Whole Home Remodeling in Austin, TX
A whole home remodel usually starts with a house that is structurally sound and functionally not working for the family who lives there. Good bones, good lot, but a floor plan built for how people lived forty years ago.
The alternative is moving, and in most of Austin that means paying a premium for a larger house in a neighborhood you like less. A whole house remodel keeps the address and fixes everything else.
Riccoboni Construction takes homes down to what is worth keeping and rebuilds around your preferences and how you actually live.
Request a free estimate or call 512-920-2049.
What a Whole House Remodel Covers
Layout. Removing walls, relocating kitchens and baths, opening living space, and fixing circulation that never worked.
Systems. Electrical service and panel, supply and waste lines, HVAC equipment and ductwork. On a house built before 1990, this is usually the largest hidden cost and the one people plan for least.
Envelope. Windows, doors, insulation, roofing, siding, and masonry.
Interiors. Flooring, cabinetry, tile, millwork, lighting, and paint throughout.
Outdoor living. Porches, decks, and covered space, because the way a house connects to its lot is usually part of what was wrong with it.
What Demolition Finds
Every whole home remodel has a moment, usually in the second or third week, where something appears that nobody could have seen through a wall.
The common ones: unpermitted work from a previous owner, framing that was undersized for the span, plumbing repaired rather than replaced, knob and tube remnants in older central Austin homes, and electrical service that will not carry a modern load.
Anyone who tells you their estimate has no contingency for discovery has either not done many of these or is planning to send you a change order. We build an allowance in and we tell you what it is.
Gut Renovation and Historic Homes
Gut renovation means taking the house back to framing. It is the right approach when systems are at the end of their life and the layout needs to change anyway, because doing both at once costs less than doing them five years apart.
Historic and older homes need a different conversation. Original wood windows are usually worth restoring rather than replacing, particularly where a historic district review applies. Original millwork, floors, and doors are frequently better than anything you can buy now. The goal is modern systems and a modern plan inside a house that still reads as what it is.
Some Austin neighborhoods carry historic designations that govern exterior changes. We confirm what applies to your address before design begins.
Dust, Noise, and Whether You Can Stay
Most people choose to move out for a whole home remodel. The house is not livable through demolition, structural work, and systems replacement, and pretending otherwise makes everyone miserable.
Where phasing makes sense, we will say so. Sometimes a house can be done in halves so you can stay in one end of it, and sometimes that costs more than renting for four months.
On the parts of the job where the house stays occupied, we set up containment barriers, control dust at the source, and clean daily. That is standard, not an upgrade.
What a Whole Home Remodel Costs in Austin
Every project is different. Answer a few quick questions and we will show you a typical cost range for your scope.
Get Your Whole Home Cost Range
Systems replacement is the line item that catches people off guard. Electrical service, supply and waste lines, and HVAC can absorb a large share of the budget before a single finish is chosen.
How Long a Whole Home Remodel Takes
Six to twelve months on site for most whole-house projects, depending on square footage and how much structural work is involved.
Add three to five months before that for design, engineering, selections, and permitting. Structural drawings take time, review timelines differ by jurisdiction, and every material selection has a lead time.
A whole home remodel that finishes next winter is one that starts being planned this spring. We will give you a schedule with real dates and tell you where the risk sits, rather than promising a timeline nobody can hold.
How the Project Runs
1. Assessment. Before anything is priced, we look at what is actually there. Foundation condition, framing, what is behind the walls where we can see, and whether the electrical service will carry what you are planning.
2. Design, engineering, and permitting. Structural drawings, engineering, submission to the reviewing jurisdiction, and material selections locked before demolition.
3. Demolition and containment. Barriers up first, then the house comes back to what is worth keeping.
4. Structural and systems. Framing, load paths, then electrical, plumbing, and HVAC rough-in, then inspections. Nothing closes up until it passes.
5. Envelope and finishes. Windows, insulation, drywall, then millwork, cabinetry, tile, and paint.
6. Walkthrough. Room by room.
Whole Home Remodeling Questions
Do I have to move out?
Usually, yes, for at least part of it. We will tell you honestly at estimate time rather than halfway through, and where phasing is realistic we will price that option too.
How much does a whole house remodel cost in Austin?
Per square foot, depending on whether systems are being replaced and how much structural change is involved. You can use our remodeling cost guide and we will give you a real number after walking the house.
Is remodeling cheaper than buying?
Frequently, once you count commissions, closing costs, moving, and the premium on a larger house in the same neighborhood.
What usually goes wrong?
Discovery during demolition, and late selections. Both are manageable. Discovery gets an allowance in the estimate, and selections get locked before anything comes apart.
Can you work on a historic home?
Yes. Where a historic district review applies, exterior work carries additional requirements and a longer timeline. We confirm what governs your property before design begins.
Do you work outside Austin?
Yes, we serve Austin, Dripping Springs, Westlake, Lakeway, Bee Cave, and the surrounding areas.
Start Your Whole Home Remodel
Before you spend anything on drawings, let us walk the house with you. We will talk through what is worth keeping, what changes you need, and roughly what the whole project will run.
No charge, and no obligation afterward.
Request a free estimate or call 512-920-2049.