--- title: "Build Native Custom Homes — General Contractors | Houzz" canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/build-native-custom-homes-pfvwus-pf~629424713 markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~629424713.md entity_type: LocalBusiness business_name: "Build Native Custom Homes" category: ["General Contractors"] image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/778306d2011bf1da_2454-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg address: "201 Cole St., Austin, Texas 78737, United States" latitude: 30.2107 longitude: -97.9427 phone: "(855) 253-6284" website: https://www.buildnative.com/ rating: 4.1 review_count: 11 best_of_houzz_awards: 1 followers: 144 last_updated: 2026-09-07 --- # Build Native Custom Homes Original Houzz profile: [Build Native Custom Homes](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/build-native-custom-homes-pfvwus-pf~629424713) ## Professional summary - **Primary category:** General Contractors - **Location:** Austin, TX - **Serves:** Austin, Lakeway, Buda, Bee Cave, Dripping Springs, Shady Hollow, Lost Creek, West Lake Hills, Barton Creek, The Hills, Onion Creek, Manchaca, Rollingwood, Mustang Ridge, Mountain City, Sunset Valley, San Leanna, Bear Creek, Creedmoor, Hays, Driftwood - **Houzz rating:** 4.1 out of 5 (11 reviews) - **Best of Houzz:** 1 award (2014), for Service. ## About ### Houzz Badges - Houzz Influencer - Recommended on Houzz - 1,000 Ideabook Saves Since 2007, we have been dedicated to providing top-notch custom home building solutions with a strong emphasis on sustainability, energy-efficiency, and green building practices. Our extensive experience in building green homes has made us experts in the field, and we are committed to this standard in every project we undertake. At Build Native, we offer a comprehensive range of services that allow us to take a holistic approach in assisting our customers. Our unique blend of services enables us to continuously analyze costs, integrate new technologies, and push ourselves to deliver the absolute best in custom home building. We pride ourselves on our reputation for being approachable, honest, dependable, trustworthy, and professional. Our team executes every project with quality and integrity, ensuring that financial viability and sustainability go hand in hand. Discover more about our commitment to green building and our wide range of services at www.buildnative.com. ### Services Provided - General Contracting - Home Additions - Custom Homes - New Home Construction - Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) - Energy-Efficient Homes - Green Building ### Areas Served - Austin - Lakeway - Buda - Bee Cave - Dripping Springs - Shady Hollow - Lost Creek - West Lake Hills - Barton Creek - The Hills - Onion Creek - Manchaca - Rollingwood - Mustang Ridge - Mountain City - Sunset Valley - San Leanna - Bear Creek - Creedmoor - Hays - Driftwood ## Business Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Business Name | Build Native Custom Homes | | Address | 201 Cole St., Austin, Texas 78737, United States | | Phone | (855) 253-6284 | | Website | https://www.buildnative.com/ | | Followers on Houzz | 144 | **Social profiles:** - Facebook — http://www.facebook.com/buildnative?ref=hl&success=1 - X (Twitter) — https://twitter.com/buildnative - LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/company/native-inc-?trk=top\_nav\_home - Blog — http://buildnative.com/blog/ ## Contact - **Houzz profile:** [Build Native Custom Homes](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/build-native-custom-homes-pfvwus-pf~629424713) - **Website:** https://www.buildnative.com/ - **Phone:** (855) 253-6284 ## Credentials **Certifications & Awards** - NAHB Graduate Master BuildersNABCEPIGSHPALEED AP50 Fastest Growing Companies in Austin Top 10 Custom Home Builder Fine HomeBuilding Smart-Energy Home of the Year - **Best of Houzz:** 1 award (2014), for Service. ## Reviews **Overall rating: 4.1 out of 5 — 11 reviews** *Aspect averages:* - Work Quality: 50.0 - Communication: 50.0 - Value: 50.0 ### All 11 reviews **★★★★★ — Michael Gonzalez, Sept. 2024** > We chose Build Native to construct our home in Dripping Springs, Texas. Working with Build Native was a great experience. Everyone we came in contact with was extremely professional and respectful. Our favorite aspect about Build Native was their use of green home-building techniques. They are extremely knowledgeable in building homes that utilize solar energy and that are energy efficient. Build Native worked with us to build our dream home, taking their time to make sure everything was done correctly and built to last. If you are looking to build a custom home in the Central Texas area I highly recommend using Build Native as your home builder. **★★★★★ — Lee Williams, March 2018** > I met with Native’s renewable energy consultant, Jay Thomas, at my Electrical Cooperative’s annual solar tour. The cost and environmental benefits he described made the decision to move forward easy. Native’s finance, project design, and installation teams were professional, easy to work with, and explained each step along the way. My 40 solar panel, 12 kW system was activated a week ago and is working great. The SolarEdge monitoring portal is a valuable tool that helps evaluate how it’s working in real time. Jay has stayed with us through the entire process and plans to help analyze our first electric bill after installation. I appreciate all their work from beginning to end and highly recommend Native. **★ — Richard Smith, Nov. 2017** > This has been a nightmare. The salesman was okay at first but we purchased two solar fans from him at his request to better cool our attic in the barn and in the attic of the house. It took him months to bring the fans with many different excuses as to why he had not brought them. They put the panels up and we were pleased at first because our electric bill was cut in half. So when the sales representative finally brought the solar fans for us to store he looked at the Solar System and said that light should not be blinking. So I called the company and told them what the sales representative had said and they said the system was working fine. When we received our electric bill and it had doubled again back to the original cost. We called many times but the sales representative would not call us back. We finally found someone, which is really hard with this company unless you call the sales department. In the meantime we had a hail storm that damaged the roof. So we called them again to remove the panels so the roofing company could put on a new roof. They charged us over $8,000 to remove the panel and put them back on. The insurance company would only allow $4,000 and we told them that but they would not do it for less. The roofing company even said that they were way out of line. When they put the panels back on it still did not work and our electric bill continued to be double. They finally fixed the system but last night I received an email saying they do not reimburse for downtime. It was a rude email from the Business Development Manager. He and the repairmen said the we had a bad optimizer but last night he said it is working now. We received our new optimizer in the mail today that the repairmen ordered so I guess it is not working. I will ask for a repairman but I probably need to hold my breath. I have never had this bad customer service for a major purchase. This is not a good company and I would never do business with them again. I would discourage anyone from doing business with them. **★★★★ — joergaustin, Sept. 2015** > We hired Native to build our home as it was competitively priced and they promised everything and more of what we wanted. Native is a company that was easy to talk to, they listened well and performed awesomely. My only reservation was that they were in transition of software and site supervisors, which did create some issues at times, so one would not know what the other had agreed to. Overall our project went great and smoothly, we got what we wanted for the price we agreed on, they are (if slow at times) responsive to any concerns/issues you have even now, 1 year and a half after completion and send someone out to look at it and take the appropriate steps to fix it. The only real issue we have is our wooden slat ceiling, the sub contractor must have had no experience at all with how to install a ceiling and somehow our usually overly quality oriented site super did not see this coming, but overall it likely has to be replaced. It is incorrectly installed, which causes it to come down in places, not dangerously but we had higher expectations. Native agrees basically with our observations and I am confident that we find a satisfactory solution. I will update this post when this happens and give them 5 stars. At this time this is the only issue we have not resolved satisfactory. > You become almost best friends with these guys, they are very personable and always respond to your concerns, pretty nice working relationship. **★ — tamara\_planb, Aug. 2015** > Not sure if I just had bad luck or this is the beginning of downward spiral on what was once a good company. Short version: READ EVERYTHING THEY SEND YOU VERY CLOSELY especially before signing. > It's crazy but this is the brief version. We were interested in solar and they were one of the companies that friends recommended. First sales person came out and we really liked him. They weren't the cheapest but with something that's going to be a 25 year relationship, cheapest isn't the object. Then when we started to move forward things got very slimy very quickly. He'd send me emails with proposed system specs and costs in the text of the email but then the formal proposal would be different. Different system output, different design, different cost. Thought we'd worked it out but then the official sign here contract had something different again. Final straw for me so I moved on to our second choice vendor, Longhorn. They came out for a site assessment and found that our home actually wasn't going to be good for solar. Too many big trees. Not a terrible problem to have but disappointing. Longhorn said they didn't want to move forward because they didn't feel like we would end up happy with the output or the cost. (If you haven't talked to Longhorn, you should.) Per Longhorn's recommendation, I'd like confirmation for the AE person about the system design. Okay, don't know about you but that really sets off alarm bells for me. I request a different sales person. Who knows, maybe this guy and I just aren't compatible. Then nothing for like two weeks until out of the blue I get a call from someone with the company asking how things are going. Is it that you really don't know the answer to that question or are you trying to gloss things over? Turns out so-and-so is no longer with the company. They are terribly sorry and are going to do what it takes to "make things right". Next day I get a call from sales person number two. She doesn't seem to have any information about