# Whole-Home Renovation in Bee Cave, TX: 2026 Cost Guide

By the Home Remodel Pro team · published 2026-11-01 · Whole-Home Renovation, Bee Cave

A down-to-studs whole-home renovation in Bee Cave usually runs 4 to 8 months of construction, and the budget is driven by square footage and how far the layout moves. Most Bee Cave houses are 2,500-4,500 square feet of late-1990s to 2010s Hill Country construction, and taking one back to the studs with new kitchen, baths, floors, windows, systems and finishes typically lands in the mid-six figures. We give you a fixed price in writing before demolition starts, and we handle the permit.

## What a whole-home renovation costs in Bee Cave

There is no honest per-square-foot number that covers every house, so here is how we build the budget: room by room, then systems, then the shell. The kitchen and baths carry the most cost, and our published Austin-area kitchen ranges apply here. A kitchen refresh in the existing footprint — new cabinets, counters, lighting and fixtures — runs $45k-$70k. Open the layout and move plumbing and you are at $70k-$110k. A high-end kitchen taken to the studs with custom cabinetry and high-end appliances starts at $110k. A full bathroom typically runs $35k-$75k depending on size, tile, glass and whether the plumbing moves; a primary suite bath with a wet room and custom vanities goes higher.

Add the rest of the house — flooring throughout, trim and doors, paint, lighting, closets, laundry, stair rail — plus whatever systems need replacing, and a Bee Cave whole-home project generally sits somewhere between $250k and $600k. Larger homes, custom millwork in every room, steel windows, or structural changes to the two-story entry and roofline push past that. A house that keeps most of its layout, reuses its windows and leaves the slab alone sits toward the bottom.

- Square footage touched: renovating 2,400 sq ft is a different project than 4,200 sq ft, even with identical finishes.
- Layout changes: moving plumbing, enlarging openings or reworking a stair adds engineering, framing and inspection time.
- Systems: full HVAC replacement, a re-pipe, or a panel and whole-house rewire each add real money and weeks.
- Windows and doors: replacing 25-40 openings on a two-story Hill Country elevation is one of the biggest single line items.
- Finish level: paint-grade shaker versus custom inset cabinetry can swing a kitchen by $40k on its own.
- Exterior scope: stucco repair, stone work, roofing or an outdoor living addition are priced separately and stack on top.

## What is particular about renovating in Bee Cave

Bee Cave sits west of Austin in the Hill Country, and the ground is thin soil over limestone. Anything that requires trenching — a new sewer line, a relocated gas run, irrigation, footings for an addition — is slower and more expensive here than on the flatter sites east of town. We price rock excavation as its own line item so it is in the fixed price rather than showing up later as a surprise.

The housing stock is mostly master-planned neighborhoods built from the late 1990s through the 2010s: Lake Pointe, Falconhead, Spanish Oaks and the newer subdivisions off Bee Cave Parkway and Hamilton Pool Road. These are good houses with dated plans. The common complaints are the same every time: a formal dining room nobody uses, a two-story entry that eats conditioned space, a closed kitchen with a peninsula and dark granite, tumbled travertine and arched niches, builder-grade oak or dark hand-scraped floors, and a primary bath with a garden tub and a small shower. Most of our Bee Cave scopes are about rebalancing that floor plan, not moving the exterior walls.

Two other local realities. First, almost every Bee Cave neighborhood has an HOA with an architectural review process, and anything that changes the exterior — windows, paint, stone, roof, a covered patio — typically needs that approval before we pull a permit. We build that review into the preconstruction schedule. Second, summers here are long and hot, and attics in these houses are often under-insulated with undersized return air. When the ceilings are open anyway, that is the cheapest time to fix duct sizing, add returns and bring attic insulation up — it costs a fraction of what it does later.

## Permits and inspections

Which office reviews your project depends on your address. Properties inside Bee Cave city limits go through the City of Bee Cave; properties in the surrounding unincorporated areas go through Travis County, and some addresses in our service area fall under the City of Austin, where we pull permits regularly. We confirm the jurisdiction before design starts and we handle the submittal, the corrections and the inspection scheduling. You do not chase the permit office; that is our job.

A down-to-studs renovation is permitted work. Whether a wall can be removed or modified, how an opening gets headed, and what has to be shown on the drawings are decisions for a licensed engineer and the reviewing office — not something a contractor should promise you in a sales meeting. When a structural change is in scope, we bring an engineer in during design, carry their drawings into the permit set, and build to the stamped detail. If your property is on septic rather than a public connection, that adds a county review step when fixture counts change.

Budget for plan review and permit fees of roughly $2,000-$6,000 on a whole-home project, plus engineering of about $1,500-$5,000 when structural work is involved, and energy code documentation on new windows and HVAC. These are in your contract as line items, not markups buried in the total.

Expect inspections at these stages: temporary power and demolition, rough framing, rough plumbing, rough electrical, rough mechanical, insulation, and final. Failing a rough inspection is the single most common cause of a two-week schedule slip on a whole-home job, which is why our in-house carpenters walk the framing before the inspector does.

## The timeline, week by week

Construction on a whole-home renovation is 4 to 8 months. Design and permitting happen before demolition, so the construction calendar we hand you is the one we build to. Here is the realistic arc from your first phone call to move-back-in.

Most Bee Cave families move out for a whole-home renovation. If you plan to stay in part of the house, tell us during design — it changes the phasing, the dust control and the schedule, and it needs to be in the contract rather than negotiated in week six.

