Custom Homes and Whole-Home Remodeling in Driftwood, Texas
Owner-run custom builds and whole-home remodels across Driftwood's acreage and gated communities, thirteen minutes from our base in Dripping Springs.
A budget range and a straight read on scope, at no cost and with no obligation.
Riverbend Hill Country Homes builds custom homes and whole-home remodels in Driftwood, Texas, across its acreage, its gated communities, and the areas that overlap the Dripping Springs extraterritorial jurisdiction. Vanessa Harris owns the company and runs it in person with her husband Dan, from Dripping Springs.
4.8 on Google
$1.3M featured remodel in San Marcos
Google review from a project architect
Owner-led job sites
The Well, the Septic, and the Flood Corridor
Driftwood has no city hall, so your build is permitted by Hays County rather than a city. Three more answers come off the land itself. The groundwater district registers every new well and limits new non-exempt well permits during drought stages, and some subdivisions limit private wells in their recorded restrictions. If the lot already has a septic system, it was sized for the house standing there today, not for the one you want to build. And parts of Onion Creek carry mapped floodplain, and Hays County requires a development permit on lots inside and outside the mapped zone.
We confirm all three before design starts: whether a well can be permitted on your parcel, what your septic system can support, and what the flood data shows for your lot. You get those answers in plain language with a price range attached. The two people who confirm them are the same two who run your job to the final walkthrough.
If your land needs a different plan than the one you have in mind, we say so on the first visit and show you the well, septic, and flood data behind that answer.
A Finished House You Can Look At
These details come from our whole-home remodel in San Marcos, under thirty minutes from Driftwood, photographed when the project wrapped.
Five Things a Driftwood Build Runs Through
Hays County runs the permit. The well, the septic system, the floodplain review, and the lighting standard each depend on where your parcel sits.
Vanessa and Dan carry every one of them, and each answer comes back to you in writing.
Hays County Permits the Build and a Third Party Inspects It
Hays County requires a development permit for a new Driftwood home, with a floodplain review, and for a house on a vacant lot, a Notice of New Residential Construction with third-party inspections at foundation, framing, and completion, since the County itself does not perform those inspections. A few parcels sit inside a Dripping Springs development agreement instead, which changes the rules again. We confirm which path your land takes before anything else moves.
We Check the Well Before You Plan Around One
The Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District registers every new well and limits new non-exempt well permits during drought stages, and some Driftwood subdivisions limit private wells in their recorded restrictions. We confirm your water source, and any restriction on it, before we draw a plan that depends on a well.
Septic Sized to the House You Are Building
Every new Driftwood septic system, replacement, and alteration goes through a Hays County permit, and a licensed designer sizes the system to your bedroom count, wastewater load, and soil. Adding a bedroom or square footage can force a reevaluation of a system sized for the house as it stands today, so we check your capacity before the addition is drawn.
Onion Creek and the Floodplain Permit
Onion Creek runs through Driftwood, and parts of it carry mapped floodplain. The USGS keeps a stream gauge on Onion Creek near Driftwood, and we check its record and the flood maps for your lot. Hays County requires a development permit whether or not your lot sits inside the mapped floodplain. We pull current flood data for your specific lot before we price any site work.
The Lighting Rule Depends on Your Subdivision
Hays County has adopted a resolution favoring darker skies, but a resolution is not an enforceable lighting code. In some subdivisions with a development agreement with Dripping Springs, the city's lighting ordinance can apply as a binding requirement. We settle which standard applies to your parcel before the exterior lighting plan is drawn.
Local rules on this page were checked against these official sources in October 2026: Hays County Development Services FAQs · Hays County floodplain · Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District · USGS gauge, Onion Creek near Driftwood · Hays County night skies resolution, 2019 (PDF). Rules change, so we confirm the current version for your parcel.
Where We Build in Driftwood
Driftwood Golf & Ranch Club, La Ventana, and Howard Ranch all sit outside any city limits, so your permit runs through Hays County. Tell us the community and we will walk you through its requirements.
- Driftwood Golf & Ranch ClubDeveloper-built homes and custom homesites, each with its own design review
- Rutherford WestEstablished subdivision of acreage homesites with custom and semi-custom homes
- Sierra WestHOA community of acreage homesites with its own building guidelines
- La VentanaGated acreage community with its own owners' association
- Howard RanchKnown for its ranch-house architecture, with design guidelines we confirm for your lot
- Rim RockHOA that reviews exterior changes; we confirm its process before design starts
Several Driftwood communities run new construction and major remodels through their own design review. We confirm your community's rule before you commit to a lot, then handle the submittal ourselves.
