Two rooms, one roof, an open hall
Hallvane is a small design-build studio. Designers and builders work as one team, so the house that is drawn is the house that gets built.
Where the name comes from
Across Texas and the South, early settlers built dogtrot houses: two log rooms, or pens, under a single roof, with an open passage between them. The passage shaded the doors, pulled the breeze through the house, and in summer became the room where everyone gathered.
We liked the idea so much we built the studio around it. Design is one room and building is the other. The hall between them is the conversation, and it stays open from the first measured drawing to the last inspection. Hallvane is the hall and the wind that moves through it.
The photograph above shows a historic dogtrot cabin at the Grayson County Frontier Village in Denison, Texas, by Carol M. Highsmith for the Library of Congress (public domain).
What we hold to
Price it before we build it
Design and cost move together. You see a fixed price before construction, and no change happens without a written price.
Keep the good bones
Old floors, solid framing and well-proportioned windows are often worth keeping. We decide what stays before anything is removed.
Build for Texas
Deep overhangs, sealed attics, ventilation that works in humidity, and materials that can take the sun.
Write it down
Selections, changes, inspections and decisions are recorded and shared, so nothing depends on memory.
How the team is organised
Every project has the same four roles, from the first visit to handover. Licensed trade partners carry out plumbing, electrical and HVAC work, as Texas requires.
Illustrative team. Hallvane is fictional, so no real people are named here. A real client’s site would introduce its actual team, with their permission.
- Design lead
- Draws the existing house, develops the design with you and stays involved through construction.
- Estimator
- Prices each stage of the design from trade quotes and keeps the allowance schedule current.
- Site lead
- Runs the build day to day, coordinates trades and inspections, and leads the weekly meeting.
- Project coordinator
- Orders materials, tracks lead times and keeps the schedule and records up to date.
What we do not do
Being clear about this saves everyone time.
- Small repairs and handyman work. We are not the right team for a single leaking faucet, and we are happy to say so.
- Commercial projects and investment flips. We work on homes for the people who live in them.
- Projects far outside our area. A site lead needs to be close enough to be on site often.
- Starting construction before the price is fixed.
Start with a conversation
Tell us about the house and what is not working. The planner takes about four minutes, and the first site visit is free.