Good Neighbor Podcast for the Greater Chattanooga Region

Stone Ridge Remodeling - Insights from Jason Liers on Quality Work and Local Impact

August 21, 2024 • Scott Howell

Share episode

Ever wondered how quality craftsmanship and community support can transform a local business? Join us as we have an enriching conversation with Jason Liers from Stone Ridge Remodeling. Jason's journey from working alongside his father and grandfather to founding and rebranding his own business is truly inspiring. We explore his extensive experience in interior remodels, especially bathrooms and kitchens, and the critical importance of high-quality waterproofing systems like Schluter. Jason’s commitment to quality and trust in his work shines through as he discusses his family's move from Florida to Tennessee and their dedication to supporting local businesses.

In this episode, we emphasize the value of choosing local businesses for your remodeling needs and how it contributes to the strength of the community. Jason shares insights on the importance of using reliable waterproofing systems to prevent issues like mold and structural damage, ensuring long-lasting results for your home. By focusing on quality workmanship and customer satisfaction, Jason has built a thriving business in the Greater Chattanooga region. Tune in, and you might just find the perfect local business to support for your next remodeling project.
https://stoneridgeremodeling.com/

Good Neighbor Podcast Show Media Accounts
Good Neighbor Podcast
https://www.friendsandneighborsgroup.com

https://www.facebook.com/FriendsNeighborsGroup
https://www.instagram.com/friendsneighborsgroup (COMING SOON) https://www.pinterest.com/FriendsNeighborsGroup (COMING SOON)
https://twitter.com/f_n_group
https://www.linkedin.com/company/friendsneighborsgroup/about/
https://www.tiktok.com/@friendsneighborsgroup (COMING SOON)
https://www.youtube.com/@FriendsNeighborsGroup
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-neighbor-podcast-for-the-greater-chattanooga-region/id1739303534
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-good-neighbor-podcast-for-156268559/
https://open.spotify.com/show/5YYkezp741rmU6Bmjzme5A
...

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Scott Howell.

Speaker 2:

Hello, good neighbors, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast brought to you by the Friends and Neighbors Group of the Greater Chattanooga Region. Of course, the announcer told you my name is Scott Howell and I'm your host today. You know when we're asked a lot of times what is the theme of the Good Neighbor podcast. Well, the theme is that we desire to bring an awareness to the community regarding locally owned and operated businesses in this region.

Speaker 2:

You know, sometimes we forget that our communities were built on the backs of our local businesses. They're the backbone of our communities and they need our support. And you know, I realize this we have more conveniences in life and we have a lot of things in life and we're busy, we run around here, but as much as we can, we need to have an intentional thinking of supporting our local businesses and doing all we can to keep them going and keep them knowing that they're part of us and we're part of them. And you know, we've got one of our local neighbors here today, jason Lears at Stone Ridge Remodeling. And Jason, we are so happy to have you on the program today.

Speaker 3:

Glad to be here, Scott.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know I always say that. I usually say it before I introduce you, but I forgot, so let me just say it now. You know, every local business has a story to tell and, Jason, we're here today just to help you tell yours loud and proud, and we're thankful that you decided to be on with us today. And you know we want to learn all there is to know about Stone Ridge Remodeling. But before we do that, would you care to share with us a little bit something about yourself and your family?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, sure. So I'm originally from Florida. We moved up here when I was just out of high school. My parents moved up here, so I kind of followed them, married, got three kids, all right, and we we live in the Cleveland area.

Speaker 2:

Okay, All right. Well you, how are your children? How old are they?

Speaker 3:

My oldest is 10 and I've got twins that are five.

Speaker 2:

Twins, all right, well, the 10,. The 10 year old is the chief babysitter, right? Yeah, I wish the 10-year-old is the chief babysitter, right? Yeah, I wish. Oh, my goodness, that's funny. What's your wife's name, jason?

Speaker 3:

Wife's name is Jennifer.

Speaker 2:

Jennifer, kudos to you for having all these kids and holding down the fort. Right, that's it. Kudos to you. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'll tell you what, jason, let's dive in. You just tell us all about the Stone Ridge Remodeling.

Speaker 3:

So Stone Ridge Remodeling we specialize in interior remodel, mostly in bathrooms and kitchens, but we do do other things. So how we kind of got our start there, my biggest background is in tile work, so it was a very natural progression to get into bathrooms and then that has has bled over into kitchens and a lot of other things.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so. So how did you when you, how was your journey? How did you come to be in this business?