What Building in Driftwood Costs
We take on two kinds of project in Driftwood. Each one runs to its own timeline, and the timeline for your project is written into the contract.
Ground-up
New Custom Home
$325-$800+ / sq ft
- 14 to 20 months, signed contract to handover
- Well availability, septic capacity, and floodplain exposure scoped on the first visit
- Vanessa and Dan carry your project personally, start to finish
Whole house
Whole-Home Remodel
$325-$650+ / sq ft of remodeled area
- 9 to 14 months, typically
- At least a 20 percent contingency, written into the plan before demolition starts
- Septic re-evaluation, where required, handled before the addition is drawn
Kitchen or primary suite (4 to 9 months)$300-$800+ / sq ft
In Driftwood, the per-square-foot figure covers the house itself. The well question, the septic design, and the floodplain exposure of your parcel are priced separately, and they vary sharply from one lot to the next. The figure for your land comes from walking it with Vanessa and Dan. For what each service includes, see custom home building and luxury home remodeling.
Prices and timelines last reviewed October 2026.
The Same Two People, Every Time
Vanessa and Dan run your Driftwood project themselves. She runs the client side, from the first drawing to the last finish selection. He runs the field. They take on only a few builds at a time, which is what lets Vanessa and Dan walk your project every week.
Vanessa built resort spas for hotel brands before this, work where a single uneven grout line gets written up before the doors open. Your home gets that same eye.
Water and septic answers in Driftwood can take time, so we start those first and give you the dates as they come in.
Driftwood Questions
Who issues building permits in Driftwood?
There is no City of Driftwood building department. Hays County requires a development permit for a new home, with a floodplain review, and for a house on a vacant lot, the County also requires a Notice of New Residential Construction with third-party inspections at foundation, framing, and completion, since the County does not perform those inspections itself. A few Driftwood parcels sit inside a Dripping Springs development agreement instead, which changes the rules again.
Can I drill a well for a new Driftwood home right now?
That depends on the parcel and on the current drought stage. The Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, which covers most of the Driftwood area, registers every new well and limits new non-exempt well permits during drought stages. A typical household well is exempt from those limits but still has to be registered, and some Driftwood subdivisions limit private wells in their recorded restrictions. We confirm your water source, and any drought restriction on it, before we draw a plan around a well.
What septic rules apply to a Driftwood build?
Hays County permits every new septic system, replacement, and alteration, and a licensed designer sizes the system to your bedroom count, wastewater load, and soil. An addition that grows the bedroom count or square footage can force a septic reevaluation on an existing system, which is why we check septic capacity before the addition is drawn.
Does Driftwood flood?
Yes, and in some places it is serious. Onion Creek runs through Driftwood, and parts of it carry mapped floodplain. We read the USGS gauge record for Onion Creek alongside the current flood maps for your lot. Hays County requires a development permit whether or not your lot sits inside the mapped floodplain. We check current flood data for your specific lot before pricing the site work.
Are there dark sky lighting rules in Driftwood?
Hays County has adopted a resolution supporting darker skies, but it is not an enforceable countywide lighting code. The exception can be a subdivision with a development agreement with Dripping Springs, where the city's lighting ordinance can apply as a binding requirement rather than a guideline. We confirm which standard, if any, governs your lot before your exterior lighting plan is drawn.
Do you remodel homes in Driftwood's gated communities?
Yes. Communities such as Rim Rock have an HOA that reviews exterior changes, so approval is scheduled as part of the project. We prepare that submittal ourselves and design to the community's guidelines from the first drawing.
What does it cost to build or remodel in Driftwood?
Construction typically runs $325 to $800+ per square foot at comparable finish levels, and whole-home remodels run $325 to $650+ per square foot of remodeled area. In Driftwood, the well question, the septic design, and the floodplain exposure are priced separately, and each varies sharply by parcel, which is why we confirm all three before we price your build. For the full Texas breakdown, see our guide to what it costs to build a house in Texas.
Schedule Your Driftwood Consultation
Tell us where your Driftwood property is and what you want to build on it.
Call us, or send the form, and we will get back to you directly.
Vanessa answers this number, weekdays 9 to 5.