Coming up on our 8th Year and now it is time to grow again….

We need more loading docks. We need to move but where? Then looking out over the back dock it became clear….. behind us! It will be the least disruptive move for everyone.

A Birds eye view of the new construction plans

This is the look of the new facility with each collection having its own loading dock. More importantly jobs, jobs, jobs! Perhaps my most favorite part of the business creating employment. Good jobs, double min wage just for the guys working on the front line.  Good Healthcare coverage. People before profits. We are a team and paid as such.

We are one of UPS freight’s latest accounts north of Atlanta shipping huge volumes every day. But it is the 1,000’s of percent growth that is interesting.  As you can draw a line and know how big this will become. Building the future is exciting for everyone to be apart of.

The new facility will be built over a two phases. Phase one will be a complete building with 15 loading docks and offices this will be an investment of just over $4m. As a business we need this up and running we can get new product shipped (we stock over 2 million square feet in Fulton Industrial (downtown ATL as of Nov 2015 probably 3 million by 2017). New products sitting downtown we cannot fit in our current Alpharetta location and we cannot put online, so they are just sitting there.  Moving has become essential.

Where to move was a tough choice; clearly Buford or even Fulton Industrial has space and it is amazingly affordable.  But do the employees want to move and work there?  That was a definite ” NO”. The employees want to stay where they are. So as a business what do you do? This is my view product quality, price, service are linked to people, the people that work at the company. So as a company we stay local and invest in our people by giving them  location that avoids downtown traffic.

Phase two will be about improving the aesthetics. Creating a showroom for our products. But not your typical showroom. We will catalogue the lots and iPads will allow consumers to see the lots from a comfy chair and with narrowing down the hundreds of options we can find the look they want. Adding to the ascetics on the front off the building and looking after our operation. A place people will be proud to work at and family members will be happy to bring lunch. You want the mothers and fathers that work here for their Children to be proud of them, for what they have accomplished and they should be.

Most importantly an outside kitchen with 2 built in grills for the Friday cookout for everyone.  None of this will have any impact on the product price (so customers please do not worry). This is simply about investing in people. Ensuring this is a place people want to work. A Happy place.

Do you realize people spend 8 hours a day working away from their families, 40 hours a week, if you deduct sleeping it is the majority of your life! They need a place where they want to come to work.  Where they are not exhausted by a 2 hour battle against traffic!  Where they can invite their families for a cookout.

It is our hope….. it will encourage more people to want to work for us, better skilled people and drive the business forwards by attracting the best talent. That in turn should be reflected in the Google Trusted Store reviews if we keep this model.

IMHO we need to change the way companies are run. People before profits. And why not? Change the rules, tired of the quarterly results, monthly results, just be the best we can be and enjoy the journey not the goals.

No debt as we have always done since 2008. So people will have a job and are not impacted by Governments or external factors (as much as possible).  We will always put the customer first but our people second a secure a job/career (call it what you will) for life is the goal. Just like in the good old days, my father worked for one company for 25 years. That security creates less stress and less stress does equal a happier home. Their children will do better at school. Around the cycle goes. It is not difficult. It should not be difficult. To breed contentment.

Could this be written better? Of course it could, a Marketing/PR company could do it. But then that would be another cost, another cost the consumer would have to pay through the product (every cost in a company has to be covered through the product). So instead it is ‘real’, mistakes and all. If anyone can help us with some grammatical corrections I would be grateful 🙂 as we always are. No one is perfect, I can admit it, I am not!

Carrara Bianco Venatino 12×24″ Marble Tile $7.95SF

Trial Price for Carrara Venatino $7.95 a Square Foot this is picture here shows honed. It is an incredible looking Italian 12×24″ marble tile we also have it in 12×12″ honed for $6.95 a Square Foot.

We purchased a few crates to test the market with our factory in Italy as such it has a price on it of just $7.95 a Square Foot.

Carrara Venatino an incredible stone. Not found often in tiles generally sold as slabs due to its high cost and certainly very few mosaics. It’s base is whiter than traditional Carrara Bianco. On a scale chart you would have Carrara “D” which would have a very gray base, then “CD” where the base is lighter (this is what is primarily sold everywhere) and then in the Bianco family you have “C” grade which is what we sell in our collection the lightest gray base you can get.  Then lighter than that you either (switch to Venato with a lot less veining) or if you still want the veining you would need Venatino.

This image shows the difference between Carrara CD Marble and Venatino Marble Tile 12×24″

Carrara Bianco 6×18″ Italian Marble Tile $9.95SF.

