Serving Boerne, Kendall County, TX
Custom Home Builder in Boerne
Boerne's Hill Country setting demands a builder who understands the land. Woolsey builds homes that work with the terrain, capture the views, and last.
Boerne's Premier Design-Build Firm
Boerne has become one of the most sought-after addresses in the Texas Hill Country. Along the I-10 corridor northwest of San Antonio, this Kendall County town offers rural quiet and urban access at once. For homeowners building a custom home here, the choice of builder matters more than almost any other decision in the project.
Woolsey has designed and built custom homes and commercial projects across the Texas Hill Country since 2006, with a team that brings 25+ years of experience to every project. We understand the specific conditions of building in Kendall County, from shallow limestone and well-dependent sites to the architectural review committees in Cordillera Ranch and Esperanza.
As a design-build firm, we put architecture, engineering, and construction under one contract. That removes the communication gaps and cost overruns that follow an architect-then-builder workflow. With Woolsey you have one team, one budget, and one point of accountability from concept through completion.
Why Build in Boerne?
Boerne's appeal reaches beyond its Main Street and German heritage. The town sits where the I-10 corridor from San Antonio meets the Highway 46 and 281 corridors to the north, and that position has drawn professionals, entrepreneurs, and retirees who want Hill Country living within reach of the city's hospitals, restaurants, and airport.
Custom home lots in Cordillera Ranch, Esperanza, Menger Springs, and Fair Oaks Ranch are among the most desirable in the region, and the homes built on them reflect it. The landscape around Boerne, with its limestone hills, live oaks, seasonal creeks, and long views, rewards a house designed for the specific site.
A custom home in Boerne is a statement about how you intend to live. Woolsey builds it to hold up to that.
Our Services in Boerne
Woolsey provides end-to-end construction services for Boerne homeowners. Our luxury custom home building program is for clients who expect the highest quality materials, craftsmanship, and attention to detail: hand-selected natural stone, custom millwork, commercial-grade mechanical systems, and integrated home technology, scaled to the home and the client.
Our design-build process begins with a site analysis of your Boerne property. We evaluate topography, rock, tree preservation, water, and view corridors before drawing a line, so the home works with the land rather than against it.
For clients in communities with architectural review committees, we manage the approval process. Our design team knows the guidelines in Cordillera Ranch, Esperanza, and the other Boerne-area communities and designs to meet them while reflecting your own vision.
We also offer ranch and estate construction for clients with larger acreage: guest houses, barns and workshops, equestrian facilities, and outdoor living structures designed to complement the primary residence.
Building in Boerne: What to Know First
Boerne has a city with its own building department and, around it, a county that runs on a different system. Which one a lot answers to is the first thing to know.
Kendall County has no zoning and no general building code outside the cities. What it has is a development permit process, and it covers more than people expect: driveways, any work in a county right-of-way, outdoor lighting, on-site sewage, and site improvements whether or not they are in the floodplain. The sewage permit runs through Kendall County Environmental Health and is designed for the specific house; the County Engineer's office handles floodplain and addressing. Inside the Boerne city limits, the city permits the house under its adopted codes.
Wells are permitted by a district, not the county. Kendall County is not on the list of counties where the state regulates construction over the Edwards Aquifer. Groundwater is managed by the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District, which registers exempt household wells and permits the rest, and a well on a site outside a water utility's service area is the district's call. We confirm water before the design starts.
The master-planned communities add a third reviewer. Cordillera Ranch, Esperanza, and the other planned communities around Boerne have architectural review committees with their own design guidelines, and a house there is approved by the committee before the county or city sees it. Woolsey has managed that process and designs to the guidelines from the first sketch, so the review is a formality rather than a redesign.
The rock is the site. Kendall County's limestone is shallow and the hills are real. Foundation design, pool excavation, utility trenches, and the driveway all cost more where they have to be cut through rock, and a good lot on a ridge is usually a good lot because of the terrain that makes it expensive to build on. We look at that before the floor plan.
