AUREABUILDTravis County · Texas
Austin is the one city on our list where the answer to almost every early question is that it depends on the lot. Aurea Build is based here and takes remodels, additions, ADUs, custom homes, commercial build-outs and investor work, and most of the early effort goes into finding out what a particular address will actually allow.
A bungalow near the center, a ranch house from a later decade, a townhome, a newer build in a far-out neighborhood: all of them are Austin, and each has its own framing, its own wiring and its own collection of things a previous owner did without telling anyone. Opening a wall in an older house usually turns something up. In a newer one the job is more often about the plan, a space that never got finished, or a layout that stopped working for the people living in it.
That's why we don't price from an address. A site visit comes first, then a scope, then a number. The residential renovations page describes how that early work goes.
Inside the city limits, permits go through the City of Austin Development Services Department. That's a different office from the ones in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Lakeway and the other suburbs, so if your address sits near a city line, confirm which one you're under before anyone plans around it. Whether your job needs a permit, what review it gets and how long that review runs all depend on the scope, the lot and the zoning. A written zoning check, or a call to the permit office, gives you the answer for your address. Our guide to building permits for remodels and additions in Austin lays out the order things usually happen in.
Some lots sit in flood or watershed areas, usually near creeks or on slopes, and those rules can change what can go where. If you think yours might, say so in the first conversation.
Many neighborhoods also have an HOA or deed restrictions, and the architectural approval is a separate application from the city permit. People tend to send it in last. It's easier to send in while the drawings can still change.
East of the I-35 corridor the ground is mostly expansive clay that swells and shrinks with moisture. Toward the Hill Country on the west there's shallow limestone, which makes digging, drainage and foundations a different problem. Plenty of lots in between have some of each.
An interior remodel barely notices any of this. An addition, an ADU or a new house sits right on top of it. Read clay and limestone site conditions in Austin before a design gets locked in.
If the house is older than 1978, plan for lead-safe work practices during demolition and surface prep. It adds a step to the schedule and a line to the budget. Better to know on day one than when the first wall comes open.
The most common request is one room, a kitchen remodel or a bathroom remodel. Next come home additions and ADUs, then custom homes on a lot the owner already has or is thinking about buying. Investors and sellers bring rental and resale work, and business owners bring commercial build-outs.
Texas doesn't license general contractors at the state level, so a license number won't separate one bidder from another. If you're collecting bids, how to compare renovation bids shows how to find the line items that differ. Summer heat and spring storms shape the schedule on anything outdoors.
We take on work in Austin across all of those categories, and if the timing or the scope doesn't fit, you'll hear that in the first conversation. To start, request an estimate.
Common questions
Inside the city limits, permits go through the City of Austin Development Services Department. Whether you need one and what review applies depends on the scope, the lot and the zoning. A written zoning check or a call to the permit office gives the real answer for your address.
It can. The east side and the I-35 corridor lean toward expansive clay that moves with moisture, and the west toward shallow limestone. Interior remodels are mostly untouched by it, but additions, ADUs and new houses should have foundation conditions looked at before design is final.
No. The city permit and the HOA's architectural approval are two separate applications with their own timelines. Exterior and structural changes often need both. Pull your neighborhood documents early so the approval doesn't hold up the start date.
No. We take remodels, additions, ADUs, custom homes, commercial build-outs and investor work. Send the property details through the estimate form and we'll tell you what the job involves and whether the timing works.