Bellaire’s postwar houses and the remodels they’re ready for
Bellaire had 10,173 residents and 3,186 houses by 1950, and many homes in the Carroll and Braeburn Country Club Estates subdivisions went up in the 1950s and early 1960s. Houses that age often have good bones and tired everything else, and that is the work we like.
Working in Bellaire
Bellaire was founded in 1908 by William Wright Baldwin, president of the South End Land Company, on part of William Marsh Rice’s 9,449-acre ranch, and it incorporated as a city ten years later, in 1918. The postwar building boom filled it fast. In the 1960s, 250 houses were torn down to make way for the I-610 Loop, which still cuts the city in two. Today 17,202 people live here, in a city bordered by Houston and West University Place, with Bellaire Boulevard running through it and Evelyn’s Park sitting on five acres of the old Teas Nursery property.
The standard Bellaire lot is 75 by 130 feet, big enough for a house, a detached garage and a swimming pool, and that layout shapes the work. A detached garage has its own roof on its own schedule, and it is worth checking every time the main roof is done. Poolside means decking and doors that open to wet feet. Inside, a 1950s house often has small baths, a closed-off kitchen and plumbing that has been patched more than once. Harvey reached Bellaire in August 2017, so we also ask what was repaired after that storm. None of that is bad news; it is just the list.
Bellaire is its own city, so permits come from the City of Bellaire and not from Houston, even though Houston wraps around it. Remodels here sit close to the neighbors on both sides, so we stage materials in the driveway, keep the dumpster off the street when we can, and tell the people next door when the tear-off is coming. Students attend the Houston Independent School District, which crosses the city line. Long-term owners care how the work is done, and so do we.
Houses built in the 1950s and early 1960s, like many in the Carroll and Braeburn Country Club Estates subdivisions, were framed and plumbed to the standards of their day. Cast iron drain lines under the slab, galvanized supply pipe, two-prong outlets, single-pane windows and thin attic insulation were all normal then, and some of it can survive behind later updates. We do not assume any of it is there, and we do not assume it is gone. A remodel that already has the walls open is the least painful moment to replace old pipe or wiring, so we price those options alongside the finishes and let you decide what to do now and what to leave for later. If there is hardwood under the carpet, it is worth a look before anyone orders new flooring.
Worth knowing here
- Bellaire was affected by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.
The jobs that come up here
Whole home remodeling is the big one here: opening a 1950s floor plan, moving the wall between kitchen and den, or rebuilding the back of the house around the pool. Family room remodeling fits when a den gets merged with the room next door, which is a structural change and gets a structural answer. When the layout stays and only the finishes go, kitchen renovation or bathroom renovation does the job without touching the rest of the house; kitchen remodeling is the right name when the wall comes down. Bedroom remodeling can combine two small bedrooms into one with a real closet and its own bath, which suits a house whose rooms were sized for another era. We check the framing and the old plumbing before we promise a schedule, because a 70-year-old wall can hold surprises.
Outside, roof replacement on the house and the detached garage is often smart to do together: one tear-off, one dumpster, one set of flashing details. Doing both at once also means the colors match. Around the pool, composite deck installation puts down boards that will not splinter under bare feet, built where there was only grass or tired concrete. If the pool area needs shade, a patio cover can tie into the house roof, and we flash that joint as carefully as any valley. If the garage roof has years left, we leave it alone and write that down too.
- Bathroom renovation If the tub, toilet and vanity are already in the right places, nothing has to move.
- Family room remodeling The family room is where the TV, the kids, the dog and the Saturday game all end up.
- Kitchen remodeling A kitchen remodel changes the layout: the sink moves to an island, the wall to the family room comes out, the range gets a hood that actually vents outdoors.
Plenty of roofs we look at need a repair or nothing at all. If that is yours, you will hear it from us first.
Do we pull permits from Bellaire or Houston?
Bellaire. It has been its own city since 1918, so remodel and roofing permits inside city limits come from the City of Bellaire even though Houston surrounds it. We submit them as part of the job.
Should we re-roof the detached garage at the same time as our Bellaire house?
Often, yes, because one tear-off and one dumpster cost less than two, and the shingles will match. If the garage roof still has real life in it, we will tell you to leave it and write that on the scope. Its decking gets checked either way.
Can you open up a 1950s Bellaire floor plan?
Usually, once we know which walls carry the roof. We look at the attic framing first, then tell you whether a wall can come out with a header or needs a beam, and what that does to the price. Some walls are worth keeping, and we will say so.
Our Bellaire house was affected by Harvey in 2017. What should a remodel check?
Look behind what was replaced. We open suspect walls near the floor, check the subfloor and the bottom plates for old rot, and confirm the insulation was changed. Better to find it during demolition than after new cabinets go in.
Is a composite deck worth it next to a Bellaire pool?
For a pool deck we usually recommend it, since composite boards do not splinter, need no stain and handle constant wet feet. They get hot in full sun, so color choice matters, and lighter boards stay cooler. We bring samples before you commit.
Close by
We also work in Southside Place, West University Place, Piney Point Village, Hunters Creek Village. The whole list is on the Harris 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.