Speaker 3:

So we go all the way back to when I was a kid. My dad, my grandpa, was a general contractor.

Speaker 1:

My dad framed houses.

Speaker 3:

Um. So I came up, you know, when I was about 14, 15, I started going to work with him hollow lumber, every summer when I was in high school I would work on whatever crew dad was working on. So I kind of grew up working with him. And once I got out of college, well, I started. College didn't end up finishing because I realized why am I sitting here going to school when I can go swing a hammer and make just as much money as some of these people getting four year degrees? So I decided not to go the whole college route and I went to work for a local remodel company. I just fell in love with it, started my first business in my 20s. That was J&J Home Improvements.

Speaker 3:

And I had extensive flooring and tile knowledge at that point. So we did a lot of flooring, started my remodel journey back then. Then, in 2008, throughout all the hardship there, I ended up shutting that business down. So we took a hiatus there. I went and drove a truck for a little while and I ended up getting into the construction supply industry supplying materials and kind of working that whole side of the construction industry. So I've been in, you know, not only the building but in the distribution as well. Okay, so then in 2019, I got was getting kind of tired of the corporate job and was getting antsy to kind of get back out here and start building again. So we started a handyman company. It was just me, and a lot of my old customers from the J&J days got wind that I was back at it. So it wasn't long, we started taking on bigger remodel projects and so in 2022, it was the end of 2022, we rebranded the Handyman Company into Stone Ridge and focused just on remodel work and taking care.

Speaker 3:

If a customer has hired us to do a remodel and they call us with some home repairs, I do my best to take care of our regular customers, even if it's more of a maintenance thing.

Speaker 2:

Okay, Awesome man. So you've been involved in construction pretty much all your life and a lot of different avenues of it too.

Speaker 3:

Yep, All my my in-laws are all contractors Like I just can't get away from it.

Speaker 2:

Well then, your, your wife, knew what to expect when she, when she, when she, tied up with you, right?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, Her dad. Her dad's been building pretty much his whole life too.

Speaker 2:

That's great. That's great. Well, tell us about your family a little bit more. What do you all like to do for fun when you're not out there working?

Speaker 3:

I'm a real avid motorcycle rider. I like about anything on two wheels. Oh wow Street dirt. I've got a dual sport and a Harley yeah, so I like to spend as much time on those as I can. Otherwise, you know chasing the kids around and you know just regular old family life.

Speaker 2:

Jason, you know you've been in this industry a long time and probably seen it all and heard it all, uh, so to speak. Uh, so, so tell us what? What kind of myths and misconceptions do you hear from people that you know when they maybe they are entering into this bathroom remodel or or this, uh, uh, you know, kitchen remodel and they're doing it for the first time? What kind of things do you hear them say, questions they ask?

Speaker 3:

maybe. So one of the big ones, especially in the tile trade. Um, I still hear a lot of people, even pros, that have the misconception that tile itself is waterproof and so they'll build these showers out. And the tile itself is not waterproof. The waterproofing is what's behind the tile. That's definitely a myth and a misconception. Oh, wow, something else that we get a lot is they're not familiar with the construction process, so to speak. Yeah, and one of our biggest objections sometimes, as we're competing against other contractors, is just sometimes our price is way higher than what some other contractors are, just because of our processes and the way we do things are quite a bit different. I try to focus on number one, doing a quality job, and number two, offering a quality experience.

Speaker 2:

So Can you speak a little bit more about that? The quality of what you do, maybe, compared to what the lower priced people do?

Speaker 3:

Sure, so one thing we try to do we use all quality materials, we install everything to manufacturer's recommendations and we do our best to use full systems.

Speaker 3:

So in the building industry you know you have lots of manufacturers like some of the household names would be like GAF for roofing shingles and the Schluter products for tile systems, mohawk is a you know big flooring company and all of these manufacturers. You know you have not only your finished product what the consumer is actually going to see when it's done but you have all the installation materials that provide the installation the way the manufacturer has designed that to go. So we do our best to use the full system recommended by the manufacturer so that not only we can provide you with a quality install but we can provide you with that manufacturer's full warranty as well. One thing you'll see with a lot of the cheaper contractors is they'll start mixing and matching things to try to save you a dollar. And I tell people all the time it's not my job to save you a dollar, it's my job to give you a quality product that's going to last until you're tired looking at it.

