Yeah, I mean, it really is.
And you know, as things have changed, right?
Things have improved.
It used to be, it was a stretch to get that 20 degree spread.
You got it.
Nowadays, you can actually get there, you know,
especially when we started looking at new construction
with all the efficiencies between the installations,
the windows, the materials, the homes are built with.
Those are all items that really come into play
and well, make you guys be like a shining hero, don't we?
Well, the foamed houses are coming really popular now.
They do the foam installation, foam decks.
And I tell you, those houses are like coolers.
They're almost too tight.
They work.
We have to put fresh air, Honeywell 8150,
that puts fresh air into the return system
and it gives you some fresh air from outside.
So if you don't do that, you know,
you can have too much moisture.
And I mean, you gotta get rid of some of that moisture
somehow, that's what an air conditioner does.
Yeah, it removes moisture.
It removes moisture.
Yeah, yeah, that's number one rule
that I learned from my father.
It's not designed to cool.
It's not designed to do, it is to remove, right?
It's to remove that moisture
because that's when you feel cooler.
That's exactly right.
When that moisture's removed.
When you get that moisture out of the air,
you can cool the air down easy.
Yeah, yep.
Yeah, if you're, I mean, just thinking about it,
it's 95 degrees and 159,000% humidity outside
and you can douse yourself or whatever you want
and it is still hot.
I lived in Guam for three years.
And I'll tell you, it was never above 90
and never below 70 and 95 to 100% humidity all the time.
You could get a shower, walk to the mailbox, come back.
You'd need another shower.
Well, I guess at that point,
you just don't need to shower anymore, right?
Come on now.
So, again, design is the key, right?
Just like what we do, the end result
in the longevity of that system
is only gonna be as good as the infrastructure
that it is built upon.
And I know, again, that design work that you guys do
is you focus on making sure
that that infrastructure is right.
And so for the longevity of the home.
And so with that being said, obviously,
what about warranties on units
and obviously your workmanship?
Well, warranties are pretty much across the board
on equipment as they'll come as a manufacturer
five year.
If you register them,
which we help people everyday register their units,
you get a 10 year all parts warranty.
That's from in the unit.
The workmanship on new construction,
we warrant it for one year.
We have longer warranties available
that we don't sell out of our pocket, we buy them.
JB warranties is a real good warranty to have.
I mean, and they're very inexpensive and you drop
a compressor after the first year,
you'll be glad you got it.
It's expensive to change.
Yeah, I mean, if a compressor goes out,
you are, well, you got it.
You got to drain, evac,
you got to evaporate that system out,
clean it out.
Recovery, usually on,
I don't ever put the same refrigerator back in a compressor.
Right.
And that's not covered under warranty.
Right.
Because usually it's a burnout
and you just don't want to use it.
Yeah.
So it's kind of expensive.
The warranty, the compressor is covered
with the labor and the refrigerant
and that such is not.
Yes, expensive stuff's not.
Yeah.
Well, and when these reclaim machines came out,
I mean, they do a great job of recycling that refrigerant,
pulling out the disparities that are in there,
the particles, but I'm with you.
One of my big things, even when I was in automotive world,
is if we had a catastrophic failure,
we've got to change anything
that's holding particles, period.
If it holds a particle, it needs to go.
Because if not, you're never going to get it out.
And all you're doing is rebuilding upon
an insufficient system to start with.
So, and I know that, I mean, let's face it,
the industry says it's okay to do some things,
but our experience tells us
there's better ways to do them sometimes.
Absolutely.
And that's where having a company like you
is so important in the longevity of our systems.
So we are going to take a short break,
and well, we're going to come back
and we're going to finish speaking with Big Jim,
and we're going to talk about some new stuff in HVAC
besides refrigerant, and well, we'll learn about,
we'll learn about special things about Big Jim
that he's not even aware of yet.
How's that?
We'll be right back here on Around the House
on Newstalk 97WOKI.
And that sounds good.
Well, we're back to Around the House.
Man, we are, this is it, final segment of today's show.
Hopefully you're listening this morning
and you're getting your orange and white on
and you're getting ready to head down to Neyland Stadium.
Come check out his security and technology tent.
We'll be at Vaughn Village today.
Pretty excited about that first trip ever.
So to be able to participate,
I've been there many times, but anyway,
I am speaking with Big Jim Michaels.
If you know Jim, well, his nickname serves him well.
He is, quite frankly, well, what to say?
I know that you're a grandpa to a lot of little ones,
and some of them might just say
you're a great big old cuddly teddy bear.
I've got seven.
Just saying.
So, all right, Jim, tell us a little bit more
about HCS Mechanical and what else other than refrigerant,
what's new coming down the pipe in the HVAC world?
Just new design and equipment.
Over the last few years, it's changed
when they upgraded the efficiency.
They made the units larger.
I mean, goodness gracious, you have to really
take some time to put a new three-ton
where a old three-ton went, you know, indoor.
They're just bigger, just plain old bigger.
