What is a barndominium shell, and what does turnkey add?
A shell stops at dried in. The structure stands, rain stays out, and the inside is bare slab and bare framing. Turnkey keeps going: insulation, wiring, plumbing, heating and cooling, interior walls, floors, cabinets, fixtures, trim and paint, handed over as a house you can sleep in that night.
Texas does not require a state license to work as a general contractor, though local city or county requirements may still apply. The state body that once oversaw residential construction is gone as well: the Texas Residential Construction Commission was abolished and its enabling Act expired on September 1, 2009. So the scope list in your contract is what settles where your shell stops. Two companies can both quote a shell and hand you two different buildings.
The wider arc of a build here, from raw acreage to a finished home, is laid out in the guide to building a barndominium in Central Texas.
Source: Office of the Texas Governor, Business Permit Office, Texas Business Licenses and Permits Guide, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, read 2026-09-13.
What do barndominium shell builders in Texas actually deliver?
Whatever their contract lists, which is why you read the list before you read the number. The work worth doing is finding the seam between what the builder carries and what lands on you the day the crew leaves. Get each of these answered in writing, on both quotes you are comparing.
Most of what is not the building gets priced on the lot instead of on the plan: septic, driveway and culvert, a water well or a meter, electric service to the pad, and rock. The Central Texas cost guide covers how the two sides get quoted. A contract that runs from pad through finish under one company is a different animal, covered on barndominium construction.
Site work. Clearing, cut and fill, and the building pad. Inside the shell price, or a separate line?
Foundation. The slab or pier system, the vapor barrier, the anchor bolts, and who pays if the design changes after a soils test.
Frame and roof. Columns or steel, purlins, trusses, roof panels, fasteners.
Exterior. Wall panels, trim, flashing, gutters and downspouts, and whether exterior doors and windows are supplied and installed or only framed for.
Openings. Overhead doors, tracks and openers.
Interior. Some shell packages include interior stud walls. Some stop at the exterior skin.
Under the slab. Whether the plumbing rough is set before the pour, and by whom.
Handoff. What condition the building is in when it is called complete, and what the builder answers for after that.
Who should buy a shell, and who should buy turnkey?
Buy a shell if you intend to act as the general contractor and have the time, the trades and the stomach for it. Buy turnkey if you want one contract, one schedule and one company answering for the result.
Texas leaves room for the owner-builder. An owner-builder building their own primary residence, or acting as their own contractor on it, is not penalized for failing to give the notices. That is a narrow protection, and it says nothing about what your county requires.
The inspection duty follows the builder, not the county. Where county residential construction standards apply, the builder contracts for the inspections and the inspector has to be one of six listed qualified persons, one inspector throughout or a different one each time. In Travis County, where a professional builder does the work, at least three inspections are required: foundation before the concrete is placed, framing and mechanical before drywall, and completion of the residence. Bastrop County requires the same three stages, contracted by the builder with a private qualified inspector. If you buy a shell and finish it yourself, settle in writing who holds that duty before the pour.
A shell also moves risk. When the framing crew and the finish crew work for the same company, a mistake at the roof line is that company's problem. When you hired both, it is yours.
Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.157(c), read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(3), read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(1), read 2026-09-13.
Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
How does the ground under your lot change the shell?
More than the floor plan does, and it lands on the two lines a shell quote is thinnest on: trenching and the pad.
The Llano Uplift is a large granite batholith and the major structural feature of central Texas, with Precambrian granites and metamorphic rocks forming the central dome. Its core counties include Burnet and Llano. At Inks Lake State Park in Burnet County, pink Valley Spring gneiss juts up through the limestone. The Edwards Plateau is shallow soils underlain by limestone, with many springs, stony hills and steep canyons. Ask how rock is handled in the quote, as an allowance, a unit rate or an exclusion, and who decides when rock has been hit. Ask the septic designer the same, because the drain lines go in the same ground.
Not every lot here sits on granite. The Blackland Prairies are named for deep, fertile black soils on gently rolling to nearly level land at 300 to 800 feet, and Houston Black soil cracks 0.5 to 4 inches wide from the surface down 12 inches or more when dry, the defining shrink-swell behavior. Post Oak Savannah uplands are sands and sandy loams with clay or clay loams in bottomlands, and a dense clay pan almost impervious to water underlies all soil types at only a few feet deep. Ask the builder which foundation design goes on the soil under your lot, and whether a soils report sits inside the shell scope. Raise the clay pan with the septic designer before the pad location is fixed.
