General Contractor in Houston: 2026 Remodel Costs, the 50% Floodplain Rule and Texas Contract Law

What a remodel costs in Houston

The table applies the Houston factor of 0.82 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Area Cost Factors to national remodeling costs. Construction in Texas costs less than the US average, which shows up in every line.

Estimates for 2026, including labor and standard parts. Houston prices use the metro's construction cost factor of 0.82 (US average = 1.00) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Area Cost Factors. Your quote depends on access, materials and the condition of the home.

Additions per square foot

Adding space costs more per foot than updating it. HomeGuide's 2026 national figures put a new room at $125 to $250 per square foot, a bedroom or family room at $125 to $175, and a kitchen addition at $200 to $250. A 10 by 10 foot room comes to about $12,500 to $25,000 and a 20 by 20 foot room $50,000 to $100,000 (HomeGuide). Houston prices should come in below the national numbers, but a slab that needs an engineer, fill work in a floodplain or a drainage plan can erase the difference.

Where the general contractor's share goes

On a remodel, the general contractor's price covers more than the crews you see. It pays for scheduling the trades, buying and storing materials, the site supervisor, permits and inspections, cleanup, insurance and the risk of fixing what goes wrong. When you compare two bids, line them up by scope, finish allowances, and who pays for permits and engineering. Ask what each allowance buys. If the tile allowance is $3 a foot and you want $9 tile, you pay the difference later.

Try your own numbers in the calculator, or see national prices in our home remodeling cost guide.

What a general contractor does in Texas

A general contractor runs the whole job: design coordination, permits, the schedule, and the plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, framers and finishers who do the work. On a kitchen, a bath or a single trade job you might hire the specialist directly. On a whole-house remodel or an addition, one company holding the contract and the schedule usually saves time and arguments.

What makes Texas different is licensing. The City of Houston's Residential Permitting 101 says it directly: "The building permit may be purchased by the owner, agent, contractor. General Contractors are not required to be licensed" (Houston Permitting Center). The state licenses the trades instead:

The building permit is sold first, and the licensed trades buy their own permits after that. So even with no GC license to check, every remodel with electrical, plumbing or HVAC work runs through people who hold state licenses. Ask your general contractor who those people are.

Do you need a permit?

Houston leaves a lot of finish work out of the permit system. Painting, wallpaper, tile, carpet, cabinets and countertops need no building permit, and neither does drywall repair up to 100 square feet. Changing the floor plan, replacing structural parts, adding on or converting a garage does.

What the city wants for a remodel that changes the layout:

• A floor plan and a list of materials
• Ceiling framing details that show which walls are load-bearing
• Energy code compliance, by the prescriptive method or a REScheck report
• An engineer's seal if a load-bearing wall comes out

Houston adopted the 2021 International Residential Code and Energy Conservation Code with local amendments, in force since January 2, 2024 (ICC).

Timing and fees from the Houston Permitting Center:

Fees follow the size and construction type of the work, so there is no single remodel fee. Plan review adds 25% of the estimated building permit fee, the administrative fee is $33.56, and the 2026 minimum is $91.06. Work found without a permit costs an extra $333.42 or double the permit fee, whichever is more (2026 fee schedule).

Outside city limits the rules change. Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Pasadena and Conroe have their own building departments, and in unincorporated Harris County, around Cypress for example, the county engineer requires a permit for any development, a term that covers buildings, fill and paving (Harris County Engineering).

The 50% rule: remodeling in the floodplain

Check this one before anyone draws a plan. Under Chapter 19 of the city code, a "substantial improvement" is any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement that costs 50% or more of the structure's market value before work begins. In flood zones A, AO and AE, once a project crosses that line, the entire house has to meet current floodplain rules, not just the new work (Houston Permitting Center). Since 2018, that means building 2 feet above the 500-year flood elevation (Houston Public Media).

To apply, the owner submits one of three things to prove the cost: a sealed, itemized estimate from an engineer or architect; an itemized estimate notarized by both owner and contractor, with the Harris Central Appraisal District summary; or a licensed appraisal. An elevation certificate shows whether the house already sits high enough or how it will be raised. Inspections include a pre-construction check, a pre-fill check and further elevation certificate checks.

