Custom Home Builder in Narragansett, RI

Building in Narragansett: what the town is like

Narragansett is defined by the water. Much of the desirable land sits along the open Atlantic and the western shore of the Bay: Point Judith, Jerusalem, and the beaches around Scarborough and Sand Hill Cove on the exposed side; Bonnet Shores and the coves closer to the Pier. A lot of the housing stock is older seasonal cottages on prime lots — which is why so much coastal work here is a teardown and rebuild, or a lift-and-renovate, rather than a clean-slate build. The result is a town where the lot, the flood map, and the wind exposure shape the design as much as the client's program does.

What it takes to build here

Most of Narragansett's shoreline falls in FEMA V-Zones (coastal high-hazard, wave velocity) and AE flood zones, and nearly all of it sits inside the Coastal Resources Management Council's jurisdiction. On these lots the foundation is the project: elevation above base flood elevation, helical piles or reinforced-concrete pier-and-grade-beam systems, breakaway detailing, and framing engineered for direct coastal wind and salt exposure. Anything on or within 200 feet of a coastal feature or tidal water needs a CRMC Assent, not just a town building permit — so the approvals path runs Zoning, Building, and CRMC together. Building in Narragansett means knowing that sequence cold before design starts.

How we match up, and what we build

This is the environment we've built in for 25+ years, and the construction it calls for is exactly what we do:

• ›Coastal / FEMA new construction and teardown-rebuilds — elevated homes designed and permitted for V and AE zones, on engineered pile and pier foundations.
• ›Lift-and-renovate — raising and reworking existing cottages to meet current flood elevation without losing the house.
• ›High-wind coastal engineering — structural systems and corrosion-resistant detailing built for direct ocean exposure.
• ›Historic renovation — restoring Narragansett's older Pier-era homes with a preservation-minded hand.
• ›Net Zero and high-performance — all-electric, high-efficiency homes, the same approach as our HERS −5 net-zero build in neighboring Wakefield. See our Net Zero homes.
• ›Design-build, single-source — one team accountable for design, permitting, and construction from concept through completion, with no finger-pointing between architect, engineer, and builder. Structural engineering is provided by South County Design Group, Inc., an independent service provider.

Net Zero & Energy-Efficient Homes in Narragansett

Net zero works on the Narragansett coast. An elevated, FEMA-compliant home and a high-performance, all-electric home are not competing goals — the same airtight envelope and engineered framing that stand up to coastal wind also cut heating and cooling loads, and a cold-climate heat pump, solar array, and battery storage complete the system. We build net zero homes here with the same integrated design-build process as our V-zone and AE-zone work, and our HERS −5 net-zero build sits one town over in Wakefield.

On an exposed shoreline lot, the practical payoff is resilience: battery storage carries the house through the grid outages coastal storms bring, solar production is banked against year-round use, and equipment is specified for salt exposure. Every project starts with an energy model — envelope, mechanicals, PV array, and storage sized together to the point of diminishing returns, not by rule of thumb.

Build in Narragansett with a coastal specialist

Planning a custom home, teardown-rebuild, or renovation in Narragansett? Let's talk through your lot — its flood zone, CRMC exposure, and what it will really take to build there.