Design-Build • One Team • One Plan
Backyard Remodeling in Austin, TX
Outdoor Renovations is a design-build backyard remodeling contractor based in Austin — one team, 200+ completed projects across Austin and Central Texas.
What Counts as a Backyard Remodel
Backyard remodeling means treating your whole outdoor space as one project instead of a list of separate jobs — the patio, the plantings, the lighting, the structures, and the drainage underneath all planned and built together. We plan the whole project ourselves, then build every piece of it ourselves, from the first site walk to the final walkthrough.
A full backyard remodel covers everything between your back door and your fence line — not just new shrubs or a repaired sprinkler head. Most backyard remodels touch some combination of:
- Hardscape — patios, walkways, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fire pits
- Structures — pergolas, decks, fences, gates, casitas
- Planting — trees, beds, seasonal color, native and drought-adapted plants
- Water — irrigation systems and drainage work, including French drains
- Lighting — path lighting, uplighting, lighting built around how you'll actually use the space at night
- Metalwork — custom gates, fencing, and steel accents
- Ongoing care — lawn, irrigation, and seasonal maintenance once the project wraps
Most homeowners start with one of these in mind — usually a patio — and realize partway through planning that the patio doesn't work until drainage is solved first, or that the fence line decides where the pergola can actually go. That's the real difference between landscaping and a backyard remodel. Landscaping adds to what's already there. A backyard remodel rethinks the whole space at once.
Our Backyard Remodeling Process, Start to Finish
Every backyard remodel we take on starts the same way: a site walk, a conversation about how you actually want to use the space, and a design built around both.
Design
Design typically takes two to four weeks, depending on the size of the yard and how much site work — surveys, tree assessments, drainage studies — needs to happen before Kyle can finalize a plan. You'll see a full plan before any construction starts, so you know what you're approving. Design fees are credited toward the final construction cost.
Engineering and Permitting
Structures, electrical work for lighting, and some drainage changes can require permits in Austin and surrounding counties. Outdoor Renovations handles permitting as part of the project, so you're not the one tracking down inspections.
Construction
One crew builds the whole remodel — hardscape, structures, planting, irrigation, and lighting — instead of separate subcontractors working off separate plans on separate schedules.
Walkthrough and Guarantee
Every project closes with a walkthrough and is backed by a 1-year service guarantee that covers the whole job, not just one piece of it.
Why One Contractor Beats a Handful of Subcontractors
When homeowners compare backyard remodel companies in Austin, the real difference usually isn't materials or price — it's whether one team owns the whole plan. Hire a patio company, then a fence company, then an electrician for lighting, and you inherit every gap between them: mismatched grading, drainage nobody claims responsibility for, a lighting plan designed around a patio shape that changed halfway through construction.
Outdoor Renovations is licensed to design and build the entire project in-house. You have one point of contact — Kyle — from the first sketch to the final walkthrough, instead of a rotating cast of backyard contractors who've never seen each other's work.
Backyard Remodeling in Austin's Climate and Terrain
A backyard renovation in Austin has to account for more than style. Central Texas soil, heat, and water rules shape what actually works long-term.
Soil
Austin-area soil runs alkaline and clay-heavy, and much of the Edwards Plateau — the Hill Country side of the metro, including Westlake Hills, Barton Creek, and parts of Lakeway — sits over limestone and caliche that locks up nutrients plants need. Planting and grading plans have to account for that soil, not fight it. (Source: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Travis County — soil overview.)
Heat and Water Restrictions
Austin Water sets mandatory outdoor watering schedules that shift with drought conditions, and every backyard remodel we design has to work within them, not around them. That means efficient irrigation zoning and plant choices that hold up on a limited watering day, not just what looks good on install day. (Source: Austin Water — Find Your Watering Day.)
HOA Communities and Drought-Tolerant Landscaping
Many of the neighborhoods we build in — Steiner Ranch, Circle C Ranch, Lakeway, Bee Cave — have active HOAs. Texas law limits how far an HOA can go in restricting drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving turf, though most associations can still require aesthetic review of a proposed plan. (Source: Texas Property Code § 202.007.) We design backyard remodels that meet Austin's water restrictions and typical HOA architectural guidelines from the start, so the plan doesn't stall in review.
Terrain
Hill Country lots often have real grade change from the house to the back fence. Backyard remodels on sloped lots need retaining walls and drainage planned together — get one wrong and the other fails within a season.