- Weeks 1-2: first visit, measure, scope conversation, budget range. You find out early whether your wish list and your number are in the same neighborhood.
- Weeks 3-8: design and selections. Floor plans, elevations, cabinetry layouts, tile, plumbing, lighting, appliances. Engineering if structural work is in scope.
- Weeks 6-10: HOA architectural review runs in parallel where exterior work is involved.
- Weeks 8-16: permit submittal, plan review, corrections and issuance. Timing varies by jurisdiction and by how clean the set is.
- Then 16-34 weeks of construction: demolition 1-2 weeks, framing and structural 2-4, rough-in of plumbing, electrical and HVAC 3-5, inspections and insulation 1-2, drywall 2-3, cabinetry and trim 3-4, tile and flooring 3-4, paint 2-3, counters 2 (templated after cabinets are set), fixtures and appliances 2, then punch list and final inspection 1-2.
- Kitchens inside the larger project run 6 to 10 weeks of active work; each bathroom runs 3 to 5 weeks. On a whole-home job they overlap rather than running end to end.

## How our fixed-price design-build process works

One contract, one schedule, one price. We design the project, we hold the engineering and the permit, and our own carpenters frame and trim it. There is no handoff where the designer blames the builder and the builder blames the drawings.

The price is fixed in writing before demolition, and it is based on a complete set of drawings and selections — every cabinet, every tile, every faucet specified by model number. That is why we spend six to ten weeks in design on a whole-home job. A price written before the selections are made is a guess, and guesses get corrected with change orders once your house is open.

Three things legitimately change the number after signing: you change your mind about scope, we open a wall and find rot, failed waterproofing or old work that has to be corrected, or the reviewing office requires something the drawings did not anticipate. Each one goes through a written change order you approve before the work happens. Everything else is our problem, not your invoice.

Workmanship carries a 5-year warranty. Manufacturer warranties on appliances, fixtures and finishes pass through to you. Financing is available if you would rather not tie up cash during a project that spans two quarters.

## What to ask before you sign with anyone

A whole-home renovation is the largest single contract most Bee Cave homeowners will sign outside of buying the house. Ask these questions of every contractor you interview, and hold us to the same standard.

Next step: send us your address, the approximate square footage, and the three rooms that bother you most. We walk the house, talk through scope and give you a realistic budget range before you spend anything on design.

- Is this a fixed price or an allowance-based estimate? Which line items are allowances, and what happens when they are exceeded?
- Who holds the permit, and which office is reviewing my address — Bee Cave, Travis County or Austin?
- Who is doing the framing and trim — your employees or a subcontractor you met last month?
- Can I see the construction schedule by trade, with the inspection milestones marked?
- What is the written change-order process, and who signs before work proceeds?
- What does the workmanship warranty cover, for how long, and who answers the phone in year four?
- How will you handle rock if we trench, and is that priced or excluded?
- Will you carry the HOA architectural submittal, or is that on me?

## Bee Cave homeowners also ask

### Do I need to move out during a whole-home renovation in Bee Cave?

Most families do. On a down-to-studs project the water, power and HVAC are off at various points, and the dust from demolition and drywall reaches every room. If you want to stay in part of the house, say so during design so we can phase the work, seal off a zone and keep a bathroom and kitchenette running. Phased living adds weeks to the schedule and cost to the contract, so it belongs in the fixed price rather than being worked out mid-build.

### How much of the budget goes to the kitchen and baths?

Usually 45-60 percent. On a typical Bee Cave house the kitchen alone is $45k-$70k in the existing footprint, $70k-$110k if the layout opens and plumbing moves, and $110k and up for a studs-out kitchen with custom cabinetry and high-end appliances. Add $35k-$75k per full bathroom. That is why we price those rooms first — once they are set, we know what is left for flooring, windows, systems and trim.

### Who issues the permit for my Bee Cave house?

It depends on your address. Inside Bee Cave city limits it is the City of Bee Cave; unincorporated addresses nearby go through Travis County; some properties in our service area are reviewed by the City of Austin. We confirm the jurisdiction during design and handle the submittal, corrections and inspection scheduling ourselves. Questions about structure and what can be modified are settled by a licensed engineer and the reviewing office, and we carry their drawings into the permit set.

### Why does design take six to ten weeks before you will give me a fixed price?

Because a fixed price requires complete drawings and every selection specified — cabinets, tile, plumbing, lighting, appliances, hardware. Price a job before that and the number moves every time a decision gets made. We do the slow part first so the construction calendar and the contract total you receive are the ones we build to, with changes only through written change orders you approve.

## Check it with Bee Cave's own pages

Permit rules and fees change, and the office that issues the permit is the authority on them, not this guide.

- [City of Bee Cave — building permits and inspections](https://www.beecavetexas.gov/government/departments/planning_development/building/index.php)

What a whole-home renovation in Austin involves: https://www.homeremodelpro.com/austin/whole-home-renovation

## Get a free estimate

- Call (512) 601-5666 (Monday to Friday 8am–6pm and Saturday 9am–2pm); a project consultant calls back within one business hour.
- Request an estimate online: https://www.homeremodelpro.com/austin#quote
- 5-year workmanship warranty · one fixed price in writing · in-house carpenters · permits and inspections included

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Source: https://www.homeremodelpro.com/austin/blog/whole-home-renovation-bee-cave-guide · Home Remodel Pro Austin, TX