If you have never built out here, the hardest part is not
choosing a builder. It is knowing what order the calls go in, and who you are
supposed to have lined up before the one you are talking to can start.
This is a plain sequence, not advice. Bastrop County
and the cities inside it have their own permitting, and the county's rules for
septic, water wells and floodplain are the ones that most often surprise
people building on acreage. Check with the county before you commit to
anything on this page.
The order
Plans & Permits — Architects, engineers, surveyors and the people who draw it before anybody digs. (44 local businesses) see them →
Site & Foundation — Clearing, dirt work, septic, water and the slab everything else sits on. (4 local businesses) see them →
Frame & Roof — Builders, framers, roofers and the trades that put the shell up. (39 local businesses) see them →
Systems — Plumbing, wiring, heating and cooling, and increasingly solar. (16 local businesses) see them →
Finish Work — Everything between weatherproof and finished. (13 local businesses) see them →
Outside — Fencing, landscape, irrigation, pools and the work that makes it look finished from the road. (12 local businesses) see them →
Supply & Rental — Where the materials and the machinery come from. (32 local businesses) see them →
Repair & Remodel — For the far more common job that is not a new build. (28 local businesses) see them →
The three that catch people out here
Water
On acreage you are often drilling a well
rather than connecting to a line. That is a separate licensed trade, a
separate timeline, and a number nobody can quote you accurately from a
desk.
Septic
No sewer means an on-site system, which means
a site evaluation and a county permit before the slab, not after.
The Lost Pines themselves
Tree cover, sandy soil and fire history all
affect clearing, foundation and insurance in ways that surprise people coming
from Austin.
Building, or about to? The trades are all
listed free. If you are one of them and want to be
easier to find, start here
— also free.