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At CLB Network, we celebrate the best in residential and commercial design-build. Our mission is to recognize firms whose work goes beyond aesthetics — those who deliver exceptional service, outstanding results, and sustainable yet innovative solutions. We honor those who don’t just build, but who shape environments, elevate neighborhoods, and set new standards in design, construction, and client satisfaction.
Certified Luxury Builders highlights key industry trends and success strategies, real-life examples, simple processes, and timely results for luxury builders and remodelers.
What We Recognize
Design-Build Leadership — Companies who lead with vision, seamlessly integrating architectural design, engineering, and construction to deliver efficient, beautiful, and enduring spaces.
Residential & Commercial Excellence — From bespoke homes to large-scale commercial projects, we benchmark quality across all dimensions: function, aesthetics, durability, and impact.
Service & Client Outcomes — It isn’t just the finished build. We pay attention to collaboration, communication, timeliness, budget management, and how deeply client expectations are understood and exceeded.
Innovation & Sustainability — Use of cutting-edge materials, sustainable building methods, energy efficiency, adaptive reuse, or other creative approaches that move the industry forward.
Our Core Values
Integrity – Transparent processes, honest assessment, and credible standards.
Excellence – Not settling for good enough; pushing for craftsmanship, detail, and holistic success.
Innovation – Embracing new ideas, sustainable practice, and creative solutions.
Client-First Mindset – Prioritizing communication, trust, delivery on promise, and real measurable impact.
Join Us
Whether you’re a design-build firm seeking to demonstrate your best work, a project partner interested in new ideas, or a client wanting to engage the very best — CLB Network is your platform for recognition, connection, and inspiration.
Okay let's unpack this. If you've ever dreamed of building a custom luxury home, know the dream often comes wrapped in a fair bit of anxiety.
Speaker 2:Oh definitely. Budget overruns, endless delays, and maybe that biggest fear picking the wrong professional who just, you know, can't quite capture what you're picturing.
Speaker 1:Exactly. So today we're diving deep into how you might systematically, well, mitigate some of that risk.
Speaker 2:That's really the core mission here. We've got sources highlighting a builder in the Lake LBJ area, Showcase Builders. And they have this this refined system.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And what's fascinating is how they seem to tackle those universal construction anxieties head on. They move beyond just, like, general styles to offer a really individualized and, maybe more importantly predictable process.
Speaker 1:Practicable sounds good in construction.
Speaker 2:Doesn't it? It's designed so the client isn't overwhelmed by say endless choices or sudden budget shocks.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. So our deep dive today focuses on analyzing their methodology. First, maybe a bit of context. Showcase builders, they've been building and remodeling luxury homes since 2010.
Speaker 2:Right. Over a decade now. And they're very focused specifically on the Lake LBJ region in Texas.
Speaker 1:And their scope isn't just general building. It's high end. Right?
Speaker 2:Strictly high end. Yeah. We're talking luxury custom homes, big focus on waterfront properties, and also major luxury remodeling.
Speaker 1:Okay. So not just new builds?
Speaker 2:No. Could be partial refreshes or, you know, complete interior exterior transformations. And the sources mentioned they're flexible too, they can build whether you already have a lot or if they need to help secure one. Your lot or ours I think they say.
Speaker 1:Gotcha. And their service area, it's pretty tightly focused on that prime Central Texas region.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which likely gives them some deep local expertise. They're in places like Horseshoe Bay, Kingsland, Granite Shoals, Sunrise Beach, Marble Falls, Yano, these prestigious communities.
Speaker 1:It seems clear they're really dedicated to the unique demands of that waterfront luxury lifestyle.
Speaker 2:It seems that way. It's not just putting up a structure, it's about aligning the home with that specific environment and lifestyle. And the sources suggest they've built a reputation for handling complex, maybe personality driven designs.
Speaker 1:Using new materials or techniques maybe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, things that might make less experienced builders a bit nervous.
Speaker 1:Okay. So let's shift from describing them to, well, validation. Showcase Builders talks about delivering a five star experience.
Speaker 2:Right and they tie that promise directly to something they call their collaborative method.
Speaker 1:So let's see how that promise actually stacks up based on you know client feedback.
Speaker 2:Well the social proof we found seems pretty compelling. It focuses on outcomes that really matter to someone building a custom home. Like does the final thing match what was in your head?
Speaker 1:That's the goal isn't it?
Speaker 2:Exactly. So one client, Terrell and Ann Marie Dee, they said the finished product was exactly what we envisioned and the finished product is definitely a showcase home.
Speaker 1:Wow, exactly what we envisioned. That's a high bar.