The Services That Make Up Your Backyard Remodel
A backyard remodel draws on some or all of these — browse the full list of services we handle in-house, or read about each one individually:
Landscape Design
the master plan that ties the whole remodel together, from 2D layouts to 3D renderings
Learn MoreHardscaping
patios, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, and fire pits
Learn MoreCustom Carpentry
pergolas, decks, fences, and casitas
Learn MoreSoftscaping & Planting
trees, beds, and plant selection suited to Central Texas conditions
Learn MoreIrrigation & Drainage
the systems that keep the rest of the remodel working through Austin summers and storms
Learn MoreLandscape Lighting
lighting designed around how you'll use the space after dark
Learn MoreMetal Fabrication
custom gates, fencing, and steel accents fabricated in-house
Learn MoreProperty & Pest Management
keeping the finished remodel looking the way it did on walkthrough day
Learn MoreWhat Our Clients Say
Real feedback from homeowners across the Austin metro who trusted us with their outdoor spaces.
What to Expect: Investment, Timeline, and Planning
Backyard remodels range from a targeted upgrade — a new patio and lighting plan — to a full-yard rebuild with structures, an outdoor kitchen, and new plant beds throughout. Because scope varies that much, Outdoor Renovations designs the plan first, then prices it against your goals and the site's actual conditions, rather than starting from a flat per-square-foot rate. Design fees are credited toward construction if you move forward.
Plan on two to four weeks for design, then a construction timeline that depends on scope — Kyle and the team walk through a realistic schedule before any work starts, so there are no surprises about when your yard will be usable again. If your budget means building in phases, that's normal. Planning the full backyard as one design up front — even if construction happens over a year or two — keeps drainage, hardscape, and plantings from working against each other later.
The Bottom Line
A backyard remodel is only as good as the plan holding it together. Hire it out piece by piece, and you inherit every gap between contractors. Hire one design-build team, and the plan carries through construction, start to finish. That's what Outdoor Renovations builds for Austin homeowners: one backyard remodeling contractor, one crew, one guarantee, for a yard that's planned and built as a single project — not five.
Ready to talk through what a remodel could look like for your property? Reach out to Outdoor Renovations and Kyle or Jacob will walk you through it.
Backyard Remodeling — Frequently Asked Questions
Landscaping usually adds to what's already there — new plants, a repaired sprinkler zone, a lawn treatment. Backyard remodeling rethinks the whole space: grading, drainage, hardscape, structures, planting, and lighting planned together as one project instead of separate jobs.
It depends on the scope — a patio and lighting upgrade costs far less than a full-yard rebuild with a pergola, outdoor kitchen, and new plant beds. Outdoor Renovations designs a plan first, then prices it against your goals and site conditions rather than a flat rate per square foot. Design fees are credited toward the final construction cost.
Design typically takes two to four weeks, depending on the size of the yard and how much site work — surveys, tree assessments, drainage studies — has to happen before the plan is final. Construction timelines vary by scope; Kyle and the team walk through a realistic schedule before work starts.
Some backyard remodel elements — structures like casitas or covered patios, electrical work for lighting, and certain drainage changes — can require permits from the city or county. Outdoor Renovations handles permitting as part of the project so you're not tracking down inspections yourself.
Yes. Many homeowners plan the full backyard as one design, then build it in phases as budget allows. Planning the whole space up front — even if construction happens over a year or two — keeps drainage, hardscape, and plantings from conflicting with each other later.
Texas law (Property Code Section 202.007) prohibits homeowners associations from banning drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving turf outright, though most HOAs can still require aesthetic review of the plan. Outdoor Renovations designs backyard remodels that meet Austin's water restrictions and typical HOA architectural guidelines from the start.
We remodel backyards across Austin and Central Texas, including Westlake Hills, Lakeway, Bee Cave, Dripping Springs, Tarrytown, Barton Creek, Rollingwood, Steiner Ranch, Circle C Ranch, and Travis Heights.
Kyle Stoutenger, a Licensed Landscape Contractor with more than 16 years of industry experience, oversees design and construction. Jacob Butler leads estimating. You work with one team from the first site walk through the final walkthrough — not a rotating cast of subcontractors.
Ready to Remodel Your Backyard?
Outdoor Renovations provides honest assessments and transparent pricing. No pressure, no overselling — just expert guidance from licensed landscape professionals.
(512) 743-0570