RSB Empire → Construction → New Home Construction
Sheet A-104 · Bell Engineering & Construction
Ground-up custom home construction in Palm Beach County under one licensed Certified General Contractor. We clear the lot with our own equipment, pour the foundation, frame it, roof it with our own roofing license, and walk you through final inspection.
The only Palm Beach County contractor who is also a certified energy engineer — the owner inspects every job, and your home is built efficient from day one.
Scope of Work
One Contractor, Lot to Keys
On most custom homes the buyer becomes the general contractor by accident — chasing a separate site company, framer, roofer, and window installer, and absorbing every gap between them. Bell Engineering & Construction closes those gaps. We hold both a Florida Certified General Contractor license (CGC1528750) and a Certified Roofing Contractor license (CCC1332751), and we run our own land-clearing equipment, so site work, structure, and roof stay under one accountable name. When the person who cleared your lot is the same person who warrants your roof, there is nobody left to point fingers.
Every Bell home carries a written one-year workmanship warranty on top of the manufacturer warranties for the roof, windows, and systems we install — and the owner, a licensed contractor who answers his own phone, walks the job himself.
Cost Factors
The honest answer to “what does it cost per square foot?” is that it depends — more than almost any other purchase. In Palm Beach County a custom home’s price is driven by the lot, the size and complexity of the design, the level of finish, and a construction market that moves month to month. Rather than quote a number over the phone, here is what genuinely moves the figure so you can budget with your eyes open.
Clearing, fill, pad certification, drainage, and utility or well and septic connections are real costs, and they are usually separate from any per-square-foot construction figure. A cleared, filled lot on a paved road costs far less to build on than raw acreage that needs a well, a septic system, and a new driveway.
A per-square-foot price generally covers the structure — foundation, framing, roof, mechanical systems, and standard finishes. It typically excludes the land, site preparation, architectural and engineering fees, landscaping, a pool, and upgraded finishes. Two “same-size” homes can differ enormously once cabinets, counters, tile, and trim are chosen.
County and municipal permit fees, impact fees, and connection charges are levied on new construction and are generally billed separately from the build. We pull the permits under our license and carry the job through every inspection to the certificate of occupancy, so this part is handled rather than left to you.
Bottom line: we don’t guess. We look at your lot and your plans and give you a written estimate that spells out exactly what is — and isn’t — included. Call (561) 779-3213 for a real number.
Building on Acreage
Building out west — Loxahatchee, The Acreage, and the rural corridors of western Palm Beach County — is a different job than building on a finished city lot, and it’s one we know well from our base at 16140 Okeechobee Blvd. Acreage parcels usually mean a private well and a septic system rather than municipal water and sewer, so the build starts with well siting, drainfield design, and the county health-department approvals that come with them.
These lots often need clearing, fill, and a certified building pad before a foundation can go in — work we do with our own Bobcat T740, so it stays on our schedule instead of waiting on an outside grading crew. We handle the culvert and driveway access, confirm the wind-zone requirements for the parcel, and manage the Palm Beach County permitting that acreage builds require. The result is a home engineered for where it actually sits, not a coastal-lot plan dropped onto a pasture.
Built Efficient From Day One
Efficiency is far cheaper to build in than to retrofit, and it’s where Bell is genuinely different: the owner is a RESNET Class 1 certified HERS rater and energy engineer with a career in the energy industry before he came home to build in Florida. On a new home that means the envelope, insulation, air sealing, impact glazing, and HVAC are designed to work together from the plans forward — and a blower-door test at completion proves the house performs, rather than hoping it does.
A home built tight and right is cheaper to cool through a South Florida summer, more comfortable, and quieter, and the same impact windows and code-plus roof that cut your energy load also strengthen your insurance profile. See how these choices lower running costs on our energy-efficient home improvement hub, and explore impact windows & doors.
The Build Process
Signing a contract is the start of the process, not the finish. Here is the general sequence a Palm Beach County new home moves through — the order the county and the building science require, regardless of the size or style of the house. Every project has its own schedule, but the stages themselves don’t change.
