New Home Construction in Cuero, TX

Most houses in Cuero were built for somebody else

Cuero was laid out in 1873. Drive any street off Esplanade and you can see it. Good bones, deep porches, and floor plans built around how families lived a hundred years ago.
NTEX Construction builds the other kind of house in Cuero and across DeWitt County. New, on your lot, laid out for the way you actually live. We are family owned. Our shop is in Goliad, 31 miles down US-183. An owner bids your job and an owner runs it.
Figure 6 to 9 months from signed plans to keys. Call (361) 645-4000.

Three ways people build new in DeWitt County

Almost every new house we put up around Cuero starts one of these three ways.

On family land

Somebody left you 15 acres out toward Thomaston or Arneckeville. There is no water line and no sewer. That is a septic system, maybe a well, and a caliche drive before anyone frames a wall. We price all of it up front.

On a lot in town

You bought an empty lot inside the city limits. City water and sewer are at the curb, which saves you real money. The lot is probably narrow and the big pecans stay.

Where an old house used to be

The house on it is past saving. We take it down, deal with what is under it, and build new on the same lot. Old sewer taps and old foundations both cause surprises. We look first.

Cuero clay in August, Cuero clay in May

Clay runs through most of DeWitt County, and clay never holds still.

Go stand in a yard here in late August. The ground has pulled away from itself and the cracks are wide enough to lose a tape measure in. Come back in May, after the rain, and the same yard is tight and swollen. Your slab sits on top of that, every year, for as long as the house stands.

You can see what happens when nobody plans for it. Doors that only close in winter. A crack over the same doorway that keeps coming back after you patch it.

So we test your lot before we design the slab. The soil report sets the slab, not a standard detail we use everywhere. Then we shape the yard so rain leaves instead of soaking the ground right next to your foundation.

Two different sets of paperwork, and which one is yours

Inside the city limits, your plans go to the Cuero Building Department at 212 East Main Street. Cuero enforces the 2021 International Residential Code. Worth knowing before you plan your week: that counter stops issuing permits at 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and at 11 a.m. on Friday.

Outside the city limits there is no city permit, and people hear that and assume it is simpler. It is not. It is septic. DeWitt County runs that out of the courthouse at 307 North Gonzales Street. A licensed evaluator digs test holes on your lot and writes up what he finds. You need a survey and a plat with it. Nothing moves until the county signs.

One exception saves people money. If you have 10 acres or more and one single-family house going on it, you may be exempt from the septic permit. We check that in week one.

Either way, we file it and we meet the inspector. You sign where we point.

What the eight months actually look like

You tell us what you want

Bring the lot, a budget, and pictures of what you like. Bring all three and we get further in one sitting.

We draw it and you mark it up

You will change the kitchen. Everyone changes the kitchen. Change it now, on paper, while it is free.

We test your dirt

Before the price, not after. What the soil report says decides what the slab costs.

You get one number

Written down, itemized, and good. Not a range, and not a number that grows once we start digging.

We file the paperwork

City permit on Main Street, or county septic at the courthouse. We chase it so you do not.

Dirt work, then concrete

Pad, plumbing rough-in, steel, then the pour. This is the part that decides how the house sits in 20 years.

Framing through paint

Frame, roof, wire, insulate, rock, finish. Photos every week. Walk it whenever you want. It is your house.

You make the list

We walk every room together and you write down everything you do not like. We fix all of it before you move a box in.

What people actually spend here

A builder who quotes your house over the phone has not seen your lot. The lot is half the answer.

For scale: the typical home in DeWitt County is valued around $201,000. A new custom build runs above that, and these six things decide how far above.

What your lot needs first. Flat and cleared is cheap. A low corner that needs fill, or heavy brush, is not.
Water and sewer, or well and septic. A city tap on a Cuero street is the cheap version. A well and a septic field out in the county can add the price of a nice truck.
The shape of it. A long rectangle is cheaper per foot than the same square footage bent into six corners and three rooflines.
One story or two. Two stories buy you square footage without buying more slab and more roof.
What the soil report says. Worse dirt means more steel and more concrete. This is why we test before we price.
Finishes. The biggest swing of all. The same plan lands 30 percent apart depending on what you pick for counters, cabinets, and floors.

All six go in writing before you owe us anything. Start here.

What Our Neighbors Say

Quality service and construction! Corey and Jake have done a few remodeling jobs for us! We have been very pleased with every one of them. These gentleman keep their word and make sure the job is done right! I would highly recommend NTEX Construction for any of your construction needs!

Marilyn Miller Frost

NTEX did a major remodel for me and did an excellent job!!! All the contractors were pleasant and easy to work with. And their work was top-notch. I recommended them to friends who ultimately used them and they too were very pleased with their work!!!

Caren Adamson

NTEX recently did a remodel of our Sacristy and Narthex at Christ The Victor Lutheran Church. We were very pleased with the work they did. The men were friendly and courteous - and they cleaned up after themselves. We will definitely consider using them for other projects!!!

Christ Victor

I highly recommend NTEX construction. I have worked with NTEX on one major office build, one bathroom remodel, and am currently working with them on 2 bathroom remodels. Our office was completed in record time and is amazing. The bathroom remodel is spot on and was done in a very timely manner despite many other things going on. The current projects are on mark and looking to be completed on time.

I love working with everyone at NTEX. They do quality work, are very timely, and fun to work with!

Natalia Ivon Gonzalez

Got a lot in Cuero? Let us look at it.

Tell us where it is and what you want on it. We will tell you what that lot costs to build on before you spend a dollar. Call (361) 645-4000.

Questions we get in Cuero

How long will my house take?

Four to six months of construction for most homes, plus the design and permit time in front of it. A wet spring stretches it. We tell you the week it slips, not at the end.

I have not bought land yet. Too early to call?

No, and this is the best time to call. We look at lots with people all the time and tell them what each one costs to build on. Two lots at the same asking price can be $40,000 apart once you count fill, septic, and a water well. Know that before you buy, not after.

Do you build outside Cuero?

Yes. Yorktown, Nordheim, Westhoff, Thomaston, and the county roads in between. Out there it is septic and often a well, and we handle both.

My lot is downtown. Does the historic district affect me?

It can. The Cuero Commercial Historic District covers about 21 acres and 59 buildings near the courthouse, roughly between Gonzales, Main, and Terrell. If your property sits in it, what you can change on the outside is not entirely up to you. We find out where your line falls before anyone draws a plan.

Can I bring my own plans?

Yes. Bring what you have, even if it came off the internet. We will price it honestly and tell you which parts fight our soil or the 2021 code. Plans drawn for other parts of the country usually need a different foundation here.

What if I change my mind halfway through?

Moving a light switch is easy. Moving a wall with plumbing in it is not. We will tell you which one you are asking for and what it costs before you decide. Then the new number goes in writing like the first one did.

Can I tear down the old house and build on that lot?

Often yes, and around Cuero it is common. Demolition is the easy part. What is under an old house is the part to check: an abandoned sewer tap, an old foundation, fill nobody recorded. We look before we quote so the number holds.

NTEX Construction

NTEX Construction builds homes the right way. We serve Cuero, TX and surrounding areas with professionalism and pride.

Connect With Us

Whether you have questions, would like a quote, or are ready to start your project, submit the form or call us at (361) 317-7385 to get in contact with us.