Speaker 2:

Basically, well, sometimes that's not as long as others, right? Yeah?

Speaker 3:

it depends. There's definitely, uh, you know, higher and lower products on the scale there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I bought a house one time and went in in the bathroom had pink tile. I was pretty tired of it really quick.

Speaker 3:

I heard that.

Speaker 2:

Didn't take me long at all to get tired of looking at that.

Speaker 3:

I bet.

Speaker 2:

Pink bathtub, pink sink oh my goodness. Well, I want to focus on something you said earlier about that tile is not waterproof, it's what you put behind the tile. Tell me a little bit about that.

Speaker 3:

Okay, so I'm a big fan of Schluter systems, which a lot of people know as the orange stuff. It's starting to become a household name just because there's lots of other good systems on the market, but Schluter does an amazing job with education and providing a full system. They basically manufacture everything needed for tile installation, except for grout.

Speaker 1:

They have their own inset.

Speaker 3:

They have all their own waterproofing membranes. So let's take a shower, for example, because that's obviously your biggest wet area inside a house. Example, because that's obviously your biggest wet area inside a house. They offer multiple systems to waterproof the floor, the walls and make that area to where it is waterproof and it's vapor tight before the tile is ever installed.

Speaker 3:

If a waterproofing job is done correctly, you can take a shower in that shower before any tile is even installed, because the way that system works, as you're taking a shower, your grout even even if it's sealed, even if the epoxy grout you know the premium materials as the water runs across that surface, especially the floor, tile and grout is porous, so eventually it will saturate the.

Speaker 3:

The water's mostly going to run down the tile to the drain, but there is water that's going to get through that tile and so you want to make sure you have a waterproofing system underneath that tile. It's going to catch that water and get it to the drain. The biggest failure that I see is either shower floors that aren't sloped properly or shower floors that don't have the proper waterproofing system in place to be able to channel that water, and I've done numerous. I can't, I probably couldn't even put a number on it at this point replacements of showers that are maybe only six months to a year old and they're already failing, and they already have rotten floor systems, because the installer didn't either didn't know what he was doing or he tried to shortcut the process by using products that didn't go together, and so he didn't get a quality installation.

Speaker 2:

That can also cause a mold problem too kid Definitely. In fact.

Speaker 3:

I had a call this morning. The lady called me and she had a plumber doing some plumbing on her house and he was underneath and came up and said ma'am, you have mushrooms growing on the bottom of your plywood underneath your shower.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I've got to go look at that one on Monday, but they probably they either have a problem around the drain or they have a problem in the corners and the water's getting through.

Speaker 2:

So what do you do in a situation like that arises, where there's a huge mold issue and you go in and I know you got to tear it out, but what about if there's areas, maybe, that you can't get to? Or what do you do in a situation like that?

Speaker 3:

So in a shower the way I usually attack, that being that I don't know exactly how the shower is built or what the system used by the previous installer was, and I can't guarantee my work If I'm tying into somebody else's we approach a shower Like it's a full gut. We got the whole thing down to the studs, take all the tile off, all the backer off. Uh, if the mold is just confined to the shower area, then most of the time we can remove those materials and it's not a big deal. One of the worst ones that I saw the mold had gotten into the insulation was into the two by fours. We had to cut the whole exterior wall of the house out and change all that material. There are some chemicals that can be treated and remediated Depending on your sensitivity. This particular customer in that instance had a high sensitivity to mold, so they didn't want to take any chances. They wanted to get everything out of there that the mold was touching and I totally understand that.

Speaker 3:

So in most cases we remove anything that has mold, or if it's let's say it's on some of the key structural members of the house. There are things we can do to treat that, to kill it and make sure that it doesn't come back or at least slow it down, especially if it's in a place that's not going to be visible once we complete the new installation.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, okay, so you, like I said a while ago, sound like you've seen it all.

Speaker 3:

I don't know that I've seen it all, but I've seen a lot, seen a lot, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So so when, when, when you get it all put back together and you have a happy customer, I'm sure you probably get referrals from that too, where people tell their friends or family and neighbors about you and they say you know, you're getting a call, since so-and-so told me to call you because you did such a great job at their house.

Speaker 3:

Yes, sir, 95% of our business is referral business.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. That speaks highly of you, buddy. That speaks highly of you, buddy. That speaks highly of you. So, and what is your coverage area?

