Some pitfalls of building in Austin

Tree Restrictions

Austin has one of the most strict policies for tree protections possible. May lots in Austin are unbuildable due to heritage trees taking up large portions of the lot. Other lots require costly remediation. It's important to evaluate your lot before purchase to make sure your vision for the space can become a reality.

Things to look out for: Trees with a circumference of more than 60" around. Most species above this side are protected meaning you can't build too close to their trunk. Ask for a Tree survey on any new lot you're interested in and reach out to us for a consultation.

Soil conditions

Austin can be tricky, about half of the area is expansive clay soil and the other half is limestone. Both can be extremely tricky.

Expansive clay soil: Easily identifiable as the stickiest mud imaginable. A couple of steps in wet clay soil will leave you with inches of mud stuck to your shoes. In drought conditions look for cracks in the dirt. It's this difference between wet and dry that causes a huge challenge for homes in the Austin area. Having clay soil isn't the end of the world but can mean extra costs. ATX NextGen Homes has experience with mitigating these risks working with geotech, structural engineers and employing solutions such as Wafflemat that can reduce the risk of issues substantially. 

Limestone: Great for build on but can be a real challenge if your site isn't already level. It's the reason why you almost never see a basement in Texas. It's also not the most consistent rock, voids in limestone hidden beneath the surface can present challenges during construction.

Only a geotech report can give proper pre-construction guidance for your specific lot. ATX NextGen Homes will navigate this process and make recommendations during the consultation.

Space restrictions

Set back requirements, impervious coverage, drainage requirements, minimum lot sizes, sewer and water supply capacity all come into play and can all make or break a desired design. Add in floodplain restrictions, erosion buffers and creek buffers and finding the perfect lot can be a real challenge! If you see a plot of land that seems too good to be true chases are one of these items is at play. 

Fire restrictions

Homes above 3,600 sq ft (including the garage space!) require extra fire safety measures. Sometimes these can be met with just having enough fire hydrants near by but these fire hydrants need to be capable of outputting a vast amount of water called "Fire flow". It can be a major delay to a project to have the hydrants evaluted. Otherwise you're looking at installing a sprinkler system which can also add a considerable amount to a project budget. 

Height and design restrictions

For a large portion of Austin, but not all of it, buildings with a height of more than 20' (yes, this includes the roof so basically every building) needs to be designed by an Architect or a Certified Building Design Professional. For those lots outside of the "McMansion area" (aka Subchapter F) there are still restrictions but a certified designer is only needed for drafting the Accessibility plans (mentioned below) and often clients can help save on costs as a draftsperson can be used for developing the architectural plans. At ATX NextGen Homes we have experience working with both to get the best outcome based on our clients unique situation.

Accessibility/Visitability restrictions

Earlier above we talked about why Texas doesn't have basements. This paragraph explains what new homes in Austin don't have elevated front porches anymore (and therefore are usually slab foundations rather than having a crawlspace these days). Long gone are the days of having a stoop. Austin's visitability requirements are intended to help those who are elderly or with disabilities live comfortably. With provisions for stepless entries into a home to provide wheelchair access and space for a wheelchair user to move from their chair to the toilet Austin is ensuring homes are accessible to all citizens. Outlets and light switches also need to be certain heights off the ground and you need to have blocking behind the drywall to make the installation of future grab bars easy. While we're sad about the increased difficulty to build pier and beam homes we at ATX NextGen Homes do appreciate the opportunity these restrictions give to homeowner to age in place. We go a little further and recommend additional convenience features like curbless showers and wide entryways/openings to all rooms.