New Construction and Site Development

What the scope can include

Select the work and handoff your project needs. The agreement identifies the included deliverables and responsibilities.

• Establish the site basis

  Coordinate survey, property constraints, access, utilities, ground information, grading and drainage. Identify off-site, roadway and flood-related work that can control the building schedule.

• Coordinate the building

  Bring architectural, structural and building-system design together around the approved program. Scope new homes, accessory or converted housing forms and commercial buildings according to their actual construction and use.

• Define the approval and construction sequence

  Track land, civil, utility and building submissions, owner decisions and partner-construction responsibilities. Separate permit-ready documents, issued approvals, construction completion and occupancy milestones.

Prepare for the assignment

You can start with incomplete records. Tell us what is available and what still needs to be established.

• Information to bring

  Property and survey information, intended use and size, program or concept, utility correspondence, geotechnical records and owner priorities.

• The agreed handoff

  A coordinated design and approval scope, plan packages and decision register for the contracted new-construction milestone.

Decisions, fees and timing

Scope and dependencies determine the proposal. No universal price or approval date is assumed.

1. Confirm the basis and responsibility

   Review the available records, intended endpoint and authority to use the information. Assign missing inputs, technical decisions and the parties who can authorize changes.

2. Coordinate and review the work

   Prepare the included documents from agreed inputs, resolve interfaces with responsible specialists and track revisions. Record external decisions and conditions separately from work prepared for review.

3. Account for project-specific dependencies

   Site conditions, development approvals, utility availability, design complexity and the timing of owner and authority decisions.

4. Deliver the defined milestone

   Provide the controlling documents and remaining-action record. Identify what is accepted, what still requires a decision and what belongs to a separately contracted next stage.

Choose the construction system and approval basis

The building’s marketing name does not establish its construction category. Share intended residential, workshop, commercial and storage activities before selecting a system or ordering a building.

• Barndominiums and shophouses

  A barndominium or shophouse may combine living space with a metal-building shell, workshop or storage area. Establish each use and its separation, ventilation, utilities and structural loads. Supply the manufacturer’s building package, soil and survey information and the proposed layout so site-specific foundations and discipline drawings can be coordinated by the responsible design team.

• Manufactured homes and modular buildings

  HUD-code manufactured homes and modular buildings follow different regulatory categories. In Texas, TDLR’s Industrialized Housing and Buildings program addresses applicable modular construction; HUD provides the federal manufactured-housing framework. Collect the manufacturer’s labels, approved documents and installation instructions. Confirm the relevant program and local site, foundation and utility responsibilities instead of assuming factory approval authorizes every site improvement.

• Shipping-container buildings

  For a shipping-container building, identify container condition, proposed openings, connections, stacking, foundation and intended occupancy. Structural modification, insulation, moisture control, fire protection and building-system work need an actual design basis. Provide available unit records and site information for specialist assessment before relying on the container as a ready-to-occupy building.

Before you begin

Common questions