The test uses the market value of the structure itself. If the house is valued at $250,000, a $125,000 remodel reaches the line, however much the lot is worth. And floods here are not hypothetical: Hurricane Harvey flooded an estimated 154,170 homes in Harris County in 2017 (HCFCD).

Additions on Houston clay

Much of south, southwest, east and central Houston sits on the Beaumont formation, with clay that swells when wet and shrinks as it dries (foundation guide by R. Michael Gray, P.E.). An addition puts a new slab on that soil next to an old one, and the city asks for detailed foundation plans before it issues the permit.

The city's addition permit asks for a lot up front (Houston Permitting Center):

1. A Texas registered survey or full site plan with property lines, easements and setback lines
2. Foundation plans with pad location, concrete strength, beam details and the steel layout; the city notes that engineer designed plans may be required for slabs
3. A grading worksheet for excavation and fill, and a calculation of impervious cover
4. Floor plans showing the addition and the rooms it joins, plus a door and window schedule

Planning also reviews additions for setbacks under Chapter 42, parking under Chapter 26 and trees under Chapter 33. For design help, see our architecture services for additions.

Deed restrictions, HOAs and historic districts

Houston has no zoning, but that does not mean anything goes. Many subdivisions have recorded deed restrictions that can limit additions, second stories, setbacks or materials. They are private agreements filed with the county, most run 25 to 30 years, and many renew on their own (City of Houston). Get a copy from the county clerk: Harris 713-755-6405, Fort Bend 281-341-8685, Montgomery 936-539-7885 (City of Houston legal FAQ).

In The Woodlands, the Covenants and Standards require written approval from the village Residential Design Review Committee before building, altering or repairing any structure on a lot with a home (The Woodlands Township). Other master-planned communities have their own HOA review. Inside the city, Houston has 23 historic districts, where alterations to historic structures need a Certificate of Appropriateness (City of Houston).

Contracts and payments under Texas law

Texas Property Code chapter 53 gives homeowners several protections on a residential remodel (Texas Property Code ch. 53):

• Disclosure statement. Before you sign, the contractor must hand you a statement that begins "Know your rights and responsibilities under the law."
• Subcontractor list. Before work starts, the contractor must give you the name, address and phone of each subcontractor and supplier, and update it within 15 days of any change. You can waive this only in writing.
• Homestead contract. For a lien on your homestead to be valid, the contract must be in writing, signed before work starts, signed by both spouses if you are married, and filed with the county clerk.
• 10% reserve. You hold back 10% of the contract price during the work and for 30 days after it is finished.
• Bills-paid affidavit. At final payment, the contractor must give you a sworn statement that every sub and supplier has been paid in full. A false one is a crime.

On a homestead contract over $5,000, the contractor must also keep your payments in a construction account (Property Code 162.006). If something goes wrong later, the Residential Construction Liability Act requires you to send the contractor written notice by certified mail at least 60 days before you sue and give them a chance to inspect (Property Code 27.004).

Tie payments to finished stages that you can see: demolition done, rough-in inspections passed, drywall up, final inspection. Our guide to paying a contractor shows how milestone schedules and lien waivers fit together.

Older homes and flood repairs: lead and mold

Census data shows 47.0% of homes in the City of Houston were built before 1980 (Census Reporter, ACS). For any home built before 1978, a paid crew that disturbs paint must be EPA lead-safe certified, and EPA runs that program directly in Texas (EPA).

After a flood, mold is the other issue. In Texas, remediation of mold covering 25 contiguous square feet or more needs a licensed remediation contractor and a $25 state notification. Owners of buildings with fewer than 10 units may clean their own property (TDLR).

Areas we cover

GOLDGCP general contractors work across greater Houston:

• Houston
• Katy
• Sugar Land
• The Woodlands
• Pearland
• Pasadena
• Cypress
• Conroe

Enter your ZIP code to see remodeling prices for your neighborhood and get matched with a local general contractor.