Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Fast, Reliable Kitchen Remodeling Across Shady Hollow
A full kitchen remodel in Shady Hollow typically runs $14,000 to $45,000 for a standard single-story brick-veneer home, with smaller cosmetic refreshes landing between $9,000 and $20,000. That’s the honest range Tom Barrett quotes, and it’s what we put in writing before the first cabinet comes out. If you live in 78739 and you’re thinking about opening up a kitchen or replacing what the 1980s builder left you, call (877) 610-1318. We know the houses, the tree rules, the clay soil, and the permit office here because we’ve been working Shady Hollow lots for over two decades.
This is not a page that tells you “kitchens add value.” You know that. This page tells you what actually happens on a Shady Hollow kitchen remodel: the arborist, the watershed review, the slab check, the work-hour limits. Read it, then call us for a free estimate.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Shady Hollow’s Preferred Kitchen Remodeling Company
Barrett & Sons is Tom Barrett, his sons, and crews who answer to the Barrett name. We were founded in 1998, and Tom’s name, address, and license number are published. Look them up. Every kitchen we remodel in Shady Hollow gets permits pulled and inspections signed. Every price change arrives as a written change order before work moves. And every completed job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise. If it isn’t done right, one call brings Tom back.
Shady Hollow homeowners have been through the national-company routine: a phone quote, a stranger at the door, and a bill that doesn’t match either. We don’t work that way. The guys who show up on your cul-de-sac are the same guys you’ll see at the H-E-B on Brodie Lane. We answer our own phone, live, 24 hours a day.
We’ve remodeled kitchens near Menchaca Road, up around Copano Drive, and throughout the streets off Slaughter Lane. We know which lots fight the Blackland Prairie clay and which ones sit on limestone. We know that a tree fence in your front yard isn’t decorative. It’s the difference between a smooth inspection and a stop-work order.
Our Kitchen Remodeling Services in Shady Hollow
Full Kitchen Remodeling
A full kitchen remodel in Shady Hollow usually means taking a 1983-to-1998 builder kitchen down to the studs and rebuilding it to current code. That includes insulation, electrical, plumbing, drywall, flooring, cabinets, countertops, and finish work. On slab-on-grade homes in 78739, we check for slab heave before we set a single cabinet. See our Kitchen Remodeling team’s full process. These projects run $14,000 to $45,000 depending on scope and whether we’re moving walls.

Small & Partial Kitchen Remodels
Not every Shady Hollow kitchen needs gutting. Some homeowners want new cabinet faces, a fresh backsplash, updated counters, and better lighting without touching the footprint. A small or partial kitchen remodel runs $9,000 to $20,000. If you’re not moving an exterior wall or widening a window, you may skip the Heritage Tree review entirely. That changes the schedule and the price. We’ll tell you which one you’re looking at before you sign.

Cabinets & Countertops
Cabinet installation in Shady Hollow runs $4,000 to $13,000. Countertop installation runs $2,000 to $6,500. We carry KraftMaid cabinets and Cambria quartz. When you choose those brands, you can look them up. You never get a mystery product off a van. For kitchens that don’t need a full gut, cabinet refacing or new countertops is often the fastest way to change how the room feels. We measure, we order, we install, and we write every allowance on paper.

Backsplash, Tile & Flooring
Backsplash installation in Shady Hollow runs $800 to $2,500. Kitchen tile and flooring add cost depending on material and square footage. Older Shady Hollow slabs often have deflection or minor heaving, so we check the subfloor flatness before laying tile. A cracked tile six months after install is almost never the tile’s fault. It’s the slab. We look at that first.

Kitchen Design & Layout
This is where Shady Hollow gets specific. Most 1980s kitchens here were built as closed-off galley spaces with a pass-through to the dining room. Opening them up usually means removing a load-bearing wall, which means a structural engineer’s letter, a flush beam, and if there’s a mature live oak within 20 feet of that wall, an arborist report. We design around the lot realities, not just the Pinterest photo. Kitchen island installation runs $3,000 to $10,000.