Our Design-Build Process
Building a custom home in Boerne requires a builder who understands both the opportunities and the constraints of Hill Country construction. Our four-phase process is built around them.
Phase 1: Land Assessment and Feasibility. Before we design anything, we evaluate the property: limestone depth for the foundation, well capacity or utility water, the sewage system the county will approve, floodplain, and any committee guidelines. That work prevents the surprises that show up mid-construction on a site nobody studied.
Phase 2: Architectural Design and Budgeting. Our design team creates plans that respond to the site and the way you live. You see the home in three dimensions, review material selections, and settle the scope and budget before committing to construction. In Boerne that includes real attention to outdoor living, which is where a Hill Country house is lived in for much of the year.
Phase 3: Permitting and Construction. We handle the county's development permit or the city's building permit, utility coordination, and committee approvals. During construction you have direct access to your project manager and regular updates. Our field team is experienced with the rock and the access conditions common on Boerne properties.
Phase 4: Quality Assurance and Handover. Every Woolsey home is inspected in detail before delivery. We walk every room with you, resolve anything that does not meet our standard, and stand behind the work after you move in.
Popular Boerne Neighborhoods & Areas
Building a Custom Home in Boerne: Common Questions
What is the average cost to build a custom home in Texas?
There is no honest single number, and a builder who gives one on a website is guessing. What we can tell you is what moves the cost on a Boerne site, in order of how often it surprises people. The land itself comes first, and then what the land needs before a foundation can be poured: in unincorporated Kendall County that means a development permit, a sewage system designed for the house, a well permitted or registered with the Cow Creek district if there is no water utility, and the site work a limestone hillside demands. Then the house: its size, how much of it is glass and steel versus framed wall, the finish level inside, and how much outdoor living it carries. Two homes of the same square footage can be far apart in price on those choices alone. What Woolsey does about it is build the budget before the design is finished, so the number you commit to is one that already accounts for the site and the finishes you actually chose, rather than one that grows after the contract.
Is it cheaper to buy or build a house in Texas?
It depends on what is for sale, and in Boerne the honest answer changes with the market. Buying an existing home is usually faster and the price is known on day one. Building lets you choose the site, the layout, the materials, and the systems, and it means nothing in the house is someone else's compromise. On raw land, building carries costs that a resale does not: a well or water tap, a sewage system, the driveway, the utility runs, and the site work a rocky lot demands, and those have to be in the comparison or it is not a fair one. Where building tends to win is when the home you want does not exist on the market, or when the land you want is only available as land. Where buying tends to win is when a well-built home on the right site is already for sale. We will tell you which one we think applies to you, including when the answer is to buy.
Do I need a building permit to build a house in Kendall County?
Outside the Boerne city limits, not a building permit; Kendall County does not enforce a general building code in the unincorporated county and has no zoning there. What it requires instead is a development permit, and that permit reaches further than most people expect: the driveway, any work in a county right-of-way, outdoor lighting, the on-site sewage system, and site improvements whether or not they are in the floodplain. The sewage permit runs through Kendall County Environmental Health and is designed for the specific house. Inside the Boerne city limits, the city permits the house under its adopted codes with full plan review and inspections. Woolsey confirms the jurisdiction on the first site visit and carries the right permit through, so the question never surfaces mid-build.
Can I drill a well for a home in Kendall County?
Usually, but the answer comes from the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District, not from the county or the seller. Kendall County is not one of the counties where the state regulates construction over the Edwards Aquifer; groundwater here is managed by the district, which registers exempt household wells and permits everything else. State law lets a district exempt a household well that cannot pump more than 25,000 gallons a day on a tract of ten acres or more, and the district sets its rules inside that. On a site inside a water utility's service area, the question usually does not arise. On ranch acreage north and west of Boerne, water is the first thing Woolsey confirms, because a house on a lot that cannot be served is not a house.
Ready to Build in Boerne?
Boerne's finest custom homes start with a conversation. Whether you have land and a vision or are just beginning to explore, Woolsey is ready to walk the site with you.