my situation other then she's supposed to fix it. And she assures me she's going to do that. Now I'm a little optimistic again, these things happen. Companies can have problems with individual employees. But then I get a proposal from her. She's "upgraded" me to a micro inverter system. So in fact the other guy was likely going to sell me a giant paperweight for my roof. The output is less and the cost is more. Oh and the proposal lists 14 panels and 11 inverters. I'm no solar expert but seems like those numbers need to be the same. She confirms yes they do and kindly sends me another proposal with an even higher price fixing her incorrect count and a note about being out of town for the next week so we'll talk later. Also there was a 1.74% discount to show their concern for my two months of headache. Now I'm furious. My reply is there needs to be a big discount or we're done. Unfortunately some companies only respond when it's about money. Here's the part that takes the cake. She again assures me that they care and things will be okay, they have this great new product that I will really be pleased with. But she tells me she needs me to get approval from their preferred financing company before she can really get things worked out. I do that, then let her know I won't be going with Dividend Solar financing because their interest rate is 2% over Velocity. She says that's fine, with a little bit of a tone, then proceeds to send me a proposal that costs even more per kW then the previous proposal even with their "knock out incentive"! Really you just tried to upsell me?!?!? > It's disappointing because we really wanted solar but beware there are companies that will prey on that. Also, if you move forward with these guys see if you can find out who assumes the liability for the installers they use? They use a third party they are very close with but I couldn't ever get a straight answer what would happen if one of them fell off my roof. **Comment from Build Native Custom Homes:** > Tamara, > We're very sorry for your negative experience with Native. We value our customers' experiences and thank you for your feedback. Native has an excellent reputation as a company of high integrity - not only with our customers and industry professionals, but also amongst our direct competitors who regularly send complicated designs our way. > > The first consultant came from a company that went out of business, which happens in the solar business often. He worked with us for a few months and he no longer works with Native. The experiences you had are the reason he no longer works with Native. When you were contacted after this first interaction you were contacted by Native's CEO, which shows our commitment to customer satisfaction. He reassigned your project to one of our most experienced consultants. > > We are more than happy to delve into the line by line changes in your proposals and the reasoning behind the pricing of each option as well as the details in financing. Due to the unique nature of your experience, we made several attempts to rectify the situation by offering a discount, which we do not normally offer. We were simply not able to reduce the price any further. As far as your recommendation to the general public to review our proposals, we absolutely agree and hope that is the case for all purchases of this magnitude with us or anyone else. > > Native has the most NABCEP rated employees in the region and we are fully confident in the staff we employ to design, price and install the best quality system for the price. Our installer is not a "third party" installer, they are a Native owned company, started, owned and operated by former Native employees. They take full precautions for safety and are fully insured and licensed to install solar. We would not use them if they were not the most qualified to install the systems we sell. > > The solar industry is growing so fast that you will find a lot of suspicious tactics out there, from companies owned by questionable investors to unstable business practices. It is truly rare to find a company that is locally owned and operated and structured with a sustainable business model to actually be around to offer the warranties we promise. It is true, we aren't the cheapest, but we are built to last. We are truly sorry for your experience and if there is anything we can do to rectify the situation, not for a sale, but for the sake of clearing up any confusion, we'd love to opportunity to do so. **★★★★★ — ds43, July 2015** > From the day we moved in until now, 5 years later, my husband and I are totally satisfied with our Native home. It was a bit of a dream come true. We had worked for several years trying to figure out how to have an affordable energy efficient home but it wasn't until we discovered Native that it all came together. Our solar power system works seamlessly with our HVAC system. The home is incredibly well-insulated. It is big enough but not too big. And when the electric bill comes we look at each other and just smile. > > Our home is great looking as well; all Native homes are! The Native team is a great group of intelligent and well-trained individuals who work for and with clients, the end product being complete satisfaction. I don't believe we could be more pleased. **★★★★★ — ziateach, July 2015** > Native installed a 11 kW solar array at our house. We love it! They were professional, clean, on time and did a quality job. We have since hired an electrician (for other work around the house) and he said that the work