Carrara Bianco 6×18″ $9.95 a Square Foot available in Honed and Polished.

This is a new format size for 2015 added to our Carrara Bianco Collection of over 150 Mosaics, Tiles and Trims stocked in Georgia and shipped all over the USA. This size is our first large format multiple of three. We have 1×3″ Herringbone on a Mosaic in Honed and Polished for $12.75 a Square Foot.  But 6×18″ takes it from a mosaic to a large format.

It makes larger bathrooms that want a 1×3 dimensional tile to be able to do so without as many grout lines.  It is not on a mesh so that will make the installation harder. I would recommend its use in a brick setting in a bathroom as natural stone tiles are not rectified and creating a Herringbone or any shape on an angle requires a lot of skill as an installer.  If you do opt for the 6×18″ Herringbone pattern, I would not recommend not using a Ceramic installer. We recommend not using Ceramic installers for any natural stone projects, as there are many differences in the process, (use someone qualified by the Marble Institute of America) you would need someone highly qualified, that can shave and adjust tiles to fit the tile. That lays out prior to install and does not install directly box to box.

You would need to over order by 30% to take into account that certain tiles that cannot be used due to the complexity of a 6×18″ Herringbone Installation.  It maybe less a lot depends but again on the skill of the installer.  It is the multiplier effect if you are of by 1mm each time by the time you are at the end of a room 200FT long you could be off by 66mm.  Adjustments need to made along the way to ensure it is accurate, I have seen installers use string and lasers.  If you do not see this or any pre-laid out plan with drawings on the floor.  Then you have a problem.

Carrara Venato 6×12″ Honed $8.00SF installed in Herringbone format (not an easy install to do)

Carrara Venato 6×12″ Honed ($8.00SF) in a Herringbone format.  Not an easy design to create.  Must be dry laid first and then stuck down.  A skilled installer is needed as rectified tiles make Herringbone patterns easy. (Rectified means they are all identical). Natural stone is not rectified and can vary +/- by 1mm in size between tiles sizes making this type of installation a real challenge as small adjustments must be made (not noticeable at all in a running brick format).  This customer over ordered. The installer worked with the tile and made it happen.  Only a true pro can do this.

Even in 6×12″ a Herringbone Tile looks amazing and for just $8.00 a Square Foot in Honed and Polished.  The 6×18″ Bianco Carrara Honed and Polished we hope the elongated look of the multiple of three with create an even better look. The same look you get in the 1×3″ Herringbone.

Houzz.com Awards keep coming Year after Year….!

While we have been in Business Longer than Houzz.com it is still nice to be recognized by the upcoming youngsters of technology 🙂

We are on a Roll!  Three Years in a Row. Here is the Houzz.com press release.

Email from Houzz.com and full press release here.  What does it really mean?  We work hard to answer questions give advice and have some nice reviews left by our customers as well here as well as the two tabs on the top of this blog that show eBay and Amazon.com testimonials and some great reviews on Yahoo.com here (we can go on please email us if you need more).

Now we have 2014 and 2015 Best of Houzz.com

What a great way to start the year with an email from Houzz.com.  We are one of the recipients selected from 25 million monthly users to win the Best of Houzz ‘Service’ award for 2015 (which is awesome to say the least and can be added to the one we won in 2014!).

We are thrilled to be recognized and it goes to the heart of who we are ‘Service’.  The natural stone with which we work with requires exceptional quality control from quarry to shipping out to the customer.  Assisting customers on the phone, with pictures, samples and advice are a just few ways in which we go beyond the usual click and ship ecommerce business.  You can read the full press release here.  A big thank you to Houzz and to all our followers.

We also made a clean sweep for two of the main Pro Seller and Top Destination awards from Yahoo for 2014.  With well over one million businesses using the Yahoo eCommerce platform it is nice to be recognized as one of the top few.

Carrara from The Builder Depot = 100% Return on Investment

It is official – well HGTV seems to think so, remodeling with Cararra Venato or Carrara Bianco from The Builder Depot customers get a 100% return on the bathroom renovation.  Buying Carrara marble through us pays you!  For 70% off the retail cost plus the enjoyment of having a beautiful bathroom the return is well beyond 100%.  Want to add $20,000 to your net worth?  Read on.

Just the product for Carrara bathroom of this size (click here to see) will cost $10k+ at retail prices.  From The Builder Depot it will cost just $3,500.  Then you have the tub and sink and fixtures (we do not sell these) so add in another $10,000.  Then  add in labor, we will assume that is equal at $10,000 each and taxes covers the other $5,000.  This makes the cost of a Carrara marble bathroom from a local retailer at $35,000 (that is our quick math of how they got to $35K).