Speaker 2:It really is. That direct link between the initial idea and the final build, that's pretty much the definition of success in custom building.
Speaker 1:And then there was another comment from Susan M highlighting dedication. She said, they're good human beings. They bent over backwards in trying to please us.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That stood out. It says a lot when clients praise not just the, you know, the quality of the materials, the wood and stone Right. But the actual integrity of the people involved.
Speaker 1:That consistency seems echoed by Jerry Koons too, citing quality and craftsmanship.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. It suggests their promise isn't just, like, slick marketing. It seems built on a track record of dedication and high level execution. That's how you build real authority.
Speaker 1:And speaking of authority, they have external validation too. Ranked number one on hers.com for Lake LBJ Waterfront.
Speaker 2:Yep. And awarded best of host service for 2025. That kind of external vetting provides a strong baseline.
Speaker 1:Okay, but now we need to dig into the system that makes this happen. They mentioned that our five star pledge rests on three core pillars: Process, Team, and Execution.
Speaker 2:Right. This is critical. The process is like the roadmap. Client describes the vision, team designs it, client approves, builder executes. Simple on paper.
Speaker 1:But it's the team part where things often get messy in construction, isn't it?
Speaker 2:That's why they say their collaborative method comes in. This is where the risk gets minimized according to the sources.
Speaker 1:Okay. What does that mean practically? Cause you know, often when you build, you hire an architect separately.
Speaker 2:An interior designer separately.
Speaker 1:The builder separately. And suddenly you, the client, are the project manager trying to get everyone to talk to each other.
Speaker 2:Exactly. And that's where the risk lies in traditional model: friction, miscommunication, nobody taking full responsibility.
Speaker 1:So the collaborative method avoids that?
Speaker 2:That's the idea. As the sources describe it, they assemble an integrated, project specific team lead, all under one roof, effectively, functioning as a single unit.
Speaker 1:Ah, like a surgical team versus three separate doctors who maybe chat occasionally.
Speaker 2:That's a great analogy. Showcase takes full responsibility for the entire outcome, start to finish. That single point of accountability, that might be the biggest risk reducer a client can find.
Speaker 1:That makes a lot of sense. Okay, and the third pillar was execution. What's involved there beyond the actual building?
Speaker 2:Execution is about integrating practical experience. It focuses on keeping things on time, on budget, maintaining design integrity, craftsmanship. But a key tactical advantage mentioned is using value engineering.
Speaker 1:Alright. Let's pause there. Value engineering. Sometimes that sounds like a fancy term for, well, cutting corners or costs. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:How is it different?
Speaker 2:That's a really common misconception and a great question. True value engineering isn't about making something cheaper by sacrificing quality.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:It's about maximizing the utility, the performance of something while optimizing the cost. So maybe you designed a feature using a super rare expensive material. A value engineer might find an alternative material that's more just as durable, looks almost identical, but cuts the cost significantly without hurting the longevity or the design intent.
Speaker 1:So it's smart substitution not just flashing the budget.
Speaker 2:Exactly. It's about efficiency and performance for the money spent not just cheapness.
Speaker 1:That's a powerful distinction. And it sounds like they're pretty open with this knowledge upfront, offering free resources.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That seems to be a big part of their approach, transparency. They offer a free initial idea session. They call it Let's Talk.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And they provide some pretty extensive downloadable guides too.
Speaker 1:What kind of guides?
Speaker 2:Things like a luxury kitchen and bath design inspirations planner or a Lake LBJ Waterfront Luxury Home Living magazine. These aren't just brochures, they detail their process and crucially give you the strategic questions you should be asking any builder.
Speaker 1:So they're educating the potential client.
Speaker 2:Right, establishing authority but also empowering the learner even if they end up choosing someone else.
Speaker 1:Okay, so bringing it all together, what does this mean for you the client who just wants some certainty in a huge project? It sounds like the core of it is their trademark system the five simple steps.
Speaker 2:Yes that seems to be their systematic playbook for delivering on that promise of on time and on budget.
Speaker 1:Alright, we definitely need to walk through this step by step. Let's unpack the specific anxiety each step is designed to address.
Speaker 2:Sounds good. This structured process really feels like the antidote to potential chaos.
Speaker 1:Okay, step one. Let's talk. Yeah. This is that initial meeting. Listening, ideas, scope, space needs, style, and importantly that estimated budget range.
Speaker 1:What's the risk being mitigated here?
Speaker 2:I'd say the risk is ambiguity of intent or maybe misaligned expectations.
Speaker 1:By
Speaker 2:setting clear expectations and those budget guardrails right at the start, they prevent that classic scenario. You fall in love with a million dollar design idea when your actual budget is half that.
