Key Takeaways
- Design-build keeps design and construction under one contract and brings costs to the surface early.
- Texas does not require a licensed architect for a single-family home.
- Whichever route you choose, settle early who will engineer the foundation on rock or a slope.
- At The Trails, share the community's design guidelines with your designer before the first sketch.
Every custom house is designed by someone and built by someone. The first real decision on a Lake LBJ project is whether those are the same firm, and it shapes the contract, the schedule and who answers when something goes wrong.
What Is Design-Build?
Design-build means one firm designs the house and builds it under a single contract. The owner has one point of responsibility, and cost estimates develop alongside the drawings, so a plan that runs over budget gets caught while it is still a sketch. Design-build firms range from builders with designers on staff to architects who also run construction.
What Does an Architect-Led Project Look Like?
In the traditional route, often called design-bid-build, an architect or residential designer prepares the drawings, builders bid on them, and the owner signs a separate construction contract with the chosen builder. Many owners also keep the architect on during construction to review the work and the builder's payment requests. The process usually takes longer to reach a price, and in exchange the owner gets an independent professional checking the builder.
Is an Architect Required for a House in Texas?
No. Section 1051.606 of the Texas Occupations Code exempts single-family and two-family dwellings from the requirement to use a licensed architect, provided the person preparing the plans does not call themselves an architect. Many Lake LBJ houses are drawn by residential designers or by design-build firms for that reason. Engineering is a separate question. On limestone and sloping lots, ask early who will engineer the foundation and the retaining walls, whichever route you take.
Which Approach Fits a Lake LBJ Lot?
Designing to a Community Standard
On lots with design review, the review shapes the work as much as the delivery method does. At The Trails of Horseshoe Bay, every house follows one architectural standard developed with Dick Clark + Associates, built on native limestone, weathered steel, glass and timber. Either route works there, provided the designer has the guidelines before the first sketch rather than after the first rejection. Our guide to building a custom home on Lake LBJ covers the steps from lot to permit, and our guide to choosing a custom home builder in Horseshoe Bay covers the contract.
The Land Office can send the design guidelines for The Trails to you and your designer: 512-470-5517.
