Austin Backyard ADU
"They made the process simple and the results incredible."
ADUs, custom homes, additions, and remodels designed for real Texas lots.
Choose the project path that matches the way you want to live: a backyard home for family or rental flexibility, a custom home sized around your lot, or a remodel that makes the home you already own work better.
Backyard homes and accessory dwelling units
Detached living space for family, rental flexibility, guest use, pool houses, backyard offices, and accessory structures.
Explore ADU builders
Small, efficient, and full custom homes
Design-forward homes sized around your lot, budget, lifestyle, utilities, local codes, and long-term use.
Custom home builder Austin
Additions, remodels, and home transformations
Renovation planning that connects concept, drawings, realistic selections, construction budget, and schedule.
Explore Austin home remodelingNot sure which project type fits? Talk through ADUs, backyard homes, custom homes, additions, or remodels before choosing a path.
Before drawings, the right question is whether the project can work on your site.
A successful project starts with the site. Before drawings and construction pricing, the team looks at the real constraints that affect cost, design, permitting, and buildability.
- Lot size, setbacks, impervious cover, and zoning
- Utility route, meter, panel, sewer, and water questions
- Floodplain, easement, tree, and drainage constraints
- Budget range, selections, allowances, and design scope
- Parking, access, privacy, and neighbor conditions
- Permit path and city or county review timing
Want your lot questions answered first? Start with the property address, target use, and rough budget so the team can talk through fit.
Choose how to discuss your property after reviewing feasibility.
Small House Solutions offers phone and Zoom consultations so homeowners can share an address and discuss ADUs, custom homes, additions, remodels, budget range, and the next property-specific check.
Phone Consultation
Best for early questions about the address, project goal, budget range, timing, and likely fit.
Zoom Consultation
Best for discussing surveys, drawings, inspiration, known constraints, property context, and fit.
This is how we begin.
The first steps are built to answer the questions that matter most: whether the project fits the property, what risks need to be checked, and what it will take to move from idea to buildable plan.
Consultation and fit
Start with a phone or Zoom consultation to define your lot, intended use, budget range, timing, and whether the project is likely to fit Small House Solutions.
Site feasibility report
Review zoning, utilities, access, site risks, and early scope questions before spending heavily on drawings or construction assumptions.
Pre-construction agreement
Move into drawings, selections, pricing, allowances, permitting support, and a build path that can be discussed before contract execution.
Ready to start the first step? Use the consultation to define project fit, site constraints, and the next planning milestone.
From design criteria to permit-ready construction documents.
After a custom design agreement is signed, Small House Solutions moves through a structured design-build path that connects plans, selections, engineering, permitting, contract scope, and construction planning. For an Austin ADU, review the current Austin ADU rules and the main ADU cost drivers before finalizing the scope.
Initial meeting
Schedule a design-criteria meeting after entering the custom design agreement. This meeting can take place in person or by Zoom, depending on your preference.
Conceptual planning
The team begins conceptual floor plans and site plans. A property survey is required at this stage, and Small House Solutions can help you obtain one if needed.
Conceptual plan review
Conceptual plans are delivered by email. You can approve them, request revisions, or book a phone or Zoom meeting with your dedicated design lead.
Electrical layout and selections
An electrical layout is drafted for light fixtures, switches, outlets, and related plan notes. After review, the team custom-tailors a materials specifications Google Sheet and holds a Zoom consultation for material selections.
Exterior elevations and final drafting
Exterior elevation plans are drafted for review. After approval or revision requests, drafting moves into detailing, cabinet elevations, roof plan, plumbing plan, and the finalized site plan.
Permit file and construction documents
The permit file and construction documents are completed after relevant engineering documents are received, such as septic engineering, geo-tech engineering, civil engineering, and tap plan requirements.
Contract finalization
Small House Solutions provides a hard-cost contract for e-signature with price, draw schedule, terms, material specifications, and plans. If selections are unfinished, line-item allowances are defined; overages become change orders and underruns are credited toward final payment.
Full-service design-build support may include
- Geo-tech engineering for soil drilling, sampling, lab testing, and engineer reports
- Civil engineering for tap plans, water meter or tap improvements, and sewer tap improvements
- Structural engineering for foundation, shear or wind bracing, framing, ceiling, roof, and subfloor
- Septic engineering
- City or county permitting
- Land development
- Utility connections
- Full construction services
We design and build
The goal is a relaxed, professional, fun, and high-quality construction experience with a one-stop-shop design-build firm.
- Additional Dwelling Units
- ADUs
- Backyard Homes
- Accessory Structures
- Small Custom Homes
- Large Custom Homes
- Home Remodel
- Home Addition
- Home Renovation
See how the team talks through real build decisions before pricing.
This video gives homeowners a clearer feel for how Small House Solutions frames lot fit, budget expectations, ADUs, remodels, and the path from idea to a buildable plan.
- Use it to understand the questions that shape scope, cost, and timeline.
- Pair it with the pricing examples below before booking a consultation.
Sample project pricing with scope, location, size, utility, and permit context.
This spreadsheet provides an overview of featured projects from the Small House Solutions portfolio, including Single Family homes, ADUs, and Accessory Structures. It details project descriptions, pricing, locations, sizes, and key features.
Projects range from rental properties and homesteads to backyard living spaces and multi-purpose structures, with examples from $119,000 to $450,000. Each listing includes square footage, utility connections, permitting details, and a luxury rating.
The projects are primarily in and around Austin, Texas, with some examples in surrounding counties, giving homeowners a practical starting point for comparing small-scale and efficient living options.
