A custom home in Walworth, Racine, Kenosha or Waukesha County, designed around how you live and built by the same crews that do our remodels. We have delivered whole-home remodels of $1.5 million and build custom homes with no upper limit, so bring us the big one. Full custom and semi-custom, including tear-down and rebuild on tight lake lots where the zoning decides half the floor plan for you.
What we build
- Full custom homes. Your plans or ours, from an empty lot or a tear-down. Most are 1,800 to 4,000 square feet.
- Semi-custom homes. Start from a proven plan and change what matters: the kitchen, the primary suite, the porch, the garage.
- Lake-lot rebuilds. When the setbacks, shoreland rules and new zoning mean a remodel no longer pencils out, we take the house down and build the one the lot allows. Powers Lake is the example.
- Additions that act like new homes. Second stories, attached in-law suites and garages with living space above.
What it costs
Most custom homes we build land at about $400 per square foot for the house itself, before land, well, septic and shoreline work; finishes and site conditions move it either way. A 1,800 square foot lake home with a vaulted great room, three bedrooms and two and a half baths came in at about $789,000 in 2025. New construction runs roughly 20 percent above a gut remodel of the same size, and on a lake lot that premium often buys you a house that actually fits the lot. Every range we publish is on the pricing page.
How long it takes
Plan on 9 to 14 months from the first meeting to move-in: one to three months for design, engineering and permits, then six to ten months of construction depending on size and season. Shoreland permits in Walworth and Kenosha Counties add time; we start them first. You get a photo update every week, the same day every week, wherever you are.
What goes into our homes
Lumber and trusses from Dunn Lumber in Lake Geneva. Roofing by Malarkey, GAF or Owens Corning. LP SmartSide or James Hardie siding, Therma-Tru entry doors, TimberTech decking. Dura Supreme cabinetry with quartz tops, Kohler, Moen or Delta plumbing fixtures, appliances from Abt or Grand Appliance. Schluter or GoBoard waterproofing behind every tiled shower. We will show you the spec sheet before you sign, not after.
Homes we’ve built
The remodel that became a new lake home
1,800 sq ft, 3 bed, 2.5 bath, built in six months on a tight lakefront lot. About $789,000.
Seventeen-Year Whole-Home Renovation
This stunning home in Burlington, Wisconsin is the result of over 17 years of work completed by Elite Improvements.
Who it is for
Families moving to the lake full time. Chicago owners replacing a 1950s cottage with a year-round home. Retirees building one level with wide doorways and a zero-step entry. If you are not sure whether to remodel or rebuild, say so at the planning meeting: we have talked more than one owner out of a tear-down, and more than one into it.
Do you build on land we do not own yet?
Yes. We will walk a lot with you before you buy it and tell you what the setbacks, soils and shoreland rules allow. That hour has saved clients from buying lots that could not hold the house they wanted.
Do you work with an architect?
Both ways. Bring your architect’s plans and we price them, or we design with you and bring in engineering as needed.
What warranty comes with a new home?
Three years on all workmanship, interior and exterior, and the full manufacturer warranties on roofing, siding, windows, doors and appliances, registered in your name.
Built once, built right, built for generations. Elite Improvements.