Wise County TX Remodeling | Decatur, Bridgeport, Rhome

Housing in Wise County

Wise County lies northwest of Fort Worth on US 81/287 and US 380. It was founded in 1856. The county seat is Decatur. Population went from 16,141 in 1950 to 48,793 in 2000 and 68,632 in 2020. A 2025 estimate is near 84,000. Growth has been steadier than in the counties east of Dallas. The housing stock shows that. Of about 27,500 housing units, 42 percent were built in 2000 or later. 32 percent were built in the 1980s and 1990s. 25 percent were built before 1980. No single decade dominates.

The oldest houses are in the town cores of Decatur, Bridgeport, Alvord and Chico. The 1980s and 1990s houses are brick ranches and early two-stories in Decatur, Bridgeport, Boyd, Rhome and on the first wave of acreage subdivisions. Post-2000 housing is along the southern edge toward Fort Worth, in Rhome, New Fairview, Aurora, Newark and the Wise County portion of Fort Worth, and on five-acre tracts throughout. Lake Bridgeport has lake-lot housing on its shore.

How Permits Work in Wise County

Decatur, Bridgeport, Rhome, Boyd and the other cities permit work inside their limits. Decatur's Development Services department is covered on the Decatur city page. Outside the cities, Wise County does not run a residential building inspection program. The county's Environmental Services office under Public Works handles on-site sewage facility applications and inspections. The county's development documents page holds the development permit application, the development rules and regulations, the floodplain development permit and the driveway permit, plus the 911 address application for a new house on acreage. The county fire marshal handles fire code questions. Property records are at the Wise County Appraisal District.

Common Remodels Here

About a third of the county's houses are from the 1980s and 1990s. The typical job is a kitchen opened to the den with an island, a hall bath and master bath rebuilt in tile, plank or wood flooring over the slab, and new windows. The older houses in Decatur and Bridgeport get whole-house renovations with rewiring and re-plumbing. On the acreage tracts the requests are additions, barn-style shops with living quarters, garage conversions and custom homes on septic and well. Exterior work leans toward metal roofs, covered porches and new windows. Painting covers both the interiors and the cedar and hardboard siding common on the 1990s houses.

Landmarks and Business Groups

The 1896 Wise County Courthouse in Decatur, by James Riely Gordon in Texas red granite, is on the National Register. It sits on the highest ground in the county. Two chambers, the Decatur Chamber of Commerce in town and the countywide Wise County Chamber, cover business across the county. The Wise County Old Settlers Reunion has met in Decatur every July from 1881.

Cities We Serve in Wise County

Decatur remodeling

Recent Work

Photos from jobs across Dallas-Fort Worth.

Walk in tile shower with niche and new vanity

Old insulation and framing exposed before new walls go in

White subway tile shower with black hex floor and new vanity

Attic bonus room finished with trim staged for install

Common Questions

Does Wise County inspect remodels outside city limits?

No. Outside the cities, the county's role is septic permits and inspections through Environmental Services, development and floodplain permits, driveway permits onto county roads and 911 addressing. A kitchen or bath remodel on acreage near Paradise or Cottondale has no county building inspection. Inside Decatur or Bridgeport the city permits and inspects it.

What is different about remodeling a 1990s Wise County ranch house?

They were built with closed kitchens, small hall baths, aluminum windows and builder oak cabinets, often on a slab over sandy or clay soil with a long gravel driveway. Opening the kitchen, rebuilding the baths, new windows and plank floors is the package. Many are on septic, so adding a bathroom means checking the system's capacity.

Can an addition go on a five-acre tract on septic in Wise County?

Yes. The structure itself is not permitted by the county, but the septic system is. If the addition adds a bedroom, the county's Environmental Services office checks whether the existing system is sized for it. A new or expanded system is permitted and inspected before the addition is occupied. A floodplain permit applies near creeks.

Is Rhome or Boyd covered even though Decatur is the only city page?

Yes. Rhome, Boyd, Aurora, New Fairview and Newark on the south end of the county are closer to Haltom City than Decatur is. Bridgeport, Alvord, Chico and Paradise are a normal drive up US 81/287 or SH 114. The whole county is inside the service area.

Wise County Remodeling Contractor