Speaker 3:

So we serve obviously the Cleveland area. That's where we're based out of. We do a lot of work up on Signal Mountain. We cover pretty much all of Chattanooga. You know East Brainerd, ottawa, mcdonald, yeah, that whole kind of greater Chattanooga area would say yeah um, I've I've looked at some jobs in athens.

Speaker 3:

I don't typically go that far north, um, but for the right job, I would sure. And some of the towns you know, like old fort and you know out past cleveland being in cleveland you know those those are a lot of people that are underserved out that way because a lot of the Chattanooga contractors don't want to go that far right and for me they're right in my backyard, so we really have a pretty, pretty big coverage area.

Speaker 3:

Usually I try to I try to keep my drive under an hour yeah you know, hour, hour and a half, depending on traffic. Sometimes it takes me that long to get up on top of signal.

Speaker 2:

But really yeah.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's kind of our area.

Speaker 2:

OK, all right. Well, man, I want to ask you a question. I always like to ask everybody this question before we end the interview. If there was one thing that you wish our listeners knew about Jason Lears, now I'm talking about the heart of what you do not what you do, but the heart of you and your business. Do you wish they knew one thing about Jason Lears and Stone Ridge Remodeling that they probably wouldn't know unless you shared it with them? And you'd like to shout it loud and proud here today? What would that be?

Speaker 3:

and proud here today. What would that be? I personally and the team that I'm trying to build, we have a passion for what we do. We come into your house, we treat that house like it's our own. When we leave, we not only want you to be proud of the work, but we want to be proud of the work. I never want to do a project that I'm not 100% proud to put my name on and shout from the rooftops. We did this and this is an absolute awesome house.

Speaker 2:

Oh, you can't beat that. Customer service is sick. If you have good customer service, it's second to none, you know, and not only just customer service while you're doing it, but just say something minor was overlooked and happened and they called you back. You know you being quick to come back and check and not making them wait and all that. You know that means a lot to people and that's why you get good referrals, because you stay on top of it. You try to do the job right the first time and you stay on top of making sure the job stays right.

Speaker 3:

You know we want the repeat business. I mean I, I want to build customers for life. Um, I've got, I've got two or three customers, we've pretty much remodeled their whole entire house and I'm waiting for them to sell it and buy another one so we can start again. That's cool.

Speaker 2:

Well, Jason, I want you to take a moment and tell people how to contact you and where they can find out more information about you, even whether online or offline.

Speaker 3:

Definitely so. Our website is stoneridgermodelingcom. You can go there, check us out. We got a gallery on there of past projects we've done. You can see some of the reviews we have and learn more about us there. We also have Stone Ridge has a Facebook page, and you can also see us on Google. There's lots of pictures and different stuff on our Google business page as well. Our phone number if you want to reach out is 423-704-9700.

Speaker 2:

704-9700. 704-9700.

Speaker 3:

And you can call or text that number.

Speaker 2:

Call or text. All right, well, sounds like you've got a way. Those pictures are really important. I've told people that before I've worked with small businesses to help them develop marketing programs, and when you're in, especially when you're in the construction industry, you need pictures to show people. Definitely you need to be able to show people what you do. So that's a great idea, and kudos to you and your family and our best wishes from the Good Neighbor podcast to you to your continued success.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, Scott.

Speaker 2:

Been a pleasure having you on buddy.

Speaker 3:

Been happy to be here.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and all the good neighbors of the greater Chattanooga region. You know, after meeting Jason and hearing more about Stone Ridge Remodeling and what they do and what it means to them to do the job right, I know that the next time that you're in need of his services, that he hopes that you'll remember this and consider him. Give him an opportunity to come in and show you what he can do, to give you a quote, to tell you what he does, what that's different, maybe, than what somebody else does. It might be worth your time. He just might be the man that you meet, that you want to do business with, like he says, from now on. So give him a try.

Speaker 2:

He's got a Facebook page, his website. He listed his phone number. Remember him the next time you need that bathroom or kitchen remodel done. And to all the listeners out there of the greater Chattanooga region, thank you for taking the time out of your day and visiting with us. You know, whether your business or your community is in Cleveland or Dalton or Jasper or Benton, you know we're part of the whole greater Chattanooga region and it's a beautiful place, and let's remember one another and always remember to support locally owned and or operated businesses and do all we can to help one another. This is Scott Howell signing off. I hope everyone goes out and makes this a remarkable day.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPClevelandcom. That's GNPClevelandcom, or call 423-380-1984, 1-9-8-4.

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.