Ellis County TX Remodeling | Waxahachie, Midlothian, Ennis

Housing in Ellis County

Ellis County sits directly south of Dallas County. It was founded in 1849 and named for Richard Ellis, who presided over the Texas independence convention. The county seat is Waxahachie. Population went from 45,645 in 1950 to 111,360 in 2000 and 192,455 in 2020. A 2025 estimate is above 240,000. Of about 75,400 housing units, 54 percent were built in 2000 or later and 22 percent before 1980.

The older housing is concentrated in the town cores. Those cores are Waxahachie's six National Register districts, downtown Ennis, and the original grids of Midlothian, Red Oak, Ferris, Palmer and Italy. Those houses are frame houses on pier-and-beam from the 1890s through the 1940s and brick ranches on slabs from the 1950s through the 1970s. The growth after 2000 is subdivisions along I-35E through Red Oak and Waxahachie and along US 287 through Midlothian, plus large-lot development on the former farmland between them. Lake Waxahachie, formed in 1956, and Lake Bardwell near Ennis have lake-lot housing on their shores.

How Permits Work in Ellis County

Waxahachie, Midlothian, Ennis, Red Oak and the other cities each permit work inside their limits through their own building departments. Outside the cities, the Ellis County Department of Development asks owners to contact it before building new structures, expanding or remodeling, splitting property, or installing a septic system. Its work is development regulations, plats, floodplain, on-site sewage facilities and road access. It does not do the residential building code inspections a city performs. A pre-application meeting with the county's Growth Assessment Team is the starting point for anything on a rural tract. The department also keeps an older page on the county site. Property records are at the Ellis Appraisal District.

Common Remodels Here

The county has two distinct kinds of work. In Waxahachie's districts and the other town cores it is whole-house renovation. That work is leveling, rewiring, a kitchen rebuilt in the back wing, a second bathroom fitted in, and original pine floors sanded. In the subdivisions along I-35E and US 287 it is finish work on 2000s and 2010s houses. That work is quartz, painted cabinets, tiled showers, luxury vinyl plank, garage conversions and covered patios. On the rural tracts between, additions and custom homes go up on acreage with septic. The lake lots at Lake Waxahachie and Lake Bardwell add a third type. Those are 1960s and 1970s weekend houses being rebuilt as full-time homes. That means new windows, new siding and decks, and a kitchen and bath rebuilt for daily use.

Landmarks and Business Groups

The Richardsonian Romanesque Ellis County Courthouse by James Riely Gordon anchors Waxahachie's square. The 1902 Chautauqua Auditorium in Getzendaner Park is one of the last of its kind in Texas. The Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce and the Midlothian Chamber of Commerce are the two largest business groups in the county.

Cities We Serve in Ellis County

Recent Work

Photos from jobs across Dallas-Fort Worth.

Bedroom with new wood look plank flooring down

Tile bench and hex mosaic floor in a marble look shower

Small room drywalled with paint staged on the floor

Stacked stone fireplace with wood mantel

Common Questions

Who permits a remodel on a rural lot between Waxahachie and Midlothian?

Ellis County's Department of Development, through ellispermits.com. The county asks to be contacted before any new structure, expansion or remodel, property split or septic installation outside a city limit. Its part covers development rules, floodplain and septic rather than the room-by-room building inspections a city does.

Are the historic districts only in Waxahachie?

The six National Register districts are all in Waxahachie. They cover exterior approval of contributing houses through the city's Heritage Preservation Commission. Ennis, Midlothian and the smaller towns have older downtowns and historic houses but no equivalent district approval step. Remodels there are a standard city permit.

Why do Ellis County houses on the blackland prairie have foundation trouble?

The county's eastern half is blackland clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Slabs ride that movement and show it as cracked tile, sticking doors and brick cracks. The western edge around Midlothian sits on the Austin Chalk and moves less. Leveling and drainage come before hard flooring on any slab house in the clay.

Is Red Oak or Ennis covered even though there is no city page?

Yes. The city pages cover Waxahachie and Midlothian because those two have the most calls, but the whole county is in the service area. Red Oak and Glenn Heights along I-35E are closer to Haltom City than Waxahachie is. Ennis, Ferris, Palmer and Italy are a normal drive down I-45 or US 287.

Ellis County Remodeling Contractor