Pricing examples are planning references, not fixed quotes. Final cost depends on the property, current market conditions, utility route, permitting path, finish level, and confirmed scope.
Open the live pricing examples spreadsheet
Have a budget number in mind? Compare it against the examples, then ask what scope is realistic for your property.
Featured Austin-area projects with visible design and construction evidence.
Browse completed and featured work to see the kinds of homes, ADUs, and custom structures Small House Solutions has planned and built around Austin. Each project page should connect the visible photos to the project type, location, site conditions, utility or permit scope, dates, responsible team, and measurable outcome when those facts are approved for publication.
Towerview Dwelling
A completed dwelling project highlighting Small House Solutions' foundation, framing, finishing, paintwork, and final completion details.
- Published project type: completed dwelling.
- Published service area: Travis County / Austin.
- Evidence shown: foundation, framing, finishes, paint, and completion.
Wolfcreek ADU
An ADU project shaped with 3D visualization, exterior detail, interior design, finishing, paintwork, and final completion touches.
- Published project type: accessory dwelling unit.
- Published service area: Travis County / Austin.
- Evidence shown: 3D visualization, exterior and interior details, finishes, and completion.
Fitzhugh Contemporary
A contemporary project shaped through exterior and interior renderings, precise framing, finishing, paintwork, and final completion details.
- Published project type: contemporary custom home.
- Published service area: Travis County / Austin.
- Evidence shown: renderings, framing, interior decisions, finishes, and completion.
Use project proof to compare fit. Bring a relevant example and ask for confirmed size, use, site constraints, permit jurisdiction, utility scope, dates, cost or timeline band, and responsible team before treating it as a comparable project.
A connected design-build team from property review to final inspection.
Small House Solutions keeps the early property conversation, design decisions, technical coordination, construction planning, and project delivery connected. The role of each person or trade partner should be clear before work begins.
Founder-led project fit
The first conversation defines the address, intended use, budget range, timing, and whether the project is likely to fit the team and property.
Dedicated design lead
A design lead coordinates conceptual plans, reviews, revisions, layouts, selections, and the decisions needed to move toward construction documents.
Engineering and licensed trades
Structural, civil, geotechnical, septic, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical input is coordinated when the property and project require it.
Construction and inspections
The build team connects the approved plans, specifications, pricing, site work, construction stages, required inspections, and final completion.
Evaluate the team with real evidence. Review completed local projects and source-linked customer feedback before choosing the next step.
What our customers think about us
Real feedback from our valued customers
Peter Ruehlen
August 2023
Amazing company all around. Hands down some of the best contractors I have ever worked with. High quality top tier construction, incredible management and subs.
Brendan Turrell
February 2024
The project was done ahead of schedule and exceeds our expectations. I have already recommended this company to friends and will use them again whenever I have a construction project.
David Ferragut
August 2023
The team was so responsive and just overall great partners. If you are looking to add more living space to your property, highly recommend!
Testimonial in the Heart of Austin, Texas
Watch a homeowner testimonial from Austin for another real-world trust signal before reviewing the broader Google feedback.
Serving homeowners across priority Texas markets.
Small House Solutions works with homeowners in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Central Texas, the Hill Country, and nearby communities where the project scope and property conditions are a fit.
Building in or near these markets? Share the city, county, and property address so the first call can focus on local rules and feasibility.
Make the next step obvious before the consult.
What does Small House Solutions build?
The company designs and builds ADUs, backyard homes, accessory structures, small custom homes, larger custom homes, additions, remodels, and related design-build projects in Texas.
What should I prepare before a consultation?
Bring the property address, project goal, target use, ideal timeline, rough budget range, known utility constraints, survey or plat if available, and inspiration images or must-have rooms.
Can an ADU or backyard home work on every lot?
No. Feasibility depends on local zoning, lot coverage, setbacks, utility route, access, parking, drainage, trees, floodplain issues, and city or county review requirements.
Why use a design-build firm instead of only a designer or contractor?
A design-build path keeps design, feasibility, selections, pricing, permitting support, and construction planning connected earlier, which helps reduce late surprises.
How much can an ADU or small home cost in Texas?
Cost depends on size, site conditions, utility routes, finish level, permitting path, and construction scope. The pricing examples section shows sample projects from $119,000 to $450,000, so the consultation should start with a realistic budget range instead of a generic per-square-foot promise.
What proof should I look for before choosing a small house builder?
Look for named projects, real photos, scope details, location context, permit or utility notes, client feedback, and a clear process for moving from feasibility to drawings, pricing, permits, and construction.
Does Small House Solutions manage permits?
Small House Solutions connects the design-build process with permitting support, required plan and engineering inputs, corrections, construction, and inspections. The exact permit path and responsible parties depend on the address, jurisdiction, project scope, and required licensed trades. Review the current Austin ADU rules and the design-to-permit steps for more context.
What is the first step for an Austin ADU or small home?
Start with the property address, intended use, target size, rough budget, desired timing, and any survey or utility information you already have. The first conversation should identify the property-feasibility factors that need to be checked before you commit to a plan.
Where does Small House Solutions work?
The homepage is focused on Austin and nearby Central Texas communities. Service availability depends on the jurisdiction, project scope, property conditions, and whether the team can support the work from feasibility through completion.
Still comparing options? A phone or Zoom consultation is the simplest way to turn questions into a practical next step.
Start with the address, project goal, budget range, and timing.
Choose a phone or Zoom consultation and share what you want to build. If the project looks like a fit, the next conversation can move into site feasibility, design scope, utility and permit questions, budget context, and a practical path forward.
