San Antonio Couple Bets on Local Window Shop After $300 Energy Bill Gap

The latest episode of The Building Texas Show, titled "$400 Electric Bill on 2,000 Sq Ft. He Said It's the Windows," hosted by Justin McKenzie and published September 15, 2026, features Gabby and Jonathan, owners of First Choice Windows and Home Exteriors. Recorded at the San Antonio Home and Garden Show, the conversation opens with a striking household comparison: a rental under 2,000 square feet running $400 to $500 a month in electricity, versus a 3,200 square foot new build in San Antonio running $150 to $200. Jonathan's diagnosis is blunt. It's the windows.

The episode traces how a husband-and-wife team built a locally owned alternative in a city Gabby calls the home of small businesses, yet where she could not find a single locally owned window shop when she went looking. Listeners get several distinct threads:

• Why new builds, including million-dollar Toll Brothers homes fitted with Ply Gem, may not deliver the window quality buyers assume.
• How blower door and pressure tests expose air loss through doors and windows.
• Why the company expanded from First Choice Window Solutions into siding, sunrooms, fences, and a roofing partnership with Texas Roof Guardians.

Jonathan offers a homeowner test that requires no tools at all. "Just standing next to the window during the summer... if you're feeling that heat come through or if you're feeling that cold front come through, it's probably necessary to get something done," he tells McKenzie. Gabby describes the moment the math clicked for her after moving into their sunnier, larger new build: "That's like a $300 difference in this bill here. And he was like, it's the windows. And I was like, are you serious?" The couple also warns homeowners away from tackling installations themselves, insisting windows are not a DIY project.

The deeper conversation covers craftsmanship gaps in modern construction, the counterweight-and-rope mechanisms still hiding in 1940s, 50s, and 60s wood windows around San Antonio, and the leak calls that followed heavy rain events, including flooding in Kerrville. Jonathan, whose father has run a fence, patio cover, and concrete business for more than 30 years, explains why First Choice sells name brands like Andersen and Pella at lower prices: no 75-truck fleet, no 20 offices, and lower marketing overhead. Gabby, who left a corporate learning and development role in multifamily property management to build the back end of the company, frames the mission as keeping home improvement affordable for buyers already stretched by a 30-year mortgage.

The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, spotlights the entrepreneurs, tradespeople, and small business owners shaping communities across Texas. Through on-location conversations at events like the San Antonio Home and Garden Show, the show explores how local operators compete with national brands, serve homeowners, and build lasting companies. This episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard, and more information on First Choice Windows and Home Exteriors can be found at firstchoicewindowsolutions.com.

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