Ramps and accessible entries
Aluminium, modular and wood ramps built to a 1:12 slope, with graspable handrails and a level landing at the door.
For veterans
Home modifications for veterans
You served. Paperwork should not be the reason the bathroom stays unsafe. We build the work, and we do our half of the file.
Ten questions, about five minutes. No charge, now or later.
- Driftwood-based
- Home accessibility
- Clear written scope
The short version
How the VA fits into a home modification
Quick answer. VA HISA may help pay for medically necessary home changes. Ask your VA provider about the required prescription and application. We help prepare an itemized project estimate; VA decides eligibility and approval.
This page is about working with us. If you want the full comparison of every program in Texas — Medicaid waivers, City of Austin, USDA, what Medicare will and will not do — that lives in one place:
HISA
What the grant can pay for
Commonly funded work, when a VA provider documents it as medically necessary:
Usually covered
- Roll-in and curbless showers, and tub-to-shower conversions
- Grab bars and bathroom safety upgrades
- Wheelchair ramps and accessible entries
- Widening doorways for a wheelchair or walker
- Improving access to essential bathroom and kitchen fixtures
Usually not
- Comfort or cosmetic upgrades with no documented medical need
- Jetted or spa-style tubs
- Ordinary repairs and maintenance
A non-jetted walk-in tub is decided case by case. In practice the VA approves roll-in showers more often, because a tub still has a wall to step over.
Honest expectations, before you plan around anything
- Confirm payment timing before work starts. The VA application allows an advance-payment request. Ask your VA Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service what is available for your approved project before assuming you must cover the entire cost first.
- It is not fast. Timelines vary and we have seen nothing that lets us promise you a date, so we will not.
- Lifetime limits depend on eligibility. The VA lists limits of $6,800 or $2,000 (checked September 16, 2026). The higher limit can also cover certain non-service-connected needs when the veteran has a qualifying service-connected disability. Ask the VA to confirm your category and remaining benefit.
- A VA provider has to document medical necessity. That is the part no contractor can do for you.
We help with paperwork. This is not medical, legal, financial, or tax advice — verify current program details with the VA.
Our half of the file
What we actually do with the paperwork
An application fails on format as often as it fails on eligibility. Here is the part we own:
- An itemized estimate in the format the application expects
- Specifications written to what your VA provider documented
- Invoices, photographs and as-built measurements for your file
- A person who answers the phone while it is pending
And the boundary: we are contractors, not VA representatives or benefits advisors. We cannot file your claim for you, decide your eligibility, or speak for the VA. We can sit with you while you fill in your side of it.
The path
Where to start, in order
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Take the Free Funding Check
Ten questions, about five minutes. You get an honest map of what might fit — VA, Texas Medicaid, city and rural programs — including the ones that do not fit, so you do not spend six months on a dead end. Start the Funding Check.
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Book the free home safety assessment
A room-by-room visit with a home-accessibility specialist; review the reserved time before confirming. You get a written, prioritized report with photographs and real cost ranges. It is yours to keep, and you can take it to any contractor you like. See what the assessment covers.
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Your VA provider documents the need
A VA physician, occupational therapist, or physical therapist writes down what you need and why. We build to that documentation rather than to a generic standard, and we will confirm the specifications with them before we start.
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We write the estimate, you apply
An itemized, fixed-price estimate goes into your application. Once it is approved, we schedule the work — and the price on the estimate is the price you pay.
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Written responsibilities and support
Your written scope identifies the work, the responsible provider and the applicable warranty terms. Live Oak installations and separately contracted partner work have separate responsibilities. Ask us to explain these before work begins.
The work itself
What we build for veterans
Roll-in and walk-in showers
The most common HISA bathroom project: a curbless entry, a bench, grab bars and a handheld sprayer, with no wall to step over.
Grab bars and bath safety
Stud-anchored bars placed where your hand actually reaches, to the placement your therapist specified.
Doorways and zero-step entries
32 inches of clear width is the target, and a threshold you can roll over instead of lift over.
Stair lifts
Straight, curved and outdoor models, so the second floor or the porch steps stay part of the house.
The free home safety assessment
Room by room, measured against published standards, with a written report you keep. No charge and nothing sold at the visit.
If a grant is not the answer
What can start now, with no program at all
Waiting on an application is not the same as waiting on safety. These are flat-priced and need nobody's approval but yours.
Bathroom Safety Package
$800 – $1,500
Three or four grab bars anchored to real blocking, non-slip treatment, and a handheld shower holder. Usually one visit.
Fall-Prevention Essentials
$500 – $1,200
High-visibility stair treads, nosing contrast, a second stair rail, threshold ramps and plug-in night lighting.
Whole-Home Safety Day
$1,500 – $2,500 flat
The free assessment plus same-day installation of everything above that fits your home. One day, usually within about a week.
Equipment, supplied and fitted
$250 – $1,000+
Transfer benches, shower chairs, toilet frames, bed rails, portable ramps — often fitted on the same visit. We never supply or bill prescribed medical equipment; we coordinate around what your provider specifies.
Prices are current published ranges for Central Texas. Your exact price comes in writing, fixed, before any work starts.
Common questions
Questions veterans ask us
Do I need a VA-approved contractor for a HISA project?
You choose a contractor and submit the required estimate and medical documentation. VA decides whether an inspection is needed and whether the proposed work qualifies. Confirm qualifications for the proposed work and the current application and payment process with your VA HISA office.
Do you charge for help with the VA paperwork?
No. Preparing the itemized estimate, writing the specifications to match what your VA provider documented, and supplying invoices and photographs for your file are part of the job. We do not bill for funding help and we do not take a percentage of any grant.
Does the VA pay the contractor, or do I pay and get reimbursed?
HISA requires an approved application and itemized estimate. You can request an advance payment on the application; ask the VA to confirm the amount, timing, and any costs you must cover before work starts.
We give you the cost in writing before anything starts, and we can sequence a project so the most important safety items happen first. Confirm the current payment process with the VA for your own case.
Can you talk to my VA provider or social worker?
Yes, with your permission. We build to whatever your VA physician, occupational therapist or physical therapist documents — clear widths, grab bar placement, threshold heights, turning space — and we are glad to confirm the specifications with them before we build, so the finished work matches the documentation.
What if I do not qualify for HISA, or the grant will not cover everything?
Then we tell you honestly, and we look at what else fits. The Free Funding Check also looks at Texas Medicaid waivers, City of Austin and other local programs, and USDA rural options.
And a great deal of useful safety work needs no program at all: a bathroom safety package runs $800 to $1,500, fall-prevention essentials $500 to $1,200, and a whole-home safety day is $1,500 to $2,500 flat.
How do you help veterans?
We help veterans and their families prepare contractor-side estimates and project documentation. VA makes the eligibility and benefit decisions. Live Oak is based in Driftwood; confirm availability for your address.
Want the whole funding picture? The Texas home modification funding guide compares every program we know of — VA, Medicaid waivers, City of Austin, USDA, Medicare Advantage — with what each realistically pays and how long it takes.
Start here
Find out what you might qualify for
Ten questions, about five minutes, and an honest map at the end — including the programs that do not fit.
Or book the free home visit first. Either order works.