Full-Gut Finish Levels in 1970s and 80s Hillside Houses
West Lake Hills was incorporated in 1953 on land Emmett Shelton opened up, and the bulk of what stands here went in through the 1970s and 1980s. Those houses were built well and sited beautifully. Their kitchens were built for how people cooked forty years ago.
So the projects we take here are rarely a straight swap. The wall between the kitchen and the dining room is coming out, the island is growing, the range is moving, and the surface decision is being made alongside cabinetry, lighting and stone selection rather than after them. That is a full-gut finish level and it needs a fabricator involved early.
Exotic Slabs, Mitered Edges and Details That Get Inspected Closely
A mitered build-up takes two pieces of slab joined at a forty-five degree cut so a twenty millimeter stone reads as a thick monolithic edge. Done properly, the veining runs around the corner and the joint is invisible at arm’s length. Done badly, you get a dark line, a mismatched grain, and an edge that chips because the miter was not fully supported. We cut ours on CNC and dry-fit before anything is bonded.
Book-matching is the other detail worth the effort. Two consecutive slabs off the block open like a butterfly, and the pattern mirrors across the seam. It only works if the layout is planned on the actual slab, in the yard, with tape and chalk, rather than assumed from a photograph.
What quartzite actually is, and what is sold as it
True quartzite is metamorphosed quartz sandstone, at least eighty percent quartz by volume and often near-pure silica, with an interlocking mosaic of crystals that fractures through the grains rather than around them. It is exceptionally hard and very resistant to chemical weathering. A great deal of material sold as quartzite in this market is in fact dolomite or dolomitic marble, which behaves like a calcareous stone and reacts to acid. We test rather than trust the label, and we tell you which one you are actually buying.
Access Problems: Carrying Slab Two Flights Up a Cut-Into-the-Slope Lot
This is the part nobody mentions until the truck arrives. The lots here are carved into hillside, so the front door is frequently below the kitchen, the driveway is a switchback, and the room that needs the slab is two floors above the street.
That is why our first visit to a hillside property walks the route, not just the kitchen. We measure the tightest stair turn, the ceiling height at the landing, the door swings, and the width of the driveway at its narrowest point. Then we lay the slab out with those constraints in the file, adding a planned seam where the alternative is a piece that physically cannot enter the house.
| Access condition | How the slab moves | Planning it forces | What we protect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street level, straight entry | Hand carry on edge with an A-frame | Minimal, standard crew | Door casings and flooring |
| One flight up, wide turn | Hand carry with a stair crew and turn spotters | Verify landing height and stair width | Handrails, newel post, wall corners |
| Two flights, tight switchback | Sectioned pieces with a planned seam | Seam placement decided before cutting | Stair treads and the slab itself |
| Kitchen above garage, no interior route | Exterior lift or crane pick over the balcony | Rigging plan, spotters, drop zone | Landscaping, deck rail, glazing |
Crane, Rigging and Tight Driveway Logistics
Sometimes the only way in is over the top. A balcony pick with a crane or an exterior material lift is routine work when the interior route is impossible, and it is far safer than forcing a slab through a stairwell it does not fit.
A pick needs a plan. Where the truck sets up, where the outriggers land, what the swing path clears, and who is standing where. On these lots the neighbor’s frontage often matters as much as your own, and Bee Cave Road and Loop 360 both feed driveways that will not accept a full-size boom without coordination. We work that out in advance and tell you which day the driveway will be unusable.
Working With Architects and Custom Builders in Eanes ISD
What we need from the design team
Cabinet elevations, appliance specs with actual model numbers, the sink and faucet selections, and any specified overhang or support detail. Appliance cutouts are machined to the real unit, and a substituted range at the last minute means a re-cut. We would rather have the model number early than the apology later.
We attend site meetings, we mark up slab layouts for design approval before cutting, and we send photographs from the slab yard so the client can approve the actual piece rather than a sample chip. Where a builder is running a schedule, we commit to template and set dates in writing and hold them.
