Whole Home Remodeling in the Rio Grande Valley, TX
Your refrigerator and one bathroom keep working every day of the job. Water goes off in blocks of about 4 hours, never for a full day.
You can remodel a whole house with us across the Rio Grande Valley, from Rio Grande City to Brownsville. Most projects run 8 to 16 weeks, and you stay in the house the whole time. We phase the work by halves, cover your floors and clean the site every afternoon.
What the job includes02
What a whole home remodeling job with us includes
A whole house remodel in the Valley opens every weak point at once. Houses built here in the 1980s carry single pane aluminum windows and thin attic insulation. The 100 amp panel was never sized for two air conditioners and a modern kitchen. Summer heat runs April through October, so duct leaks in a hot attic cost you every month. Hail falls March through May, and hurricane season runs June through November. That sets the order: the roof and the windows close first, then the inside opens.
- —A room by room written scope, agreed before anything comes down
- —Dust walls in 6 mil plastic with a zippered door at every opening
- —Hardboard over the floors that stay, taped at the seams
- —One bathroom and the refrigerator kept working every day of the job
- —Electrical panel checked, and taken from 100 to 200 amps when the load calls for it
- —Water supply lines replaced while the walls are open
- —Attic insulation and duct leaks handled while the ceilings are open
- —The crew stops 30 minutes early each day to clean and haul debris out
Price range03
How much does whole home remodeling cost in the Rio Grande Valley?
8 to 16 weeks for a 1,600 square foot house done in two phases
Six weeks when only finishes change. Six months for a down to the studs rebuild with permits.
Which material holds up best in Valley weather?
| Material | Holds up because | Watch out for | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stay in the house, phased by halves | You pay one set of bills, and you see the work every single day | The schedule stretches about 2 weeks, because the crew sets up twice | Most Valley families, in a house over 1,400 square feet |
| Stay in the house, one room at a time | The cheapest way to do it, and you can pause between rooms to save again | The same trades come back four or five times, so the job runs months longer | A fixed budget that has to spread across two or three years |
| Move out for the whole job | Every room gets worked at once, which cuts the schedule by about a third | You carry rent on top of the remodel for 8 to 12 weeks | A house bought for the lot that is still empty |
| Move out for the heaviest 2 weeks | You skip the demolition dust and the days the water is off | You move twice, and the dates shift if a permit runs slow | A family with a baby, someone on oxygen, or anyone who works nights |
How we work this job04
How does the job actually run?
A written estimate before anything starts, a start date we commit to, and one person responsible from the first walkthrough to the last inspection.
- 01We walk every room of the house with youDavid measures, opens the electrical panel and checks the attic, the slab edge and the water heater. Plan on two hours.Day 1
- 02You see the scope and the phase plan on paperA scope per room, the order of the phases, and which half you live in during each one. You move things on paper.Week 1
- 03Protection goes up before anything comes downDust walls, zippered doors and hardboard on the floors that stay. A covered path runs from the driveway to the work area.Before demo
- 04Phase one is everything that gets buriedDemolition, framing changes, plumbing, electrical and ducts. Your city inspects the rough work before a single wall closes.Weeks 1 to 8
- 05Phase two is finishes and the punch listFloors, cabinets, paint, trim and fixtures. You walk the house with David and sign off one room at a time.Weeks 6 to 16
From the build site05
Which homes has David Aceves helped build?
Homes built by Cuates Construction, with David Aceves on the build. Look at the ceilings, the open plans and finishes carried through every room: David plans a whole home remodeling job with that same eye.
Questions we get06
Questions homeowners ask us about this work
Can we keep living in the house while you remodel it?
Yes, and most families do. We split the house in halves and work one side at a time. You always keep bedrooms, a working bathroom and the refrigerator. Water goes off in blocks of about 4 hours, never for a full day. You hear the date the afternoon before.
How do you keep drywall dust out of the rooms we still use?
Dust walls in 6 mil plastic go up at every opening between the work side and yours. Each one has a zippered door and tape along the floor. We cover the air conditioner returns in the work area and change the filter when the phase ends. Demolition still makes dust, so we do it with the doors to your side closed.
What protects the floors and cabinets we are keeping?
Hardboard goes over every floor that stays, taped at the seams so grit cannot work underneath. Cabinets that stay get wrapped in plastic, and the path from the driveway stays covered. Loaded carts and wheelbarrows never roll across a finished floor, they run on the protected path.
What does daily cleanup mean on a job this size?
The crew stops 30 minutes before the end of the day. Debris goes into the trailer, not into a pile in your driveway over the weekend. Floors get swept or vacuumed, tools get stacked in one room, and the path you walk at night is clear. Food and drink trash leaves with the crew.
We bought a 1980s house for the lot. Remodel it or start over?
The slab and the framing decide it. A sound slab and dry, straight framing are worth keeping. A remodel reuses the foundation, the driveway and the utility connections. Price both paths when the slab has moved enough to crack walls in more than one room. Do the same when termites reached the framing in several walls.
In what order does a whole house get remodeled?
The shell closes first: roof, windows and exterior doors. Then the rough trades open the walls for plumbing, electrical and ducts, and the city inspects. Insulation and drywall follow, then floors, cabinets and paint. That order keeps a spring storm out of a house that already has new drywall inside.
What permits does a whole house remodel need in the Valley?
It depends on the city, and usually there are several. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical work carry their own trade permits. Moving a load bearing wall needs a sized header and plans. Homes near the coast may also need a windstorm inspection to stay insurable with TWIA. We check the requirements for your exact address before we quote.
Where does our furniture go for 8 to 16 weeks?
Most of it stays on the finished half of the house and moves once, when the phases switch. What does not fit goes into the garage or a container in the driveway, wrapped and stacked by us. Anything fragile or sentimental should leave the house, because a remodel has forklifts, dollies and a lot of doorways.
A remodeling contractor based in Rio Grande City, working across the four Valley counties. The team is led by David Aceves, whose background is building custom homes, from the slab and the framing to the finish work.
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