One line item belongs to Bastrop County alone: its permit list includes a Lost Pines Habitat Conservation Plan decision where the tract is in the covered area. The Lost Pines is over 75,000 acres of loblolly pines, the westernmost stand in the United States, and its seasonally moist sandy soils are critical habitat for the Houston toad, listed as federally endangered in 1970. Ask Bastrop County Development Services whether your tract is covered before you set a schedule.
Source: Texas Water Development Board, Report 360 Chapter 9, Paleozoic Aquifers of the Llano Uplift, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Water Development Board, Report 360 Chapter 9, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Ecoregions, read 2026-09-13.
Source: USDA NRCS, Official Series Description, Houston Black Series, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Bastrop State Park, read 2026-09-13.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Which counties inspect a shell, and which only permit it?
Travis and Bastrop are the two that require inspections, and in both the builder contracts them, not the county. Llano, Williamson and Caldwell inspect no house at all. Burnet inspects only inside a designated flood hazard boundary, where its Class B permit carries two inspections, pre-pour and finished construction.
County residential code authority in Texas is opt-in. The subchapter applies only to a county that has first adopted a resolution or order opting in, and that is either within 50 miles of an international border or above the stated population threshold. In a covered county, new residential construction in the unincorporated area must meet the International Residential Code as published May 1, 2008, or the IRC version in force in that county seat. It does not let a county require permission before construction starts and it does not create zoning power. Where it applies, at least three inspections are required on a new house or duplex on a vacant lot: foundation before concrete, framing and mechanical before drywall, and on completion.
Travis applies its residential construction standards to work begun after September 1, 2009. Bastrop's Commissioners Court adopted residential building code standards by resolution on September 14, 2009, and still issues no building permit, no certificate of occupancy and no inspection of its own. Neither county sends an inspector, so the inspection line belongs in your contract, not your permit fee.
Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.152, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.153(a), read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.153(d), read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(1), read 2026-09-13.
Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.
What does each of the six counties require?
Different paperwork, in a different order, for the same building. This is what each county asks before a shell goes up outside city limits. City limits and extraterritorial jurisdictions change the answer again, and a lot that looks rural can still sit inside one, so ask the city as well as the county.
Llano County. A county development permit, not a building permit, which is also how the property gets its 911 address. A septic permit. A floodplain development permit where any of the lot is in a mapped special flood hazard area. Reviews outside the floodplain take seven to 10 business days, longer for floodplain, septic and commercial work. Nothing goes on a county right of way, driveways and culverts included, without the precinct commissioner's written permission and a road cut permit.
Burnet County. A Class A permit, outside any flood hazard area, is application and payment only, with no county inspection of the structure. A Class B permit, inside a designated flood hazard boundary, needs an elevation certificate from a surveyor or a letter from an engineer, a site plan showing the flood zone, and two inspections, pre-pour and finished construction. The order is fixed and the county will not process an incomplete packet: the road access permit signed by your precinct commissioner, then the 911 address, then the building permit, then the septic permit.
Williamson County. No county building permit and no certificate of occupancy. A new home needs a Certificate of Compliance from the County Engineer's office, which is the floodplain check, before a septic application will be processed, and a lot in a recorded subdivision may already carry one in its plat notes. A county driveway permit is required for a new or modified driveway onto a county-maintained road, with the county sizing the culvert.
Travis County. Any development requires a permit, and the county defines development broadly: structures and buildings, driveways, work in the county right of way, on-site sewage facilities, dividing land, and mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation and clearing land to prepare a site. The new home application states the International Residential Code year the build will follow. No permit issues for a driveway onto an unmaintained or unaccepted road, and approaches are concrete and meet the road at about 90 degrees.
Bastrop County. A development permit for all development in the unincorporated county, including a single-family home, a manufactured home, an RV and a tiny home. The permit class is set by the parcel's relationship to the mapped 100-year floodplain, so floodplain review sits inside the development permit rather than beside it. Where there is no public sewer, the development permit and the septic permit are applied for at the same time, and the driveway and the 911 address ride on the same application.
