Hillcrest Village, under half a square mile on Alvin’s east side
Hillcrest Village covers 0.42 square miles, all land, and counted 705 people in 2020. Its official name is the Village of Hillcrest, it shares its western border with the city of Alvin, and the work here is the ordinary, careful work of keeping a house dry and comfortable.
Working in Hillcrest Village
Hillcrest Village sits in northeastern Brazoria County, with Alvin along its western border. Liverpool, Santa Fe, Friendswood and Manvel are the other nearby places. The village is in the Alvin Independent School District and in the taxation zone of Alvin Community College, and the 2020 census counted 705 residents on 0.42 square miles. That is a small footprint, and it makes the boundary a practical question. A few blocks can be the difference between the Village of Hillcrest and the City of Alvin, and the rules that apply to your job follow the boundary line, whatever the mailing address says.
Hillcrest is incorporated as a village, so the Village of Hillcrest is the first government to ask about a re-roof, a remodel or a deck inside its limits. Across the western line, the City of Alvin’s permit office has its own requirements. We look up your lot against both before ordering anything, then write down which office owns the job and what it needs. If the answer is that nothing is required for a like-for-like re-roof, we write that down too, with the date and the name of whoever told us.
The village sits on the same flat clay plain as Alvin next door, and the weather does not stop at the village line. Spring hail, summer straight-line wind and the long wet heat of a Gulf Coast year all work on a roof here. Hail bruises shingles and dents the soft metal on vents and gutters; wind lifts tabs at the edges and the ridge; heat and humidity bring algae and age a roof faster when the attic cannot vent. We look at each, photograph what we find, and tell you which of them actually matters on your house.
Inside the house, the clay under the slab is the quiet factor. It swells when wet and shrinks in a dry spell, and a slab moving with it shows up as cracked drywall over doorways, a gap at the top of a baseboard, or a door that rubs in August and closes fine in March. Before we set tile in a Hillcrest Village bathroom or kitchen, we check for that movement, because tile is the first finish to complain about it and the most expensive one to redo. If a floor is badly out of level, we tell you before demolition and let a foundation specialist have the first word.
The jobs that come up here
Asphalt shingle replacement is the usual answer for a worn shingle roof here: a full tear-off down to the decking, new underlayment, new flashing where the old is tired, and new shingles with the ridge vented. If the roof took a storm, the job may be hail damage roof replacement instead, built on photos of each strike before anything comes off. A roof with years left gets a short note saying so, and maybe a new pipe boot. We would rather come back in five years for the real job than sell you one now that the roof does not need. On most single-story houses, a crew can tear off and dry in the whole roof in one day, which keeps the house closed against the next rain.
Kitchen renovation and bathroom renovation both keep the layout you have and replace what is worn: cabinets, counters, tile, fixtures and lighting. They run faster and disturb less of the house than moving walls, and they keep the dumpster visit short. Composite deck installation adds a low-upkeep deck off the back of the house, with footings set for clay and hidden fasteners, and it gives you a place outside that will not need staining every couple of years. Each of these gets its own written scope, so you can do one now and one later without paying twice for setup. If the deck and a renovation are both on your list, the deck can be built while the inside work goes on, since the two crews never cross paths.
- Asphalt shingle replacement Replacing an asphalt roof is a day of controlled demolition followed by careful building.
- Bathroom renovation If the tub, toilet and vanity are already in the right places, nothing has to move.
- Composite deck installation Composite decking trades yearly sealing for a higher upfront price and a few rules of its own.
Plenty of roofs we look at need a repair or nothing at all. If that is yours, you will hear it from us first.
Is my Hillcrest Village house governed by the village or by Alvin?
It depends on which side of the line your lot sits. Inside the village, the Village of Hillcrest’s rules apply, and across the western border, the City of Alvin’s do. We check your lot against both before ordering anything, since the mailing address alone does not settle it.
How long does a Hillcrest Village shingle replacement take?
Most single-family re-roofs take one to two days once the material is on site, weather allowing. Rotten decking found during tear-off can add time, and you see photos of it before we replace a single board. The schedule in the scope gives you the expected days up front.
Why does a door in my Hillcrest Village house stick in summer but not winter?
Usually because the slab is moving with the clay underneath it. Clay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and doors and drywall show it first. We note it before any tile work and tell you if a foundation specialist should look before we start.
Is composite decking worth it for a Hillcrest Village deck?
Composite costs more up front and needs no staining or sealing. Wood costs less to buy and more to keep up in humid heat. We price both for the deck you want and let you pick, and the framing underneath gets built with the same care in both cases. The boards that face the afternoon sun take the most wear, and we will point those out on your deck.
Can you renovate a Hillcrest Village kitchen without moving anything?
Yes. Kitchen Renovation keeps the cabinets where they are or replaces them in the same footprint, with new counters, backsplash, fixtures and lighting. If the plumbing and gas stay put, the job is shorter and simpler, and you have a working kitchen back sooner.
Close by
We also work in Alvin, Liverpool, Santa Fe, Friendswood, Manvel. The whole list is on the Brazoria County page.
Veteran Built is two veterans running a roofing and construction company out of Cypress. Every job starts with one of them walking it with you, and every inspection ends in a straight answer: replace, repair or leave it alone.