Est. 2003
Custom home builder in Dunwoody, GA.
Dunwoody was built in one generation, and that generation's houses are now being replaced one lot at a time. The custom homes we build here are teardowns on established streets, with neighbors on both sides, mature trees overhead and a city that permits every step itself.
Custom home builder · Dunwoody, GA
New houses on Dunwoody's old streets.
Dunwoody Club Forest, Branches, Redfield, Village Mill, Dunwoody North and Georgetown all went up in the same era, and the lots under them are the reason people build here now: a third to half an acre, sewer at the street, and a school district worth the price of the land. We have worked this part of DeKalb since 2003 and permitted through the city since it took over from the county.
The contract is fixed-price from demolition through the certificate of occupancy. We file the city permits and stand in front of every inspector, send a photo off the site each working day, and warrant the house in writing for a year.
Know your lot
Three kinds of custom home lot in Dunwoody.
Nearly every lot here already has a house on it. The three situations differ in what the old house is and what the trees around it allow.
A 1960s or 70s house on a good lot
The Dunwoody default. Demolition permit, asbestos survey on the old house, a survey against current setbacks and stormwater rules, and usually a grade that gives the new house a basement.
Canopy shapes the footprint
Dunwoody protects its trees, and a permit for removal comes with replanting expectations. On a wooded lot the tree survey decides where the house and driveway can go before the plan is drawn.
Stormwater first
Lots that back onto Nancy Creek or its branches carry buffers and drainage rules. The stormwater design is part of the site plan, and it can decide the footprint.
What we build
Every part of a Dunwoody custom home.
Lot & Site Work
Design & Floor Plans
Shell, Roof & Exterior
Kitchens & Baths
Outdoor Living
Basements & Bonus Rooms
Included in every build
One contract, no allowances left blank.
- Lot evaluation & site plan
- Architectural plans & engineering
- Permit application & inspections
- Clearing, grading & erosion control
- Foundation, framing & roof
- Plumbing, electrical & HVAC
- Insulation & energy code compliance
- Windows, doors & exterior finishes
- Kitchens, baths & interior finishes
- Selections & 3D renderings
- Daily cleanup & job-site photos
- One-year written warranty
Local conditions
What Dunwoody land does to a house plan.
Dunwoody has run its own Community Development since 2008, applications go through the CentralSquare portal the city adopted in 2025, and inspections are done in person rather than from photographs. A new house is a full plan review with the site plan, the stormwater design and the tree plan examined alongside the building drawings, and the city's expectation that the Georgia State Minimum Standard Codes apply to every part of it.
Trees are the second constraint and often the first one a buyer meets. The city's tree ordinance protects canopy, removal is permitted with replanting expectations, and on a lot with fifty-year-old hardwoods the survey shapes the footprint and the driveway. The trees that are staying get drawn first, and the house is arranged around them.
Underneath, the ground rolls toward Nancy Creek and the Chattahoochee. That grade is what gives most lots a walkout lower level, and on a few of them a stream buffer or a drainage rule quietly takes a slice of the yard out of play. Sewer serves the whole city. Where an old house is coming down, its water, gas and power are cut and capped under the demolition permit before a machine touches the structure.
How we work here
The sequence for a Dunwoody lot.
Measure the lot against today's rules
Setbacks, stormwater, the tree survey and any creek buffer, all read before a floor plan exists. What comes back is the shape you are actually allowed to build.
Clear the lot once, under one plan
Tree removal and demolition go in together, with a single erosion-control plan and the replanting agreed before anything is cut, so the site is disturbed one time.
Draw around the canopy
The house sits between the trees that stay, the buffer and the grade, and the drawings go in with the site and stormwater design the city reviews alongside them.
Price it, then file through CentralSquare
Demolition, site work, foundation, every trade and every allowance on one fixed-price proposal. The submittal goes into the city portal under our license.
Build to the city's inspection order
Footings, framing, rough-ins, then the insulation visit on its own, then drywall, finishes and the final. Dunwoody inspects in person, and we are there for each one.
Permits
Permitting a new home with the City of Dunwoody.
Dunwoody has run its own Community Development Department since it incorporated in 2008, so a new house here is a city permit rather than a DeKalb County one. Applications are filed through CentralSquare, the permitting portal the city moved to in 2025. A new single-family home is a full plan review: site plan, stormwater, tree plan, foundation, framing, energy compliance and the trade permits.