Westlake High School and the wider Eanes ISD boundary is a reasonable shorthand for the area we cover most intensively west of the river, and we know the streets, the driveway grades and the older builders’ framing habits well enough to plan around them.
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The Neighborhoods We Serve West of the River
West Lake Hills sits immediately west of central Austin across the Colorado River, and the Emmett Shelton Bridge, Bee Cave Road and Loop 360 are the three routes that make everything else reachable.
Continuing west, we work in {{LINK:location:bee-cave}} and {{LINK:location:lakeway}} constantly, and the hill country projects carry on out to {{LINK:location:dripping-springs}}. North across the water we cover {{LINK:location:lago-vista}} on the Lake Travis shore. Every town we reach is listed on our {{LINK:archive:location}} page.
Additional Services on High-End Remodels
Bespoke geometry, waterfall returns and non-standard thicknesses fall under {{LINK:service:custom-countertop-fabrication}}. The accuracy that makes a book-match work comes from {{LINK:service:countertop-templating-and-measurement}}, and the joints themselves are the province of {{LINK:service:seamless-countertop-joining}}. Where a client wants no visible rim at all, {{LINK:service:undermount-sink-installation}} with a consistent hand-polished reveal is the detail that gets noticed.
Slabs We Source for West Lake Hills Projects
{{LINK:material:quartzite}} is the workhorse of the high-end kitchen here, genuinely hard and genuinely chemically stable. {{LINK:material:marble}} still owns the baking station and the primary bath, with the honest caveat that it is calcareous and will patina. {{LINK:material:dolomite}} sits between the two and is frequently mislabeled, so it deserves a straight conversation. {{LINK:material:onyx}} backlights beautifully in a bar or powder room, and {{LINK:material:soapstone}} gives a soft, dark, non-porous surface that ages into something worth living with.
If you would rather start with a conversation than a slab yard, you can reach our design and estimating team through {{LINK:home}}, or call {{PHONE}} and we will arrange a visit around your architect’s schedule.
Access and Sourcing Answers in West Lake Hills
Can you get a slab up a hillside house?
Yes, and we plan it before we cut. Our first visit measures the route, not just the kitchen: stair width, landing height, door swings, the tightest turn and the driveway’s narrowest point. Those constraints go into the slab layout. Where a single piece physically cannot enter, we place a deliberate seam in the pattern rather than risk the stone.
Do you use a crane for difficult access?
When the interior route will not take the piece, yes. A balcony pick with a crane or an exterior material lift is routine and considerably safer than forcing a slab through a stairwell. A pick needs outrigger positions, a swing path and a drop zone agreed in advance. We always price a planned seam alongside it, because that is often the better answer.
Will you work with my architect?
Regularly. We attend site meetings, mark slab layouts for approval before any cutting, and send photographs from the yard so the actual piece gets signed off rather than a sample chip. What we need back is cabinet elevations, real appliance model numbers, and the sink and faucet selections, since cutouts are machined to the specific unit.
What exotic materials can you source?
Quartzite, marble, dolomite, onyx, soapstone and the harder porcelains and sintered slabs, plus one-off blocks when a project calls for something specific. We are candid about labeling: a lot of stone sold as quartzite is really dolomite or dolomitic marble and behaves quite differently around acid. You will know which you are buying before you commit.
Do you serve homes throughout Eanes ISD?
Yes. The Eanes ISD boundary is a fair description of our densest coverage west of the river, taking in the streets around Bee Cave Road, Loop 360 and the neighborhoods running down toward the Colorado River. We also carry on west into Bee Cave and Lakeway on the same routes, often on the same day.
Is a consultation free?
It is. The site visit, the access walk, the measurements, the material discussion and the written scope carry no charge and no obligation. On architect-led projects we will also join a design meeting at no cost. You keep the layout and the scope regardless of whether you go ahead with us.
How long does a full-house project take?
It depends far more on the cabinetry schedule than on us. Templating cannot begin until the boxes are set and level, and fabrication needs its cutting, edge profiling, polishing and cure time. Once we template, we commit to set dates in writing. Phased whole-house work is normally sequenced kitchen first, then baths, to keep the household running.