Caldwell County. A Residential Construction Permit under the county Development Ordinance. The county reviews the paperwork around the lot: the recorded plat or a metes and bounds survey, the deed, tax certificates showing current taxes paid, a sketch of the proposed structure, the approved 911 address and the approved county septic permit. The parcel has to be an original tract, a legally platted lot, or a tract exempt from platting, or the permit does not issue. A home inside or within 300 feet of a floodplain needs its first finished floor at least two feet above the adjoining base flood elevation, with an elevation certificate.
Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.
Where does septic set the order of work?
In most of these counties the septic permit is chained to the building paperwork, so the pad location is not a decision you make alone with the shell builder.
An OSSF permit is required to construct, install, alter, extend or repair a septic system, and local programs may be stricter than the state minimum. A local authorized agent may adopt standards stricter than state law or TCEQ rules, and those stricter standards control where they give greater public health and safety protection. The state rule at 30 TAC 285.3 exempts a system from planning materials, permit and inspections when it serves a single family dwelling on a tract of ten acres or larger and meets a list of conditions, including keeping all parts at least 100 feet from the property line. Do not count on that here. Travis states no lot-size exemption at all and sets a one acre minimum for a home on septic. Burnet, Caldwell and Llano permit every system whatever the size of the tract, and Caldwell adds a one acre minimum. Bastrop requires a permit for every installation or modification regardless of acreage, with a half acre minimum on a public water supply and one acre without one.
Then the chaining, which sets your schedule. Burnet will not issue the septic permit without the building permit first. Williamson will not process the septic application until the Certificate of Compliance is done. Caldwell needs the approved septic permit as one of the papers the Residential Construction Permit requires. Bastrop takes both applications at once.
Near the water a second agency appears. LCRA regulates on-site sewage facilities within a 2,200-foot zone around the upper Highland Lakes and within a 2,000-foot zone around Lake Travis, built from a Restricted Zone at each lake plus a Water Quality Zone extending 2,000 feet horizontally beyond it. Inside that jurisdiction a permit is required before you construct or install any on-site sewage facility, no matter the lot size, and LCRA asks you to allow up to 30 days from the date the application is submitted. LCRA is a TCEQ authorized agent in Travis, Burnet and Llano, does not appear in Williamson, Bastrop or Caldwell, and publishes an address-searchable jurisdiction map. One caution: LCRA's pages say the Lake Travis zone is 2,000 feet, while Travis County is reported to say 1,000 feet. That conflict is recorded and not resolved, so ask both offices which applies to your address.
Two more rules set expectations. The permitting authority must approve or deny the planning materials and permit application within 30 days of receipt, with a written explanation on denial and an appeal to its supervisory body. And only a licensed installer may build the system: anyone working as an OSSF installer, apprentice, maintenance provider or maintenance technician in Texas must be licensed or registered by TCEQ.
Source: TCEQ, Getting a Permit for an On-Site Sewage Facility, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Health and Safety Code Sec. 366.032(b), read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ adopted rule text, 30 TAC Chapter 285, Rule Project No. 2021-030-285-CE, section 285.3, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems), read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Program, read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Rules, Section 6, Area of Jurisdiction, read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Rules, Section 10.05(b), read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA On-site Sewage Rules Frequently Asked Questions, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ OARS county search, identical entry returned for Travis, Burnet and Llano counties, read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA Water Quality Jurisdictions map, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.
What is the sequence on a raw lot?
Address, access, water disposal, permits, pad, then building. The shell is late in the list, not early, and shell buyers get burned by assuming otherwise. Work it in this order, and note the acreage lines: they decide whether your site work is a form or a project.
Check the maps first. The FEMA Flood Map Service Center is the official public source for National Flood Insurance Program flood hazard information, searchable by address, place name or coordinates. The TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Map Viewer tells you whether the parcel falls in a regulated zone, and prints a map to submit with an application.
Get the 911 address and the county road access or driveway permit, in the order the county above sets.
Clear the floodplain question. A permit is required before construction or development begins inside any Special Flood Hazard Area, and the floodplain administrator is responsible for making sure development complies and that permits are applied for. The Elevation Certificate sets the insurance rate and documents elevation for compliance, and land surveyors, architects and engineers authorized by law certify the elevation on it.