The sequence is worth knowing before you sign a contract with anybody. On a teardown the demolition and any tree removal are permitted ahead of the building permit. During construction, insulation cannot be in place for the rough-in inspection and is inspected separately afterward, and photographs are not accepted in lieu of an inspection. Clear an acre or more and the state erosion permit joins the stack. We file all of it and meet the inspector at every stage.
Who issues it
City of Dunwoody Community Development. Permit desk at 678-382-6821, permits@dunwoodyga.gov. dunwoodyga.gov
CentralSquare portal
Applications, plan review status and inspection requests run through CentralSquare, which replaced the city's previous system in 2025.
Trees and demolition first
Tree removal is permitted under the city ordinance with replanting expectations, and the teardown has its own permit. Both are filed ahead of the new-home permit.
Insulation is its own step
It cannot be installed for the rough-in inspection. It is inspected after rough-in passes, before anything is covered.
Budget
What a custom home costs to build in Dunwoody.
You will spend more on the lot than on anything we quote, and the lot is not ours to quote. Our first numbers are the ones between the old house and the new foundation: the asbestos survey, the demolition, the tree work and its replanting, and erosion control on a cleared site.
Every line is priced on its own, so the demolition, the site work, the stormwater design, the foundation and each finish allowance are numbers on the proposal rather than a price per square foot. A calculator can give you a range to plan around. The line-by-line proposal is what you actually sign.
Where the money goes
Demolition and haul-off, tree removal and replanting under permit, stormwater compliance on a bigger footprint, and a foundation on ground that slopes toward the creek.
The teardown
Utility disconnects, the asbestos survey, the demolition itself and the tree permit. Its own permits and its own lines, before the house is priced.
Before you sign anything
Homework before the first proposal.
How to choose a custom home builder
The questions that separate a builder from a salesman.
Read the guide →Custom home cost per square foot around Atlanta
What the number really covers and why it moves so much lot to lot.
Read the guide →How a construction draw schedule works
What the bank releases, when, and what has to be inspected first.
Read the guide →Fixed price vs cost-plus
Why we sign the first kind and what the second kind costs you.
Read the guide →Custom home cost calculator
A starting range for your square footage and finish level.
Open the tool →Where we build
Dunwoody & north DeKalb.
All remodeling services in Dunwoody · Areas we serve · Custom home building overview
In their words
Reviews from the ground up.
A whopping amount of ZERO stress. You are in truly good hands from start to finish.
Very responsive, patient with our questions, and made suggestions that improved our project.
Exceptional professionalism, expertise, and a genuine commitment to delivering quality service.
Good questions
Building a custom home in Dunwoody, answered.
Is a new house in Dunwoody a city permit or a DeKalb County permit?+
City. Dunwoody has run its own Community Development since 2008, and applications go through the CentralSquare portal it adopted in 2025. The county is not involved in the building permit. We file the application and schedule every inspection under our license.
We are buying a 1970s house to tear down. What comes first?+
A survey against current setbacks and stormwater rules, an asbestos survey on the old house, then the demolition and tree permits together. Expect the buildable area to come back smaller than the house standing on it today. Better to learn that from a surveyor than from a redesign.
How much do the tree rules affect the design?+
A lot, on the right lot. Dunwoody protects canopy, removal is permitted with replanting expectations, and on a parcel with fifty-year-old hardwoods the survey shapes the footprint and the driveway. Builders who draw the house first and apply for removals afterward are the ones who end up redrawing it.
Is a basement worth it on this grade?+
If the grade gives you one, yes. Plenty of Dunwoody lots fall away enough for a walkout the old house never had, and finishing that level while the trades are already on site is the cheapest space the house will ever gain. It gets its own line on the proposal.
How long does a custom home take in Dunwoody?+
Survey, design, the tree and demolition permits and the building permit all come first. Build time then tracks the size of the house. The schedule in your proposal includes those permits and every inspection, the standalone insulation visit included, so nothing on it arrives as a surprise.
Dunwoody & nearby
What will your Dunwoody custom home cost?
Tell us about the lot and the home you want to build in Dunwoody and we will come back with a clear budget and a realistic schedule, line by line.
- ✓ Lot evaluation & site plan
- ✓ Design, plans & renderings
- ✓ Permits, septic & inspections
- ✓ Fixed pricing, line by line