What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Shady Hollow
We install Simonton and PGT windows when a Shady Hollow kitchen remodel includes a garden window or a wider exterior opening. We’re not brand-exclusive. We order what fits the house, and we order from supply houses that serve the Austin metro. If you want to verify the brand before it arrives, we’ll give you the spec sheet. No allowance games. The allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date.
Common Kitchen Remodeling Problems We See in Shady Hollow Homes
- Heritage Tree complications. The mature live oaks and cedar elms that give Shady Hollow its character are often 15 to 20 feet from the house. Any exterior wall change, window widening, or bump-out triggers Austin’s Heritage Tree ordinance. That means an ISA-certified arborist report, a critical root zone plan, and Urban Forestry review before the permit application is even accepted.
- Slab heave from Blackland Prairie clay. Homes in 78739 sit on expansive clay that shrinks in drought and swells after heavy rain. We routinely find slabs heaved a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch at the center of a kitchen. You can’t set cabinets level on a wavy slab. We check before demolition starts.
- Watershed impervious cover caps. Shady Hollow falls under Slaughter Creek watershed protection. Add a covered patio off the kitchen, extend hardscape, or enlarge the footprint, and you may push the lot over its impervious cover cap. Then you’re looking at on-site stormwater detention. That’s a cost and a permit modifier that never appears on a Buda builder’s contract.
- Contract gaps from out-of-area builders. A standard kitchen remodel contract written for Buda or Kyle won’t include line items for tree fencing, root monitoring, or tunneled utilities near protected oaks. The first time a backhoe gets near a 28-inch live oak, the owner gets a change order and a stop-work notice.
Pricing for Kitchen Remodeling in Shady Hollow, TX
Here’s what you’re looking at for a kitchen remodel in Shady Hollow. These are the ranges we quote on 78739 homes, and they match what we published across our site. The spread reflects scope, materials, and whether the city’s tree and watershed rules apply to your specific project.
| Service | Shady Hollow Price Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000 - $45,000 |
| Small Kitchen Remodel | $9,000 - $20,000 |
| Cabinet Installation | $4,000 - $13,000 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,000 - $6,500 |
| Backsplash Installation | $800 - $2,500 |
| Kitchen Island Installation | $3,000 - $10,000 |
Tree protection, arborist reports, and any slab leveling are separate line items we write before work starts. You’ll never get hit with one after the fact. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk your specific lot, look at the trees, check the slab, and give you a written line-item quote. Free estimate. No trip charge inside the county.
We Also Serve Cities Near Shady Hollow
Our crews live and work across the south Austin metro. If you’re in Buda, Kyle, Bee Cave, or anywhere in Austin proper, we handle Kitchen Remodeling in Shady Hollow and the surrounding communities with the same written-scope, permits-pulled approach. The rules change once you cross Slaughter Lane. We know which ones apply where.
Serving Shady Hollow, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Shady Hollow area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Kitchen Remodeling in Shady Hollow
For cabinet and countertop replacement only, with no changes to walls, electrical, plumbing, or the exterior envelope, you typically do not need a building permit in Shady Hollow. The moment you move a sink, add a circuit, change a window, or alter a load-bearing wall, the permit requirement kicks in. And if an exterior wall changes, the Heritage Tree review may also apply. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll tell you exactly which path your project falls under based on your specific lot.
The Heritage Tree review adds roughly 2 to 5 weeks to your pre-construction timeline and $1,500 to $4,000 in arborist and city review costs. That’s the honest math for a Shady Hollow kitchen remodel that touches an exterior wall near a protected live oak or cedar elm. Properties in Buda or Kyle, just across Slaughter Lane, have no such requirement. If your kitchen footprint stays inside the existing exterior walls, you skip this entirely. We’ll help you design to avoid it where possible.
Yes, in most cases you can remodel your Shady Hollow kitchen without replacing the slab. But we inspect the slab for heave and cracking before demolition, because Blackland Prairie clay in 78739 moves. If the slab has heaved more than about half an inch at the center of the room, we may need a structural engineer’s letter and localized mud-jacking before setting cabinets. That keeps your new kitchen level and your doors closing properly. We found exactly this on a recent remodel near Menchaca Road and Copano Drive.
Construction noise in Shady Hollow is generally limited to 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. on weekdays, with reduced hours on weekends under City of Austin noise rules. We schedule rough-in inspections and concrete cuts for early morning openings so trucks and dumpsters aren’t blocking cul-de-sacs during school pickup. On a slab-on-grade kitchen remodel near Copano Drive, our crew fenced the drip line of the heritage live oak, fit a 20-yard dumpster entirely on the driveway, and scheduled everything so the final inspection signed off four days before the homeowner’s holiday party.
It can, but not always. Shady Hollow sits in the Slaughter Creek watershed, which caps impervious cover on each lot. Replacing an existing window with a window of the same rough opening rarely adds impervious cover. But widening a window, adding a door, or extending a covered patio off the kitchen adds hard surface to the site calculation. If your lot is already near its cap, you may need on-site stormwater detention. We check your lot’s impervious cover calculation before we draw the permit set. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate and we’ll tell you where your lot stands.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Shady Hollow and the greater Austin area since 1998.







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