Clear the aquifer question in Travis and Williamson. The Edwards Aquifer Protection Program's regional office for those counties answers at (512) 339-2929. On the recharge zone every regulated activity needs an approved Water Pollution Abatement Plan before construction starts, with no acreage floor. In the contributing zone a Contributing Zone Plan is triggered at five acres of disturbance, or where the work is part of a larger plan of development or sale. A single-family residence may escape a plan on a lot larger than five acres with only that one residence, in a master community with an approved plan, or at 20 percent impervious cover or less. Administrative review runs up to 30 days and technical review 90, and construction cannot begin until approval issues.
Watch the one acre line on site work. The TPDES Construction General Permit covers construction disturbing one acre or more, or part of a larger common plan of development that will; below one acre no coverage is required. Above the Highland Lakes an LCRA development permit is required if impervious cover will exceed 10,000 square feet and/or disturbance will exceed one acre, and a single-family residence under both thresholds can file a written notification instead. That ordinance covers the Lake Travis watershed in Travis County, the Colorado River watershed in Burnet County and a portion of Llano County above the Regulated Pool Elevation, and it reaches clearing, excavating, grading, contouring and depositing fill. Eleven local governments administer part or all of it under interlocal agreements, so the LCRA permit may not be the one that applies to you.
Then the county permit and the septic permit, in the order that county wants them. Then the pad, the foundation and the shell. Then the trades, and the inspections where they are required.
Source: FEMA Flood Map Service Center, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, Edwards Aquifer Map Viewer page, read 2026-09-13.
Source: FEMA glossary, Permit for Floodplain Development, read 2026-09-13.
Source: FEMA, NFIP Floodplain Management Requirements study guide, Unit 7, read 2026-09-13.
Source: FEMA 467-1, Floodplain Management Bulletin: Elevation Certificate, read 2026-09-13.
Source: FEMA, Elevation Certificate FAQ, October 2023, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Protection Program home page, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, Water Pollution Abatement Plan page, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, What Plans You Might Need, recharge zone branch, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, Contributing Zone Plan page, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, Edwards Aquifer Protection Program: What Plans You Might Need, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, Edwards Aquifer Private Residences page, read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities: Am I Regulated?, read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance program page, Required notifications and permits, read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance, Section 4.1(b), Written Notification, read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance, Section 1, Title and Scope, read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance program page, read 2026-09-13.
Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance program page, Interlocal agreements, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
How do you compare barndominium shell builders in Central Texas?
On scope, sequence and who carries what, not on the bottom number. Two quotes are only comparable when they cover the same work, and shell quotes rarely do. Put the same questions to every independent builder and write the answers in a column.
Verify the trade licenses yourself rather than taking a company's word. Electricians are licensed by TDLR, and non-exempt electrical work must be done through a licensed electrical contractor. Plumbers are licensed by the state through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. Both agencies run a public license search, and TCEQ runs one for septic installers and maintenance providers. Check the individual names that will be on your job.
What exactly is dried in, in your contract? Read it back line by line.
Who pulls the county permit, and who fills out the 911 address and driveway applications?
Who contracts the required inspections, and who pays for them? Where county standards apply, the builder contracts them and the inspector must be one of six listed qualified persons.
Is the septic design and permit inside your scope or on me? Only a TCEQ licensed or registered installer may build the system.
Which licensed electrical contractor and which licensed plumber will be on the job?
How is rock handled if the excavator hits it, and who makes that call?
What is the change order process, in writing?
What happens to the coverage on the shell if I finish the inside myself?
Who signs the elevation certificate if the lot sits in a flood hazard area?
Can I see a shell you delivered and a turnkey house you finished, both in the county my lot is in?
Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(3), read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems), read 2026-09-13.
Source: TCEQ, On-site Sewage Facilities: Information for Regulators, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Electricians program, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, read 2026-09-13.
Does a shell change how a lender or an appraiser sees the build?
It can, and the place it shows up is the appraisal. Ask the lender before you choose a package, not after.