How long each stage takes depends on the size and complexity of the home and the review queue at the relevant building department — see “How long does a new home take to build?” above for how we handle scheduling. What doesn’t change is the order: we carry every one of these stages under our own CGC1528750 license from the first permit application to the final CO.
Questions, Answered
Because the three most expensive surprises in a new build — site work, structure, and roof — stay under one license and one phone number. No finger-pointing between subs; the same company that cleared your lot stands behind your roof.
Yes — rural lots are a specialty. We handle clearing, fill, pad certification, well and septic coordination, and the county permitting that comes with acreage builds.
There is no honest single number, because cost is driven by the site, the size, the finish level, and today's material and labor market. Industry ranges for custom homes in Palm Beach County are wide, and land, site work, and impact fees are usually separate from any per-square-foot construction figure. We look at your lot and your plans and give you a written estimate — call (561) 779-3213.
A per-square-foot figure usually covers the structure itself: foundation, framing, roof, mechanical systems, and standard finishes. It typically does not include the land, site preparation, utility or well/septic connections, architectural and engineering fees, landscaping, a pool, or upgraded finishes. We spell out exactly what your estimate covers so there are no surprises.
Usually yes. County and municipal permit fees, impact fees, and connection charges are real line items on a new home and are generally separate from the construction price. As your licensed contractor we pull the permits and carry the job through every required inspection to the certificate of occupancy.
Typically 8–14 months from permit to certificate of occupancy depending on size, site, and county review times. We give you a written schedule and keep you updated at every phase.
That is our edge. The owner is a RESNET Class 1 certified energy rater and energy engineer, so efficiency is designed in from the start — a tight, well-insulated envelope, impact windows, right-sized HVAC, and a blower-door test that proves the result. A home built efficient from day one is cheaper to cool and more comfortable for the life of the house.
Yes. Every job carries a written one-year workmanship warranty, in addition to the manufacturer warranties on the roof, windows, and systems we install.
We work alongside your architect and lender, and we can recommend both. As a licensed REALTOR® as well, Randolph can even help you find the lot first.
Yes. Bell Engineering & Construction holds Florida Certified General Contractor license CGC1528750 and Certified Roofing Contractor license CCC1332751, is fully insured, and is a BBB A+ Accredited Business. Every job is permitted and inspected.
It depends on the specific parcel. Loxahatchee and The Acreage lots are frequently on private well and septic, which requires a percolation test and Palm Beach County Health Department approval for the septic system, while parcels closer to municipal service areas may have county water and sewer available. We confirm what a specific lot has before you budget.
It depends on the parcel. Some Palm Beach County subdivisions carry HOA or deed-restriction architectural review that must approve plans before permitting, while many Loxahatchee and The Acreage acreage parcels have no HOA at all. We confirm which situation your specific parcel is in before design moves forward.
FEMA flood zone and base flood elevation for the specific parcel affect the required finished-floor elevation and can affect foundation design and cost. This is checked per-parcel before design begins, not assumed.
Yes — new construction built to current Florida Building Code wind provisions typically qualifies for meaningful wind-mitigation credits. Because the owner is a RESNET Certified HERS Rater (RTIN 4516301) and LEED AP, the same team that builds your home can document those credits for your insurer.
Survey and, where septic is needed, percolation testing happen early in the permitting sequence, and their timing depends on the surveyor's and testing lab's schedule and the specific jurisdiction's review queue. We give you a realistic estimate once your parcel and scope are known — the same approach we use for the build-timeline question above.
Free estimate, 24-hour response, a written one-year workmanship warranty, and a licensed contractor who answers his own phone.
New roofs installed under our own CCC1332751 roofing license — shingle, metal, and tile.
Code-plus glazing that protects the home and lowers cooling load and insurance premiums.
Built efficient from day one — assessments, blower-door testing, and building science by a certified energy rater.
Lot clearing and pad prep with our own Bobcat T740 before the foundation goes in.