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Grace Tsao Mase grew up tagging along to job sites with her father, an electrician, and it never really left her.
"My dad would take me to job sites and really fell in love with the whole concept of construction, residential construction, and particularly seeing my dad owning a house for the first time, and that really made a huge impact on what does it mean to be a building professional, what we get to deliver, and how we change people's lives and the communities."
She became an architect, a licensed builder, and someone deeply immersed in technology, and she carries all three into every conversation about where our industry is headed.
We got into how AI actually shows up in a builder's day, shaped by her years coding and working in machine learning long before it became a buzzword.
"Artificial intelligence really simply put is additional brain to help you process information."
We also got into why code updates and permitting delays trip up even experienced builders.
Grace shared a personal story about money builders often leave on the table through wildfire safety rebates.
"So we're talking about a check for us, our yard is not very big, we got a $7,000 check that pay for material and labor to create that barrier that makes our home safer in case of wildfire."
It changed how I think about conversations builders could have with clients about upgrade costs.
There's a moment in this episode that surprised me more than anything else we covered, when Grace discovered she was severely dyslexic, and she didn't know about it all her life. That discovery shaped her belief that AI can help people in the trades who learn differently.
We also talked about where AI gets overestimated. Grace believes the human connection with a homeowner can't be replaced by a machine.
"I do have to find that engaging with AI, you don't have that key connection. It's a human connection, the thinking, the emotion, something that's lived experience. AI can't generate that for you."
We talked about her book, AI in Residential Construction, and her platform, HomeRES.ai, that gets practical information into builders' hands.
Grace Tsao Mase is the founder and CEO of HomeRES.ai (winner of Fast Company's World Changing Ideas), and author of "AI in Residential Construction: A Blueprint for Lasting Impact and Success" (NAHB BuilderBooks, 2026). A Yale-trained architect, multi-state licensed contractor, NASCLA-accredited, and AIA associate, she has spent two decades in residential construction and software development, from hands-on project work to leading operations.
She has worked alongside contractors on more than 5,000 residential projects nationwide and holds three U.S. patents. A 2025 Los Angeles wildfire survivor, Grace brings firsthand urgency to her work on AI and resilience-focused construction.
Grace's book, "AI in Residential Construction":
https://www.builderbooks.com/ai-in-residential-construction-products-9780867188295.php
HomeRES website:
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:59 Meet Grace
05:41 Tech Meets Building
07:21 What Builders Miss
08:02 Codes Permits Delays
10:58 Incentives and Rebates
13:26 Red Tape Reality Check
15:01 Escalate and Resolve
17:49 Construction as a Band
21:39 AI as the Game Changer
23:14 AI Explained Simply
26:04 Authenticity vs AI Bots
28:26 Human Touch vs Scale
31:02 Full Circle to Connection
34:17 Hands On Learning Returns
39:32 AI as a Power Tool
39:52 Fear Jobs and Terminators
42:08 Tech Inspires New Trades
44:29 Scaling with AI Pressure
45:58 Find Friction Then Tools
49:09 Book Breakdown
50:44 AI Hype Versus Reality
59:01 Why Builders Must Adapt
01:00:49 Five Year Forecast
01:03:05 Neurodivergence and AI
01:07:38 Rapid Fire