Single-closing construction-to-permanent financing is a recognized structure: the construction loan and the permanent mortgage close together, and the construction loan converts automatically when building is finished. Ask your lender what counts as finished for that conversion, and what the draw schedule looks like if you are doing the interior work yourself.
The appraisal is the other pinch point. An appraiser selects comparable sales that match the subject property's physical and legal characteristics, because sales in the same area are the best indicator of value. When few truly comparable sales exist, because the improvements are unusual or because the neighborhood has few sales, the appraiser may use properties that are not truly comparable, provided the analysis is documented and explained. An appraiser also may not manufacture a comparable sale by adding a vacant land sale to the contract price of a home, a situation that comes up on construction-to-permanent deals.
Some lenders state the building type plainly. Texas Farm Credit says it finances barndominiums along with traditional and manufactured homes, and offers Construction and Homesite Loans covering homes under construction, including barndominiums, and the homesite. Capital Farm Credit says it finances barndominiums and metal homes under its construction lending, and offers Homesite Loans for buying the lot with building deferred. USDA Rural Development runs two Section 502 programs for eligible rural areas, one lending directly to lower-income applicants and one backing approved lenders, with a property eligibility map you can check by address. The Veterans Land Board publishes two loan programs for Veterans, Land Loans and Home Loans.
Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Farm Credit, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Farm Credit, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Capital Farm Credit, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Capital Farm Credit, read 2026-09-13.
Source: USDA Rural Development, read 2026-09-13.
Source: USDA Rural Development, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Veterans Land Board, Texas General Land Office, read 2026-09-13.
How do you get your lot looked at?
Start with the lot, not the plan. Shell or turnkey is usually decided by what the ground, the access and the county require, and all three are knowable before you commit to a package.
A land and lot evaluation covers what a walk of the property should turn up: the access and driveway approach, where a septic system can go, the flood and aquifer map check, and the rock question. The locations page lists the counties and towns covered, so you can see which permit path your address falls under.
Then call the right office and ask what your parcel needs, in what order. In Llano, Burnet, Bastrop and Caldwell that is county Development Services. In Williamson it is the County Engineer's office. In Travis it is TNR Development Services. Make that call before any money moves.
Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.
Also on this site: post-frame homes.
Questions people ask
- What does dried in mean on a barndominium shell?
- It means the building is closed to weather and nothing beyond that: foundation, frame, roof, exterior walls, and the window and door openings filled, with a bare interior. Where the line falls is set by the contract in front of you, not by a standard definition, so read the scope list rather than the headline number.
- Do I need a building permit for a shell in the unincorporated county?
- It depends on the county, and it may not be called a building permit. Burnet issues Class A and Class B building permits outside city limits. Travis requires a permit for any development, defined broadly. Bastrop requires a development permit for all development. Caldwell requires a Residential Construction Permit. Llano issues a development permit and no building permit. Williamson issues no county building permit but requires a Certificate of Compliance from the County Engineer first.
- Does the septic permit come before or after the building permit?
- It varies by county and the order is not optional. Burnet will not issue the septic permit until the building permit is done, and the 911 address comes before both. Williamson will not process the septic application until the Certificate of Compliance is finished. Caldwell requires the approved septic permit as one of the papers for the Residential Construction Permit. Bastrop takes the development permit and the septic permit at the same time.
- Who contracts the inspections if I buy a shell and finish it myself?
- The builder does, where county residential construction standards apply, and the inspector must be one of six listed qualified persons. Travis and Bastrop both require three inspections on that basis: foundation before concrete, framing and mechanical before drywall, and completion. If you take over the interior work, agree in writing with the builder and confirm with the county who holds that duty, before the foundation is poured.
- Can I live in a dried in shell while I finish the inside?
- Ask the county before you plan on it. Williamson and Bastrop both state they issue no certificate of occupancy, so there is no county sign-off to wait for in those two, but that answers none of the septic, electrical or lender questions. The septic system still needs its permit and, in Travis, a license to operate after the permit to construct.
- Is a shell cheaper than turnkey?
- A shell buys less work, so it costs less than the same building finished, but the spread is not the whole comparison. Septic, driveway, power, water, rock and the pad are priced on the site itself rather than on the floor plan, and those lines land on you either way. The cost guide covers how each side gets quoted.
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