5 Min Read
You've decided you want to build a custom home in East Texas. Now you're left wondering who should build it with you. The truth is, that decision shapes everything else about the project, from how closely the finished home matches your budget to how involved you stay once construction begins. Knowing a builder's background and approach before you sign anything can make that decision a lot clearer.
The Bort name has been part of custom home design and building in East Texas for more than 30 years. During that time, we have helped families overcome all kinds of challenges to achieve the homes they have dreamed of. This post walks through the story behind our team and how our design-build approach gets the results homeowners want.
Jump to a section using the links below:
- From A Design Practice To A Design-Build Family
- What Design-Build Means
- How Gary, Michael, And Matthew Shape Every Custom Home
- The Design-Build Process In Practice
- Local Experience, Applied At Every Step
- Frequently Asked Questions About Custom Home Building In East Texas
From a Design Practice to a Design-Build Family
Gary Bort started on construction jobsites at the age of 16. An injury years later took him off the tools and back to college for an architectural degree. He intended to become a construction manager, but designing homes pulled him in a different direction. Over the years, he has drawn plans for families across East Texas, with homes built into established neighborhoods including Bar Chase, Great Woods, and Castle Ridge, developing a reputation for traditional design and detailed drafting along the way.
His sons joined the business as it grew from a design practice into a full design-build firm. Michael brings years of interior design experience across homes at a wide range of price points, and he now manages scheduling and day-to-day coordination on every build. Matthew studied traditional residential architecture in depth and handles design and photorealistic 3D renderings, working from the same classical design principles that shaped his father's original body of work.
That combination of backgrounds—construction, architecture, and interior design—is part of what shapes how the company operates today. The Longview News-Journal has also recognized our work, naming Bort Custom Homes a Best of East Texas finalist in its Readers' Choice Awards two years running.
What Design-Build Means
Custom home projects generally follow one of two structures. In the more traditional model, a designer draws up plans for the home, and those plans then go out to builders for pricing. In a design-build model, one company handles design and construction under a single contract, so pricing develops alongside the design as it is still being shaped.
The distinction affects a project in a few specific ways.
| Separate Designer and Builder | Design-Build | |
|---|---|---|
| Who prices the design | Builders bid after the plans are finished | Pricing develops alongside the design |
| Who answers for the finished result | Split between the designer and the contractor | One team, one point of contact |
| When budget problems surface | After the plans are complete, often prompting a redesign | While the design is still flexible enough to adjust |
| How a mid-project change gets handled | Negotiated separately with the builder | Priced and built by the same team that drew it |
Research from the Design-Build Institute of America, built on studies from the Construction Industry Institute, found design-build projects are delivered 36% faster during construction and 102% faster from initial design through completion compared to projects that separate the design and construction contracts. Bort Custom Homes has worked in the design-build model since Michael and Matthew joined the business, with Gary, Michael, and Matthew staying on a project from the first sketch through the final walkthrough.
How Gary, Michael, and Matthew Shape Every Custom Home
A design-build company is only as strong as the individual expertise behind it. At Bort Custom Homes, each member of our family brings a different piece of that expertise to a project.
Gary's work is grounded in decades of both design and hands-on construction, which gives him a practical sense of what a drawing will take to build. Matthew's study of classical residential architecture shows up in the proportions and detailing of the homes he designs, and his use of photorealistic 3D rendering software lets a family walk through a home before a foundation is poured. Michael's interior design background means he understands how a floor plan translates into daily living, which informs how he manages the schedule and coordination once construction begins.
The Design-Build Process in Practice
Design-build isn't just a concept. It is a comprehensive method for managing a project for its entire lifecycle, and here is how it translates to the work at Bort Custom Homes.
Design
A project starts with a conversation and a walk of the land. That conversation covers how a family lives, what the site allows for, and what a realistic outcome looks like given their goals. From there, we draw the home and bring it into photorealistic 3D, so you can review and adjust the design before anything is built.
Preconstruction
Once the design is set, the scope gets defined and priced against construction costs, so the bid reflects what the home will cost to build. The same people who drew the plans provide that pricing, and they handle permitting and other groundwork before construction begins.
Build
Construction is managed from start to finish with a designer staying involved the whole way. Real-time access to the budget and schedule is part of that involvement, and the team walks every room with the family before the project is considered complete.
Local Experience, Applied at Every Step
Building in East Texas comes with some special considerations that show up repeatedly across the region. A large share of homeowners here are building on acreage or land outside a platted subdivision, which changes how a project needs to be planned. A rural site often calls for planning around a septic system, along with confirmation of well access and utility runs before design decisions get locked in. Permitting can also look different depending on whether a lot sits inside city limits or in an unincorporated part of the county.
That regional experience extends to style as well. Bort Custom Homes has worked across a wide range of styles and budgets, including modern farmhouse, luxury modern, rustic retreat, modern transitional, craftsman, farmhouse, country barndominium, and country French designs, along with commercial and mixed-use projects. Regardless of location or style, the team takes the same design-build approach to give you the home you want.
Frequently Asked Questions About Custom Home Building in East Texas
Partner with an Experienced Custom Home Builder in East Texas
Choosing a builder is the first big decision in a custom home project, and it's one our team doesn't take lightly. Bort Custom Homes is guided by Gary Bort's more than 30 years of designing and building custom homes across East Texas, and every project still starts the same way: by sitting down with your family to talk about your goals and what you want for your home.
Take a look at our recent projects to see the craftsmanship behind past builds.
Contact Us
Reach out to our team to start the conversation.
