Whole-home remodeling in New Braunfels, TX

One plan for the house, then phases

The costly mistake in a large remodel is treating it as a string of unrelated room jobs. If the kitchen is designed without the hall bath beside it, or new flooring goes down before a wall comes out, finished work gets torn up twice. A whole-house plan fixes the final layout, finish level and system upgrades for every room on your list, even when the building happens in stages.

Phases are grouped by what has to happen first. Demolition, framing changes and rough plumbing, wiring and ductwork come before anything cosmetic. A typical split:

• Phase one: structural changes, roof or foundation corrections, and rough-in for systems serving the whole house.
• Phase two: rooms that depend on water and drains, such as the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry.
• Phase three: bedrooms, living areas, trim, paint and flooring that runs through several rooms.

Budget, how much of the house you can give up at once and whether you’ll live there all change that split, so we settle it before the estimate is written.

Layout changes and structural walls

Opening the kitchen to the living room, combining two small bedrooms into a primary suite and relocating a hallway are common requests. Whether a wall can go depends on what it carries: ceiling joists, roof framing or a second story, plus any vent stacks, ducts or circuits that must be rerouted.

When a load-bearing wall comes out, its load moves to a new beam and posts that carry it to the foundation. The City of New Braunfels residential remodel checklist asks for beam and header details whenever walls are removed or opened, and notes that engineered drawings may be required when a bearing wall is modified or taken out.

Systems updates belong in the first plan

With walls and ceilings open, a whole-home remodel is the natural moment to replace aging pipes, a crowded electrical panel, tired ductwork and thin insulation. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical work is part of the estimate from day one, and registered trade contractors file their own trade permit applications before construction begins, as the city requires.

Heating and cooling deserve a fresh look whenever the layout changes, since removed walls or an enclosed porch change how air moves. If the remodel alters the building envelope, such as windows, exterior walls or insulation, the city’s checklist calls for energy compliance under the 2021 IRC and IECC.

Older homes near downtown and houses on the lakes

Older homes near downtown New Braunfels

New Braunfels has four local historic districts: Downtown, Mill Street, Sophienburg Hill and Stock. For landmarks and properties inside them, the city’s Historic Preservation office works with the Historic Landmark Commission on design review of exterior alterations, and the city lists a separate Historical Property Alteration permit. Ask about that review before you settle on new windows, siding, porches or an addition.

Older houses also carry conditions newer ones rarely do: pier-and-beam floors that need leveling, wiring from several decades, galvanized supply pipe or cast-iron drains, and framing cut for earlier additions. The plan leaves room for what appears when walls open.

Lake homes on Dunlap, McQueeney and Canyon Lake

According to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the new spillgates that restored Lake Dunlap were completed in October 2023, and Lake McQueeney returned to normal pool in April 2026. With both lakes back at normal level, a Lake Dunlap or McQueeney remodel is planned with no access from the water side, so deliveries and dumpsters are staged on the street side.

Some lots along the Guadalupe sit in a mapped floodplain. Inside New Braunfels, work costing 50 percent or more of a structure’s market value counts as a substantial improvement, improvements are added up cumulatively, and the structure then has to meet the city’s floodplain elevation standards. A full remodel can approach that line, so floodplain status is checked before the scope is final. Many Canyon Lake homes are in unincorporated Comal County, where the County Engineer’s Office at 195 David Jonas Drive handles septic (OSSF) and floodplain development permits.

Where you’ll live during the remodel

Whether you stay in the house reshapes the phasing. Staying tends to work when one bathroom and some way to cook remain in service, and dust walls and a separate work entry keep the job site apart from the rooms you use. It gets much harder when the kitchen and every bathroom are out at once or water and power must be shut off for stretches.

Some families move to a rental, a relative’s place or an untouched wing for the heaviest phase, then return for finish work. Think about pets, school routines, anyone working from home and furniture storage. Each phase is scheduled around your choice, so you know which rooms will be closed before work begins.

Permits and approvals for a whole-home remodel

Inside city limits, New Braunfels requires a permit to alter, repair or demolish a structure and to alter or replace electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems; replacing cabinets or floor covering, painting and decorating are exempt. The remodel checklist asks for a written scope with square footage, existing and proposed floor plans, framing details where they apply, and MEP plans. Every contractor on the job must be registered with the city, and the residential code is the 2021 IRC with local amendments.

Before phase one, the permit application is filed, and the permit is issued to the contractor of record. The New Braunfels remodel permits guide covers the rest.