Purchased by one of our customers (and you know you can do better on installation and fixtures) would cost in total with labor and fixtures $15,500 (we have assumed you are e-commerce savvy and ordered your fixtures online as well).  Our customers pay half the cost of the traditional sales channels which is (bare with me it is lengthy) quarry or factory to> distributor to> sub-distributor to> retail store to> Contractor to> Consumer (you).  Our strategy is Quarry to> You.  See that, one step!  Savings passed onto you.

So if your home has dropped in value or simply treading water or perhaps you want a MORE THAN FREE BATHROOM (had to bold and italic that comment).  You can order from The Builder Depot and with out help on the product end up paying $15K and adding $35K to the price of your home.  You just earned $20,000.

Natalie and The Builder Depot

A little “cheesy” but we like it

Glass Subway Tiles – Gray Glass Tiles

Brilliant glass tiles Charcoal Gray 3×6″ Subway Tile on the left and Ocean Gray 3×6″ on the right (both $9.95 square foot and Free Shipping

It has been since 2011 but this month The Builder Depot re-entered the Glass Tile market.  Back in the early days we had not agreed the best method of production, so after two years of planning, improvements and investment we are back.  You can see the price point back in 2011 we used to be around $11.80SF and the customer had to pay for shipping.  Today with our improvements the exact same 8mm premium glass tile is just $9.5SF and FREE SHIPPING! (for 2015)

We think this is a Brilliant improvement.  A significantly lower price than two years ago.  In fact we thought it was such a brilliant improvement that there was only one name we could think of for the collection.  “Brilliant Glass“.  So here are two of the products in gray shades.  This collection will be a very subtle collection, soft colors.  A product that can be used in conjunction with Carrara marble.  Like this spectacular bathroom with light Gray glass tile I think a smoke gray would work as it is the lightest gray on the spectrum we offer (we would like to offer one more so from white to Light gray, Smoke gray, Ocean Gray and the Charcoal Gray).  Glass Subway Tiles on the wall and Carrara 2″ Hexagon on the floor, just Brilliant.  Brilliant Glass Tiles from The Builder Depot.

Glass Subway Tile with 2×2″ Hexagon Carrara Venato Floor Tile

Limited time only and you can see the little notation on the bottom right – while we have stock 🙂

From left to right: Brilliant White • Ocean Gray • Smoke Gray

This customer really was great sending pictures before the project really got going.

Then taking pictures before on the other side of the bathroom

AFTER: The customer ordered 65 Square Feet of Ocean Gray 3×6″ for $9.95SF and Free Shipping in 2015 (this price is valid throughout this year). This blog will be up for years. So prices no doubt will change.  What an amazing transformation.  We are so grateful for anyone sharing. We are not aiming to be millionaires just a growing group of people trying to provide the best quality look after our families and give back to the community.  Simple.

The Ocean Gray is such a great color. White grout and just a simple design and you have an incredible bathroom.  All this glass tile was delivered for less that $650.00, erm… Brilliant 🙂

Why the minimum order on Porcelain Tile?

There are only two ways to ship the product:

#1. Freight LTL. This is product placed on a pallet, collected at our loading dock and loaded with a pallet truck onto the UPS freight truck. It takes that truck to the local Atlanta Terminal and then splits up shipments sending them on another truck to a local terminal near you.  Then that local terminal will call to make an appointment for delivery on another truck with a lift-gate.

#2. UPS or FedEx Ground

#1. The rationale for the 40 Square Feet (SF) minimum order:  In short we need weight to stop the drivers picking up your order by hand and damaging it, shippers will pick up lighter shipments (the drivers) and squeeze them between other shipments, if there is a gap, if there is not a gap, they will still try and stand it up on an edge and then just let it fall back down with a crash (once the supporting shipment is pulled out).  We know this, we have seen this with other peoples shipments, we ask then not to, please be careful with the products not just ours but everyones. But they are tired of traffic, hot and can be having a bad day.

Let’s say 20SF ships LTL Freight, it would weigh 110Lbs, the driver can pick it up, he will want to move it out of his way to create more space so he can get other shipments off quicker. If your order is between two shipments and they shift, the top (your product is exposed) to the other two shipments and they will squash it, smashing into it. The pallet has wood all around the edge with the product is in the middle, the wooden pallet not only acts as a support but as a buffer, the product does not hang over the edge. It is designed to ship flat, the pallet protects it from the pallet truck, other shipments and the side of the UPS truck.  They cannot stack on it.  It is not designed to be lifted and stuck on it’s side.