Speaker 1:Right, avoiding heartbreak down the line.
Speaker 2:Exactly. This first step really dictates the path for everything that follows.
Speaker 1:Okay. Moving to step two, storyboard process. Here, the design team gets picked. Ideas turn into preliminary schematic floor plans, the budget estimate gets revised, and they create a detailed chart of allowances. Let's define that.
Speaker 1:What are allowances? Why can they cause so much trouble?
Speaker 2:Allowances. They're notorious. They are basically placeholders in the contract for items where the exact selection hasn't been finalized yet. Think tile, light fixtures, plumbing hardware, appliances.
Speaker 1:Stuff you pick out later.
Speaker 2:Right. The danger is if a builder puts in unrealistically low allowance numbers just to make the initial estimate look attractive.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Then when you inevitably pick the tile or faucet you actually want, which costs more than the lowball allowance, your budget suddenly explodes.
Speaker 1:Okay. I see the trap. So the risk mitigated in step two is hidden cost exposure.
Speaker 2:Precisely. By tackling and refining those allowances transparently during the storyboard phase, they force that detailed budget conversation before construction starts. You know the likely cost implications of your taste.
Speaker 1:Transparency in the allowance chart is key then.
Speaker 2:Absolutely critical.
Speaker 1:Okay. This leads us to step three, rendering to scale. This feels like a really pivotal moment. Selections, specifications get finalized, full construction plans are drawn up, value engineering is maximized and then the final construction agreement is presented.
Speaker 2:This is essentially the design freeze. The main risk being mitigated here is scope creep during construction.
Speaker 1:Meaning changes made after building starts.
Speaker 2:Exactly. That's the single biggest cause of delays and cost overruns. By finalizing everything, the design, the selections, the budget, the contract before breaking ground, they lock it all down.
Speaker 1:So once that contract is signed in step three, the budget is basically fixed.
Speaker 2:That's the goal. It avoids those costly, oh actually can we move this wall moments mid build.
Speaker 1:But wait, doesn't that require a huge leap of faith from the client? Committing fully, financially and design wise, before any dirt has even been moved?
Speaker 2:It definitely requires trust, yes. But more than just faith, it requires confidence that steps one and two were done right. If the initial let's talk was thorough, and the storyboard process with the allowances was accurate and transparent, then step three isn't a leap of faith, it's the moment you achieve financial certainty.
Speaker 1:It shifts from theoretical to a fixed price commitment.
Speaker 2:Exactly, which is the definition of predictability in building.
Speaker 1:Okay, that makes sense. Next up, step four, the big event. This is the actual construction, plans become reality.
Speaker 2:Right. And since all the major decisions, design, budget, selections are already locked in, the risk mitigated here is primarily execution failure.
Speaker 1:So the team can just focus on building it right?
Speaker 2:Pretty much. Quality control, craftsmanship, sticking to the agreed upon plans and schedule. It becomes disciplined execution of a preapproved playbook.
Speaker 1:Got it. And finally, step five, happily ever after. Project completion, on time, on budget, aiming for that five star review.
Speaker 2:Yeah. This step mitigates the risk of, let's call it, post completion abandonment. Right. You know, where the builder finishes, hands over the keys, and disappears.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:This step focuses on accountability. Comprehensive walk throughs, handling the final punch list items, and crucially warranty support. It's about ensuring the final delivery actually earns that five star satisfaction they promised way back at the start.
Speaker 1:So recapping, we've seen how this systematic approach defined by process, team, and execution aims to turn what can be an overwhelming anxiety ridden task Custom home building. Into something predictable, managed, and ultimately designed to get you exactly what you wanted.
Speaker 2:Which brings up a really important question for you, the listener. If you're thinking about a major home project, are you looking just for a builder who's skilled with a hammer? Or are you prioritizing someone who has a proven, refined, systematic process for managing the whole thing, especially time and cost.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a key distinction.
Speaker 2:The sources here really suggest that the true value, the risk mitigation, lies in that structure. That defined process provides accountability, especially when inevitably complexities arise during construction.
Speaker 1:So if building that dream home in the Lake LBJ area or maybe tackling a big luxury remodel is something you're considering, the next steps seem pretty clear from their materials.
Speaker 2:Yeah, schedule that free e initial idea session, the let's talk step, that's step one of their system right there.
Speaker 1:Or download one of those detailed guides like the luxury kitchen and bath planner.
Speaker 2:Right. Understanding the process, asking the right questions, that's your first step towards minimizing risk. Their whole model seems built around describe what you want, let the integrated team design it, you approve it.
Speaker 1:And then as they say, you'll love your home.
Speaker 2:Seems like a solid goal.