they completed was top notch. Thanks Native! **★★★★★ — mchiconsky, Aug. 2014** > Native built our energy efficient, low impact home including the 20,000 gallon potable water system, the 7 KW solar array and the geothermal heating and cooling system. We could not be happier with our home or with their service. Their expertise, professionalism and genuine passion for what they do resulted in a home that is wonderful to live in and the envy of everyone who visits! **★★★★ — jwd158, April 2013** > Native built an addition on my house and remodeled my kitchen back when they were called Hill Country Ecobuilders. We had an original 1950s central Austin home and ended up with a new home that fits our family really well. We love our house! Very professional and great communicating timelines and status updates. **★★★★★ — Elliot Johnson, AIA - Images Of..., April 2013** > Recently completed the second phase of a 18.4 kw Solar Array. The Whole Team at Native worked with me, and my crazy array ideas. > > The first 9.2 kw array was built with Cedar Trees cut down from the lot where the array was built. The second array was just built with steel. Both arrays had to be raised as the lot faces Northeast. > > Both of these were difficult installs. Everyone at Native worked hard to get the install done in a timely manner and never tired to charge me for 'extras' > > I would work with them again, anytime. **★★★★★ — Kristyn, April 2013** > Love them! Very professional and honest people. Looked at solar panels and was going to get them had my condo's HOA allowed it. ## Selected projects - [2015 Best Energy-Smart Home of the Year](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/2015-best-energy-smart-home-of-the-year-pj-vj~168135) - Location: Driftwood, TX - Photos: 35 - Description: Vineyard Ridge is a 3,200 square foot award-winning net-zero, AEGB 5 star rated home in Driftwood, Texas. This project incorporates a beautiful and functional passive solar design, clerestory windows, active cupola, day lighting, spray foam envelop, geothermal heat pump with hot water recovery, ERV, 7.75 kw solar array, dual flush toilets, 30,000 potable rainwater collection system, High efficiency lighting CFL and LED, bamboo cabinets, stained concrete and engineered flooring, native landscapin… - [Bouldin Creek Addition](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/bouldin-creek-addition-pj-vj~890760) - Location: Austin, TX - Photos: 25 - Description: The Bouldin Creek Addition is a blending of two worlds. This 1100 sqft modern energy efficient design blends seamlessly into the 1930′s bungalow structure. Designed by Dick Clark and Associates this project incorporates passive solar design, advanced thermal envelope, mini-split HVAC, and high performance windows. The space was conceived as a type of retreat including full art studio, screened outdoor dining area, pool with outdoor living, and studio apartment with rooftop observation deck. - [Big Country](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/big-country-pj-vj~890443) - Location: Dripping Springs, TX - Photos: 30 - Description: The Big Country Project is a 3,200 square foot AE 5 star rated, net zero energy home. This project incorporates passive solar design, clerestory windows, day lighting, advanced framing techniques with spray foam envelope, geothermal heat pump with hot water recovery, energy efficient air source water heater, ERV, dual flush toilets, 30,000 potable rainwater collection system, High efficiency lighting CFL and LED, bamboo cabinets, stained concrete, native landscaping, high performance windows, la… - [Wells Fargo](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/wells-fargo-pj-vj~215525) - Location: Austin, TX - Photos: 12 - Description: The Wells Fargo Project is a 3,000 square foot Austin Energy Green Building 5 Star Rated Home. This project incorporates passive solar design, large overhangs, spray foam envelope insulation, high performance and clerestory windows, galvalaume metal roofing, Solar Net Zero upgrade ready, geothermal heating and cooling with hot water recovery, Energy Recovery Ventilator, 30,000 gallon potable rainwater system with hot water re-cirulation pump, Energy Star appliances, dual flush toilets, stained c… - [Lenape Trail](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/lenape-trail-pj-vj~635100) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 21 - Description: Welcome to the new standard in green home construction! This gorgeous custom home combines the best of modern luxury and ecoconcious lifestyle features. This Net Zero energy capable home is packed full of money saving features including solar PV, geothermal heating and cooling, 10,000 gallons of potable rainwater harvesting, 24-gauge Kynar coated standing seam metal roof, advanced framing with full envelope spray foam insulation, energy efficient windows and doors, and has been submitted to achi… - [Lost Creek - Barton Springs](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/lost-creek-barton-springs-pj-vj~1064757) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 23 - Description: The Lost Creek Project is a 4,100 square foot Austin Energy Green Building 5 Star Rated Home. This project incorporates passive solar design, large overhangs, spray foam envelope insulation, high performance windows, galvalaume metal roofing, 6kw solar array with planned net zero upgrade, geothermal heating and cooling with hot water recovery, Energy Recovery Ventilator, 10,000 gallon underground rainwater system for irrigation, Energy