And what they do, they use a larger coil in them
to make them more efficient, basically.
But that's the big thing, just making them fit.
Yeah, well, man, I can't even imagine
some of these indoor units trying to put
a new one in where the old one was.
Yes.
I mean, what do you do when they don't fit?
What do you do?
You just got to partner with somebody
who can come in and get it done?
No, you get back with the manufacturers
and sometimes you even have to change the equipment to,
they have smaller units.
Some manufacturers, they haven't changed it.
The ones that we use mostly have.
Right.
And you just have to find something that'll fit.
I mean, you got to do the job, I mean,
without tearing out a closet and having to sheet rocket
and put new doors and stuff like that on it.
That, I mean, you definitely, you got to do the job.
Well, it's good to know though, right,
that at least the manufacturers, you have options
to be able to change the physical dimensions of the unit
without sacrificing or changing
the actual working dimensions
and configurations of those units.
So I know I've always wondered that
because I mean, I've seen some handler stuff in closets
and I'm like, man, when this thing's got to be changed,
y'all, this is going to be tough.
It is tough.
Gavin, my son-in-law, he is my general manager
and he has gotten so good.
He's been with me six years
and I didn't have any other of my children
that had any interest in the business.
He stepped in and came in and basically runs it now for me.
Well, he is quite a guy.
He does have that drill sergeant effect about him,
doesn't he?
Yes, yes.
All right, Big Jim, so tell us,
why should people buy from you?
I know why they should buy from you,
but in your own words, what makes y'all different?
Why should people buy from you?
Well, we're not a corporate entity.
We're a family entity.
I've got my daughter that runs the office,
son-in-law that's general manager.
We have got Matthew, he runs our service department,
Matthew Lee, and we answer the phone.
If you call, after hours even,
it rings to me at my house on my cell phone
and I take calls from people when they have their air out
or their heat out or whatever question they have,
you answer the phone and rather than leave a message
and hope somebody calls you back.
That's our big thing.
I just make sure that communication is the best.
Yeah, and it's key.
I mean, we, as well as you,
I mean, obviously it's just 24-7, things happen.
And it's essential to make sure
that somebody's able to answer that call.
And quite frankly, when the emergency happens
and the time of need arises,
a lot of times the person who's dealing with that emergency
or that situation just need to have somebody
on the other end of the phone to talk to them
and assure them that it's gonna be okay.
It's gonna get taken care of.
It's gonna be okay.
Talking about Matthew,
I send him stuff in the evenings all the time.
I tell people I need their name, address,
and their phone number.
I put it on a text, I send it to Matthew.
He will call them the next morning
and get out there usually the same day.
Wow.
Yeah.
Especially nowadays, it's pretty phenomenal.
You all still hiring?
Always looking for good people, always.
Well, there you have it.
If you're a HVAC guy,
and well, if your boss's name's not Jim Michaels
or Gavin Foster, here you go, right?
Here's your opportunity.
Absolutely.
You can reach HCS Mechanical at 865-567-1193.
Or you can call our office number at 865-777-0555.
There you go.
There you go, right?
Look them up online, hcsmechanicalcontractors.com.
Right there, available for you at your fingertips.
Come see us at the Parade of Homes.
North Shore Town Center, Mike Stevens.
Have two today through the thing and through the whole parade.
Yeah.
And we got one in Tennessee National.
One in Tennessee National, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, we're in a few parade homes this year.
So we always, it's important to us
to be able to support our Home Builders Association.
They do so much for our industry
and all related industries that trades that touch,
anything has to do with construction.
It's very important to be able to support them.
So I alluded, I was being silly before the break
that we were gonna talk about things about Big Jim.
And one of the things that I come to learn about you
is that you have a, you're a softball family.
Oh, I know.
And the name Big Jim, when we go, when I go to CBFO,
people know Big Jim.
And your daughter, your daughters,
but in fact, your granddaughter was,
I had the pleasure to coach and then in Gavin,
your general manager was kind enough
to help be an assistant coach as well.
And I'm just gonna tell you,
and these are the things, right, about local businesses
is these are the hidden things that people don't know
that we are a part of in our communities.
And when we say support local business,
it's because you're supporting your kids' softball coach,
your kids' baseball coach,
your Sunday school teacher or whatever it may be.
So that's what we talk about
when we talk about supporting local business
because we are, well, we're right here ingrained
in the community just as you are.
So Big Jim, thank you for joining us this morning.
It's always a pleasure to have you around.
Thank you.
It's a pleasure to be here.
If you missed part of today's show
and you'd like to listen again, there's a link on my website.
Go to hissecurity.com and click on the ATH radio tab
or find, listen for, look for Around the House
with Scott Brokamp where you get your favorite podcast.
Have a topic or a guest you'd like to hear on the show,
send us an email at thehouseathissecurity.com.
Around the House is produced by Newstalk 98.7
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Don't forget, protect your eyes today
as you watch the partial eclipse.
Now go out and enjoy some quality time
Around the House today.
And go Vols.