A veteran of nearly every discipline in home building, our podcast guest Dan Puvak, Operations Partner—Architectural & Estimating Services at True Homes in Monroe, NC reminds us that unpacking the intricacies of building a home is something relatively few understand. He would love to see more narratives dig deeper into the facts and details so the public can become educated about its elegance and importance to our economy and our communities. Sharing his views on how the UDO, even in its imperfect form, can help create predictability and therefore efficiency in planning and execution of developments, he also explained that the UDO parameters are often discarded in favor of neighborhood groups who push against agreed upon ordinances in favor of popularity-driven opinions. And the problem intensifies when decisions are made without considering the missing voices of those who will be the future members of a community. "There are too many who make decisions based on sentiment, and not facts. We're not considering how the vetted data is already showing us who is moving here, where the jobs are, the needed traffic planning, and what kind of product these future neighbors need and want." He points out that these same loud voices sway elected officials to constantly question and change existing policy, dramatically changing the metrics of cost and design. Along with cooperative dialog during the entitlement and approval process, he insists that data about schools, traffic, engineering, and forward planning should be respected as the first way to inform development planning strategies.

As we dug deeper into how the mechanics of home building can become more efficient the conversation naturally moved towards AI. Dan overwhelmingly agreed that any design models loaded into AI must first be a reflection of exceptional planning, innovation, and a clear vision. Then AI can cull through and tighten processes or planning, resulting in a better end product for the company and the customer.

Dan, by way of responsibilities with True Homes, influences nearly every decision within the company. He unifies architecture, estimating, and BIM into one operating system that speeds product launches, improves cost accuracy, and protects margin. He leads new product development, cost modeling, pricing and margin management, and the technical standards that keep offerings scalable. He's pushing building technologies that turn models into business data—specifically a BIM backbone that generates purchase orders directly, links options to the supply chain, and delivers first-time-right takeoffs at scale.

He is quick to point out that he started his career at the first rung, working for a builder by sweeping out and punching-out homes, which is why he insists every model of execution reflect field reality. After becoming a corporate leader, he has committed to giving back and has served for years as a judge for NAHB's four-year student competition. Mentoring the next generation of homebuilding professionals is a priority and a privilege, and he finds the work genuinely rewarding.