Full Home Renovation in Highlands, TX | Franco BuildWorks

This page covers full home renovation for Highlands, TX homeowners. For the full step-by-step guide, see our Full Home Renovation service page — or explore all our work in Highlands.

What a full renovation means in Highlands

A whole-home renovation in Highlands usually starts with a mid-century house east of the San Jacinto River, off Main Street, Thompson Road, or Wallisville Road, that has good bones and decades of deferred updates. The homes here went up largely between the 1940s and 1970s to house the workers who built the ship channel and Baytown industry, and they were built to last, but the plumbing, wiring, insulation, and layout all reflect their era. A real renovation touches all of it at once, which is efficient but demands honest planning.

We treat a gut renovation as a sequence of dependent decisions rather than a shopping list: foundation and structure first, then the systems in the walls, then insulation and air sealing, then finishes. Skipping that order is how projects go over budget in a house this age, because a beautiful finish laid over a tired system just has to come back apart.

The floodplain and the 50-percent rule you need to hear first

This is the single most important thing for a Highlands homeowner to understand before a big renovation. Much of 77562 lies in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, and Harris County enforces a substantial-improvement rule: when the cost of improvements over a period reaches roughly half the structure’s market value, the county can require the entire home be brought up to current floodplain standards, which often means elevating the finished floor above base flood elevation.

That rule rarely trips on a single room, but a true whole-home gut can reach the threshold, and finding out after demolition is the expensive way to learn it. We raise it at the very start so you can plan the scope deliberately: some homeowners phase the work, some choose to elevate as part of the project, and some scale the renovation to stay under the line. Harris County’s floodplain office through the Engineering Department is the authority on where your home stands, and we point you there rather than guessing your elevation or your structure’s value for you.

• Substantial-improvement threshold is roughly 50% of the structure’s value
• Reaching it can require elevating the home to floodplain standards
• Harris County Engineering is the authority; we flag it before demolition

Foundation and the Gulf Coast clay

Everything else depends on the foundation, and in Highlands that means dealing with expansive Beaumont-series clay that swells and shrinks with the wet and dry seasons of the San Jacinto watershed. On slab homes we look for the telltale signs of movement, diagonal cracks over doors, sticking doors, separated trim, before committing to new tile, cabinets, or drywall finishes that will simply crack again if the slab is still moving. On pier-and-beam homes we assess the piers, beams, and any rot from moisture underneath.

If the structure needs foundation work, that comes first and is done by a foundation specialist; there is no point installing rigid finishes over an unstable base. We would rather deliver that news at the planning stage than watch new work fail.

Systems, insulation, and the ship-channel-era house

Behind the walls of a Highlands home this age we routinely find galvanized supply lines, cast-iron drains, undersized electrical panels, and in some homes aluminum branch wiring. A whole-home renovation is the right time to modernize those with licensed trades while the walls are open, because access will never be cheaper. Insulation and air sealing usually need attention too: many of these homes were built with little insulation, and in the Gulf climate that means high energy bills and condensation problems.

We scope these systems from what we actually find, not from assumptions, and we show you the real condition inside the walls so the decisions are yours. In a coastal-humid climate, getting the envelope and ventilation right is as valuable as anything visible.

Flood-smart finishes for a home near the river

Given the flood history along the San Jacinto, we favor finishes that let a home recover rather than be gutted again. On ground floors that means tile or waterproof-core luxury vinyl plank instead of laminate, whose fiberboard core swells permanently once water reaches the seams. It can mean choosing lower-wall materials and details that dry out and repair more easily, and keeping mechanical equipment off the floor where feasible.

None of this is about expecting the worst; it is about building for the community you are actually in. A renovation that ignores the floodplain in Highlands is not really finished.

How Franco runs a whole-home project here

We are a service-area remodeler working out of the greater Houston area, and on a project this size we try to be the honest broker of the sequence: structure, systems, envelope, finishes, in that order, coordinated so trades are not tripping over each other and the family knows what each phase means for living in or out of the home. We put the hard realities, foundation, floodplain thresholds, old systems, on the table at the beginning.

We do not quote a whole-home renovation without seeing the home, and we do not promise a look or a number we have not measured for. What we can do is walk the house, tell you what the structure and the floodplain rules allow, and give you a clear, staged picture before anything is committed.

Full Home Renovation in Highlands: FAQ

Will renovating my Highlands home force me to elevate it?

Possibly, if the work is extensive. In the floodplain, when improvements reach roughly half the structure’s value, Harris County can require the home meet current floodplain standards, which may include elevation. We flag this at planning so you can scope the project deliberately.

Should I fix the foundation before or during the renovation?

Before finishes go in. Highlands sits on expansive clay that moves seasonally, and installing tile, cabinets, or fresh drywall over a slab that is still moving just means they crack again. Foundation work, done by a specialist, comes first.

How do I find out if my home is in the floodplain?

The Harris County Engineering Department’s floodplain office and FEMA flood maps are the authority for your specific address. We point you there rather than guessing your flood zone or base flood elevation, because both drive what the renovation rules require.

Can I phase a whole-home renovation to spread it out?

Often yes, and in Highlands phasing can also help manage the substantial-improvement threshold. We can help sequence phases so each stands on its own, though we will be honest that some work, like systems in shared walls, is cheaper to do all at once.

Do whole-home renovations in Highlands need county permits?

Highlands is unincorporated, so it goes through Harris County, not a city. Structural and floodplain work commonly requires county review through the Engineering Department, and electrical and plumbing should be done by licensed trades. We help you understand what applies.

Other services in Highlands

• Kitchen Remodeling in Highlands
• Bathroom Remodeling in Highlands
• Room Additions in Highlands
• Drywall Repair in Highlands
• Tile Installation in Highlands
• Vinyl Plank Flooring in Highlands
• Interior Painting in Highlands

Zip codes served in Highlands: 77562.