Star appliances, dual flush toilets, high efficiency lightin… - [Lenape Cove](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/lenape-cove-pj-vj~890752) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 23 - Description: Welcome to the new standard in green home construction! This gorgeous custom home combines the best of modern luxury and ecoconcious lifestyle features. This Net Zero energy capable home is packed full of money saving features including solar PV, geothermal heating and cooling, 10,000 gallons of potable rainwater harvesting, 24-gauge Kynar coated standing seam metal roof, advanced framing with full envelope spray foam insulation, energy efficient windows and doors, and has been submitted to achi… - [Tarrytown](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/tarrytown-pj-vj~1223141) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 45 - Description: net zero home in Tarrytown - Austin, Texas - [FM 1704 Elgin, Texas](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/fm-1704-elgin-texas-pj-vj~638170) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 28 - Description: The FM 1704 Project is a unique, beautiful, high-performance home with an abundance of energy-saving solutions in Elgin, Texas. This home was NATiVE built and features a unique design by Lévy Kohlhaas. Key Features: 29,000 gallon Rainwater collection tank 5.00kW Solar array Spray foam insulation Advanced framing Natural day lighting - [Travis Heights ADU](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/travis-heights-adu-pj-vj~1196665) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 17 - Description: The Travis Heights Guest House was designed and built to carry over the 1950's era main brick home in Austin, and incorporate a modern twist with an energy-efficient, passive solar design. - [Spicewood Ridge](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/spicewood-ridge-pj-vj~168776) - Location: Spicewood, TX - Photos: 23 - Description: Spicewood is a 3,000 sq ft 5 star rated home. Features include passive solar design, clerestory windows, day lighting, advanced framing with spray foam envelop, geothermal heat pump with hot water recovery, ERV, dual flush toilets, 30,000 potable rainwater collection system with well backup and customizable usage board, solar ready, high efficiency lighting CFL and LED, bamboo cabinets, stained concrete, native landscaping, high performance windows, large overhangs, native stone, and energy star… - [Spanish Oaks Modern](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/spanish-oaks-modern-pj-vj~733255) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 3 - [big country.](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/big-country-pj-vj~1219827) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 10 - Description: custom residential project. 3200 sq. ft. 4 bdrm. 3 bath. features: net-zero energy home / 5-star ae green building rating / geothermal hvac system / 7kw pv system / potable rainwater collection / separate greywater & blackwater lines plumbed / aerobic septic system / passive solar ventilation orientation / passive stack ventilation design Builder: Native, Inc. - [Cole](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/cole-pj-vj~7511618) - Location: Austin, TX - Photos: 17 - [Dripping Springs Farmhouse](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/dripping-springs-farmhouse-pj-vj~7484777) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 15 - [Terra Scena](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/terra-scena-pj-vj~7414328) - Location: Dripping Springs, TX - Photos: 24 - [Mirela Ann](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/mirela-ann-pj-vj~7484772) - Location: Dripping Springs, TX - Photos: 15 - [Barton Bend](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/barton-bend-pj-vj~7484767) - Location: Dripping Springs, TX - Photos: 18 - [Antelope Cove](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/antelope-cove-pj-vj~7484765) - Location: Blanco, TX - Photos: 22 - [Red River](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/red-river-pj-vj~7483727) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 10 [See all 24 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/build-native-custom-homes-pfvwus-pf~629424713) ## Community Q&A **Q: What type and brand of flooring is in this picture?** *(in Photo Questions)* I would like to know if this is porcelain tile or natural stone and what type/brand of flooring? A: Do not know the exact brand, but believe it is a natural stone and it is a Vintage Antico Versailles Pattern. **Q: want name of dining light fixture** *(in Photo Questions)* the light fixture over dining table. Name? pricing? A: I'm tracking down the name of the fixture. I do know it came from Lighting, Inc. http://www.lightinginc.com/ **Q: What sink is this?** *(in Photo Questions)* Do you know what sink this is? A: It's a Kohler Vault under-mount with front apron **Q: dimensions?** *(in Photo Questions)* do you happen to know the dimensions for this pool? thanks! A: The pool dimensions are 18' x 36'. **Q: shower?** *(in Photo Questions)* is this a steam shower? what is the screen for? A: It's a Kohler shower system. The chrome trims are body sprays and the screen is a digital interface to control the shower unit. **Q: Countertop?** *(in Photo Questions)* Is this countertop Cambria Quartz? A: Renaissance Stone fabricated the countertops. The granite is "Dolce Vita" from Decorum. --- *Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-09-07.*