On the new show “Buy It or Build It,” Chris and Calvin LaMont help families figure out whether to design their dream home from scratch or renovate a house to their tastes. This question can get tricky, though, if their clients have a growing family that might need more room down the road.

In the episode “One Happy Family Home,” the LaMont brothers meet Dominique and Darrian Campbell, who have a baby girl and have outgrown their current residence. They want Chris and Calvin to help them find a place with more space—around 3,000 square feet with four bedrooms, three baths, and extra room in case they have more kids. So the pressure’s on to find something great, particularly since the Campbells are both attorneys.

“They’re both lawyers, so if we make a mistake, we’re paying for it,” Calvin tells Chris.

They have $550,000 to spend, all in. As is their custom, the LaMont brothers show the couple an empty lot they can build on, as well as a house they can buy and renovate. Read on to find out which route they choose, and learn some great tips on buying, building, and renovating a house.

First, Calvin shows the Campbells an empty lot where he can build them the home of their dreams with all the custom bells and whistles. The catch? Based on the lot size, he can do that only by building a two-story house.

This is a deal breaker for Dominique, who was a college basketball player and had a knee injury that makes stairs difficult. They also don’t want to be worried about babies on stairs, either.

So they opt for Chris’ idea of buying a one-story, four-bedroom, three-bath, 2,875-square-foot home built in 1977. It’s located in a North Dallas neighborhood called Bent Tree, which is close to schools and family.

The list price is $426,000, and Chris says he can remodel it to their liking for $100,000, bringing their total cost to $526,000. This would leave $24,000 in their bank account.

Chris and designer Lindsey Walker go shopping for flooring, tiles, countertops, and cabinets. They decide on honey-toned manufactured wood planks for the living room because, as Walker explains, they want the flooring to blend in rather than stand out and suck up all the attention.

“That’s very neutral,” says Calvin as he handles a sturdy sample. He notes the manufactured wood is very durable and the warm honey tone blends with everything.

Best of all, “They’re going to get the real hardwood look for engineered hardwood pricing,” he observes.

Dominique steps up to weigh in on the kitchen design. She winces when she sees the white cabinet options.

“A lot of the kitchens these days are white, and I did not want to do that,” she says. “I wanted to do something that’s midcentury modern.”

The LaMont brothers agree that all-white kitchens are on their way out. So they get more of the style Dominique wants with natural wood and tiles with a hint of olive for the backsplash.

“I’m super excited about that,” she says.

Hard rain halts work on the outside of the house, but the LaMont brothers are happy it’s coming down, because it shows them that about a foot of water is puddling up on the concrete tile patio.

“This is not the pool you planned to put in here, right?” Chris asks contractor Michael rhetorically.

“We’re going to have to get a French drain in here,” says Michael. A French drain is a buried pipe that naturally carries water away, in this case to the back alley.

It’s going to cost about $1,000, but it’s the least expensive and easiest option. It also works perfectly, as they discover later when still more rain comes down.

Screen doors and the old “sliding glass” doors might be midcentury, but they don’t allow much light into a room, and the wrong ones look dated.

“That entire wall of windows and doors in the living room? Say goodbye to them,” says Chris. “We’re putting in this incredible, 16-foot accordion door system, and I cannot wait to see it installed.”

Once they’re installed, it’s easy to see that they let in so much more light, do a better job of connecting the indoors with the out, and look so much more modern and luxe.

During renovations, the LaMont brothers find a piece of old tempered glass, which breaks into chunks instead of shards. So Calvin gets the great idea of breaking it up and using it in the redesigned fireplace.

To do this safely, Calvin and Darrian place the old glass from the shower door on a sheet in the driveway, wrap the sheet around it, then whack it with a hammer. They then dance on the chunks to get them even smaller. Looks like fun!

“They look like diamonds,” says Darrian.

In the end, the Campbells are thrilled with their new fireplace and the house overall.

“It’s better than I ever could have imagined,” says Darrian. “This house is going to be perfect for our current family and our future family.”

Lisa Johnson Mandell is an award-winning writer who covers lifestyle, entertainment, real estate, design, and travel. Find her on ReallyRather.com