Process · 01 of 03
The 18-Stage
Build Process.
Steve McKenzie wrote an 18-stage construction manual decades ago — the company's building Bible. Each stage is 100% complete before the next begins. 126 build days. No last-week sprint. No 100 contractors at once.
The Short Answer
Every TIH home moves through 18 documented stages over approximately 126 build days (~9–12 months). Each stage is signed off and walked before the next one begins. Quality is locked in at each checkpoint — not retrofitted at the end.
Steve's reflection on why other builders skip this: "I'm surprised people actually get homes built, quite frankly. Nobody uses that type of system — it's really a shoot-from-the-hip type of thing."
19 Checkpoints. Zero Shortcuts.
All 18 Stages, at a Glance
Highlighted stages (gold) are the three trust checkpoints — Inspection, QA, and Buyer Orientation — where a TIH manager personally walks every home before signing off. Per client direction, this is presented as a commitment graphic, not an operations manual.
The Three Trust Beats
Stages 9, 15, and 17.
Three points where the home is fully walked and inspected — not by a subcontractor, by a TIH manager. These are the moments most builders skip and most TIH buyers remember.
County Inspection
Framing, mechanical, electrical, plumbing — every required county inspection scheduled and accompanied by TIH. Nothing passes by accident.
QA Walk
TIH's own internal walk before you ever see the home. Any item that doesn't meet TIH standard gets fixed before the buyer arrives — not added to your punch list.
Buyer Orientation
The two-hour orientation. The home is yours; we introduce you to every system, every warranty, every meter. See the orientation in detail →
Why It Matters
Closing With Ten Items or Fewer.
TIH has never closed a custom home with more than ten items on the punch list. That's the consequence of doing the work the right way at every stage — not the result of luck at the end.
The system also makes scheduling predictable. 18 stages × 7 days = 126 build days. Steve hates BuilderTrend-style schedules because they hide dependencies; he prefers seeing the whole 126-day plan on one page where moving one stage automatically shifts the rest.
Want to See the Other Two Processes?
The 18-stage build is one of three TIH signature systems. The orientation and the closing tradition are the other two.