At 40SF we are getting over 170Ls, maybe close to 200Lbs with the weight of the pallet.  The driver is not going to enjoying lifting this, he cannot move it easily, it will not slide.  The percentage risk drops significantly of the driver moving it or even attempting it. Also in transit it will not shift.  The drivers scan down the shipments they carry looking for the light ones.

#2. Ground Shipments; this is not even slightly possible.  Porcelain by nature is fragile and ground shippers see “Fragile Handle with Care” as a suggestion, in addition the conveyor belts the companies use have drops and knock around the shipments. The product will snap, chip and break.

I know you want less than 40SF and the product is really nice. We have priced it at a point where we can have no more than 5% damage or chips during transit (as a chipped tile can be used as a cut end piece – this is acceptable as stated in our shipping and damage policy).  We have not priced our products for 50-60% damage, whereby we would have to keep re-shipping more and more UPS ground to replace the damage.  This would simply increase the cost of the product, UPS or FedEx will not pay the claims and if we have to hire people to have a “claims department” then we have just increased the product cost and something is wrong.  That is not what we want.  Not what you want!

We are able to sell at these prices because of this very reason. The margins are very low. We price it so that when we ship it, it arrives intact (within 5%) and the customer is happy.  Prices go up when companies have to keep re-shipping. This business model does not work for everyone, perhaps 70% of customers.  We apologize to the 30% that it does not fit – the customers that need smaller orders.  But all we can do is control the quality of the product.  We do not control the shipper.  But with weight in the shipment we can ensure they are limited on how much it can move or be moved.  That dramatically increases the likelihood of a perfect shipment.

In time we hope to have another website or option where we will be able to bubble wrap each sheet of mosaic. So people can order just 20SF and after lots of testing be confident it can survive shipping from GA to WA without damage greater than 5%. That would of course be a different business model and the product price; for example of a Dove Gray for $11.25SF would become $16.75SF to pay for the additional labor and packaging materials.  Ultimately anything can be done but it comes down to cost. We have just priced everything to the lowest point aiming at the markets largest segment.

Please note minimum orders do not count for local pick-ups.

Our Warehouse

Our Warehouse – Spring 2014

Our warehouse is not very exciting.  Just loading docks.

Looking out from the loading dock the back is just trees.  The large concrete area is for the large trucks (or crazy drivers) to be able to turnaround and backup to the loading docks.

What is pretty is the landscaping around the office

A lot of it is just natural features that have been left there from what was a huge horse farm in Alpharetta

When you pull out of the office/warehouse you see trees and fences that have been left behind from the horse farm days

This road is one of my favorites.  You cannot get the full idea from this picture.  I am leaning out of my car at the stop sign (so safe).  This road is a half a mile of beautiful trees either side of the road.  In the summer it forms a shaded canopy.  When riding bikes it is such a relief in the summer to get this shade.

5910 Shiloh Road East, Alpharetta, GA.  The Builder Depot is located in what was Shiloh Farms.  A horse farm.  The area we work in is beautiful really is pretty with all the different colored trees in spring.  We chose this location for a few reasons.  #1. It is safe. #2. Our employees do not have to fight traffic to get downtown (while the traditional warehouse location is South Atlanta, Fulton Industrial we chose North, GA) which has a number of health benefits. #3. You can open the back dock door and hear the birds chirping, in South Atlanta it was always police sirens.  There are other reasons but these are close to the top. In short we wanted to work in a place that you would feel safe.  Where customers picking up product would feel safe. Work surroundings are an important part of employee moral, it transfers into every area of business. Working in the countryside/suburbs of Georgia does not automatically make a perfect business but for the people that work at The Builder Depot it is a step in the right direction. In summer when the canopy of trees is complete I will take some more pictures.  Our customers are from all over the world so I  wanted to create this blog to give everyone an idea of where we work and where the product ships from.  Any questions as always please let us know questions@thebuilderdepot.com.

Same road 3 weeks later the tree canopy is complete

You can now see (April 25th – 3 wks after the pictures above how much the tree canopy has grown.  It is great in Summer a real break from the heat streaming into the car.  Just wait a little in the shade and your car can cool down ten degrees in seconds.  The trees are just spectacular.  This is just my trusty iPhone taking this image but the quality is excellent.

Birds eye view of location and directions

Thank you Google for your great imagery

Forest Natural – TCNA Test Data