Hiring a builder
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A metal building is a big check written to one company. A few questions and the right paperwork protect you.
Before you sign
- See finished work. Ask for two or three addresses or owners you can call, ideally for a building like yours.
- Insurance. Ask for a certificate of insurance sent by the insurer, not a photo of a card.
- Licensing. We have not found a Texas state license for general or metal building contractors. The trades inside the job are different: electricians, plumbers, AC techs, septic installers and well drillers are state-licensed. Ask who does that work.
- Written scope. Size, eave height, doors, slab spec, insulation, finish-out and what’s excluded.
- Payment schedule. Tied to finished stages, not dates. Be careful with a large deposit before materials are ordered.
- Change orders. In writing, priced before the work is done.
What Texas law requires for a home
For residential construction, the contractor must give you a disclosure statement about Texas lien law before you sign the contract (Property Code §53.255). The statement itself says a contractor may not require you to convey your land to them as a condition of the agreement. Read it; it explains how subcontractors and suppliers can file liens if they aren’t paid.
If something goes wrong after the home is built, Texas has a set process. Before suing a contractor over a construction defect, the owner must give written notice by certified mail at least 60 days before filing (§27.004), and the contractor then has a 35-day window to ask to inspect. Keep photos, dates and letters from the start.
Plain-language summary, not legal advice. For a dispute, talk to a Texas attorney.
Red flags
- Pressure to sign today for a “steel price lock”
- No written contract, or a one-page quote for a home
- Cash only, or the full price up front
- A price far below every other quote with no clear reason
- Won’t say who pours the slab or does the electrical
- No address you can visit and no references
Good signs
- Drawings before the slab is poured
- A clear list of what’s included and excluded
- Lien waivers offered with each payment
- A written warranty with a named contact
- Straight answers about subcontractors
- A start date and a rough schedule in writing
Keep a project file
Start a folder on day one: the quote, the contract, the drawings, every change order, every payment with its lien waiver, the permits and inspection results, and photos of each stage, especially the slab before it’s poured (rebar, plumbing and anchor bolts showing) and the walls before they’re closed in (wiring and insulation). If a question comes up years later, or you sell the property, that folder answers it. Lenders and insurers ask for these papers more often than people expect.
When you call, tell us what you’re building. We pass it to one builder, and you deal with them directly.
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Get one local builder to call you
Tell us what you’re building and where. One local builder calls you back to talk scope and set up a quote.
Call (936) 000-0000. The form is the secondary option.