Jay Schneider: This is shaping up to be a strong year for remodeling. What have you noticed?

Grace Tsao Mase: This is a great year for remodeling. Out here in California, we've had a lot happen over the last few years. I'm still getting calls off the hook: "We need to remodel." I think people don't feel in control right now, and psychologically, doing something to their home is how they take that control back. I haven't run a full analysis, but there's a connection there.

What's exciting for our industry is the opportunity to upgrade these homes. Somewhere around 80% of homes today wouldn't meet current building codes for resiliency, whether that's fire, hurricanes, or something else. That's true across 150 million housing units nationwide. This is our chance to step up.

I've gone through multiple wildfires and earthquakes myself, and I've had friends lose their homes. It's heartbreaking, and these disasters are getting more frequent. Back in the '80s, the average gap between billion-dollar disasters was about 85 days. Last year it was about 10. That's a daunting responsibility for our industry, but also an opportunity to help clients understand the reality and do something about it.

JS: That's where AI comes in for you?

GTM: Right. I spend a lot of time researching incentives: tax credits, grants, rebates, you name it. There are billions of dollars available through states and jurisdictions that our industry doesn't dig deep enough to find. I actually built an AI platform, HomeRES.ai, just for that.

I want people to understand the research behind it more than I want to plug the platform. We built it thinking holistically, the way a homeowner does. They want their home stronger, their utility bills lower, their air healthier. As a contractor, I want to do great work and be profitable. Homeowners often assume an upgrade means more expense, but once you factor in stackable incentives, you're actually making money. A state insurance commissioner told me her state had over $20 million earmarked just for coastal communities to replace roofs. When a hurricane hits, the roof is the first thing to go, and hardening it gives homeowners a real fighting chance. Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana are among the states working to raise awareness of incentives like that.

JS: How do remodelers use HomeRES.ai?

GTM: We help them identify incentives and build them into the estimate, along with cost estimation. We give them good-better-best material options, and practical guidance, like converting framing from two-by-four studs on 16-inch centers to two-by-six on 24-inch centers for better insulation and lower lumber, time, and labor costs.

It also handles pre-construction document review. Once you upload documentation, it checks for constructability issues and cross-references against the architect's, designer's, or engineer's work, generating an RFI so those issues get resolved before the contract is signed. That cuts change orders and gets everyone starting from the same place. It's much cheaper to change the lines on paper than to change the framing later.

JS: Your book cites a stat that only 2% of construction companies had integrated AI as of early 2025. A year later, what's changed?

GTM: More are using it but I don't have an exact number. Most contractors are using it for email, marketing, and maybe accounting, not for deeper field applications yet. I think we're still in a transition phase.

When I see an issue on a job site, I'll snap a photo and ask AI to walk me through it. Even though I have multiple state licenses, there's a lot I don't know, so when I upload a picture and ask AI to explain it to me, I instantaneously learn from that. And with the labor shortage we have, this is a great way for newcomers to learn faster and quickly ramp up.

JS: Is it fear or lack of awareness holding back adoption rates?

GTM: I think it’s a combination. AI companies aren't great at explaining exactly what you can do with these tools, and construction companies don't have time to figure it out. There's also fear it'll take jobs away. But a recent Anthropic study found that high-touch, physical work isn't likely to be replaced. Human judgment and interpretation and critical thinking still matter.

There's no way that at any point soon this kind of critical thinking and implementation will be completely taken over by AI. There will be some analysis, but there's still a sense of style and taste it can’t replace. What we do is so important.

JS: And it could free you up to do more of that critical thinking, the higher-level stuff.

GTM: Yes. I think that's a great way to look at it. What AI does is look for patterns. What's been done before. It’s not looking for what could be done, and specific to this location and this client. That's where we come in with that information.

Most contractors don't enjoy digging through plans and cross-referencing documents. It’s tedious work and it's repetitive. AI is great at that kind of work. If we’re doing an inspection or a walkthrough, we can upload photos and get immediate feedback on what to fix before it becomes a costly problem. It's a labor reduction and a time reduction. For me, everything comes down to what AI means for profit.

JS: AI can make you look smarter for having found ways to save money or a better way to do something before it becomes a problem.

GTM: Right! One of our clients who uses our platform said he’s a “superhero for his client." He walks in prepared, helps them think beyond convention, and finds incentives to offset any added costs.

Clients want to feel like their remodeler is a partner and is there to protect them and be on their side. That is how we change the relationship entirely. We're no longer in a race to the bottom for the lowest bid but delivering actual value. Remodelers want to walk into every client meeting and feel like, “We have a good relationship and they trust me and I'm excited to work on this project.”

Remodeling is a huge investment. Financially and emotionally. They’re opening up someone's home, and that's almost like open-heart surgery on a space that's sacred to them. When you deliver peace of mind along with results, you've got a partner for life, and referrals follow.

JS: What was the genesis for writing your book?

GTM: I was inspired to write it right after the wildfires around Los Angeles. Partly because I was helping my friend who lost everything and helping them to rebuild, going through the permitting process, talking to the fire marshal, the building inspectors, as well as the planning department.

JS: What advice would you give to remodelers interested in utilizing AI but are unsure how to start?

GTM: Download Claude, Perplexity, ChatGPT, whatever, and just start talking to it like you would your superintendent. Describe a job site issue or a tense conversation with a client and ask for feedback. Ask it to ask you questions before it starts recommending anything. Just having a conversation is the lowest bar to entry. No prompting expertise required. And go into settings first to opt out of data sharing. Protect your privacy from day one.