To-The-Trade S3E19 Architect to GC: Building Houses That Actually Last with Chris Laumer-Giddens

Chris Laumer-Giddens joins Laurie Laizure to talk about building science, the study of why homes fail and how to build them so they last for generations instead of twenty years. Chris works with his wife, Jody, who has owned LG Squared since 2006; he joined in 2012 after specializing in indoor air quality, rot, mold, and thermal failures. LG Squared handles architecture, interiors, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural design under one roof.His clearest rule: "Foam is a four-letter word." The firm avoids spray foam and other toxic, plastic-based materials entirely, building instead with natural materials and traditional joinery. Chris has seen a client collapse from spray-foam fumes on-site and has replaced mechanical systems damaged by off-gassing. His real point is that improper installation, not any single material, is what causes most building failures.Much of the problem, he says, comes from builders and architects who simply do not know what they do not know, often working from bad information that circulates as trade wisdom. He encourages designers and architects to ask questions without embarrassment, the same way architecture licensing exams teach you to find answers rather than memorize them.That gap led Chris to get his GC license, and he eventually built about half a dozen homes, including a five-million-dollar off-grid homestead. He now often works as an owner's agent, vetting builders and catching costly mistakes before clients buy or build.Pricing gets concrete. LG Squared's billable rate runs $350 to $500 an hour, padded roughly 30 percent for follow-up time, and wealthier clients tend to prefer a fixed lump sum over hourly billing. The firm now charges $2,500 for an initial two-hour site visit, down from offering it free, after giving away too many high-value ideas.Chris also shares a sobering legal story. A $7,000 liability cap meant nothing when a lawsuit landed on LG Squared, and the firm ended up roughly $200,000 out of pocket because the builder did not defend them as promised. He and Jody have weathered two lawsuits and real PTSD from the experience.The two also discuss running a firm together as spouses, working through early ego friction, and how Chris's YouTube content, which Jody avoids, became the firm's biggest source of trust-based, design-build clients. The episode closes with a tour of the couple's new apartment in a chateau in southwest France.