Pools & Spas in Albany
Gunite pools and spas planned with the deck, shade and kitchen.
Outdoor Living in Albany, TX
Outdoor living is the covered patio, pool, kitchen, stone and lighting that make a backyard part of the home. Longhorn designs and builds them together for Albany homeowners in Shackelford County, with one family-owned team.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
- 1984Family-Owned Since
- 334Texas Cities Served
Before you build in Albany
Albany, the county seat, is at State Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 283 in central Shackelford County, about thirty-five miles northeast of Abilene. Cattle drivers on the Western Trail to Dodge City once used it as a supply point.
That ground decides how a slab, a pool shell or a footing has to be built here. Here is what it does to a patio.
We file the permit with the city or county office that covers Albany and follow it through review, so the schedule doesn’t stall on paperwork.
Longhorn has been building since 1984, and every project starts with a free design visit and a firm price.
Outdoor living we build in Albany, TX
Outdoor Kitchens in Albany
Stone islands, built-in grills, fridges and a real vent hood, under cover.
Patio Covers in Albany
Solid-roof shade over the patio. It’s the simplest way to use it year-round.
Pergolas in Albany
Fixed or louvered, built to your slab, the yard’s centerpiece.
Sunrooms in Albany
Glass walls under a solid roof. Real square footage, light all day.
Patio Enclosures in Albany
Screened rooms: the breeze and the view, none of the mosquitoes.
Hardscaping in Albany
Travertine, pavers, seat walls and fire pits, with drainage solved first.
Landscaping & Lighting in Albany
Water-wise planting, irrigation and lighting for North Texas.
Outdoor living ideas for Albany homes
Homes and Yards in Albany
Albany was chosen on November 8, 1874, to replace Fort Griffin as county seat, and William Cruger named it for his former home, Albany, Georgia. The Texas Central Railroad arrived in December 1881 and made it a cattle shipping point.
In a ranching county seat with nineteenth-century stone buildings, stone-clad columns or a heavy timber pavilion can echo that older architecture.
Shackelford County, once open prairie, is now mostly mesquite and chaparral savanna, with pecan, elm, cottonwood, and hackberry along the river and creeks. Temperatures range from an average January minimum of 31° F to an average maximum of 97°.
Water comes from the City of Albany, which treats surface water.
The Shackelford County Courthouse and the Albany News both date from 1883. Discovery of the Cook oilfield in 1926 made Albany an oil drilling, producing, and supply center, and since 1920 its slogan has been “Albany, the Home of the Hereford.” In 2000 the town had 1,921 inhabitants and 139 businesses.
The Old Jail Foundation restored the 1878 stone jail, and its art center, opened in 1980, holds Chinese tomb figures and works by Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, and Amadeo Modigliani. The Fort Griffin Fandangle, an outdoor play on local history first staged in 1938, runs the last two weekends in June.
NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 19 hail reports in Shackelford County from 2016 to 2025, 18 of them an inch across or larger, with stones up to 2.75 inches. 8 of those reports were logged at Albany itself, the largest 2 inches. The same records show 19 damaging thunderstorm wind reports, with gusts up to about 96 mph, and 3 tornadoes. That is why a patio cover’s roof panels, fasteners and posts here are chosen for hail and wind, not only for shade.
What each outdoor project needs in Albany, TX
How is a pool built in Albany?
Rolling Plains clay swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries, and a pool shell is a rigid object sitting in it. The shell, its bond beam and the deck are designed for that movement, and the deck is graded so rain runs away from the pool and the house. In Albany the permit goes through the city or county office that covers Albany, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
What does a patio cover need in Albany?
On Rolling Plains clay a patio cover’s footings carry the whole structure, and the top of the clay is the part that moves most. Footings are taken below that movement and the slab is graded away from the house, so the roofline stays true as the ground wets and dries. In Albany the permit goes through the city or county office that covers Albany, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pergola built to last in Albany?
A pergola on Rolling Plains clay stays square only if its posts sit below the ground that moves. The footings go deeper than the seasonal swell and shrink, and the grade around each post sheds water instead of holding it. More on pergolas.
Can a sunroom or screened enclosure be added in Albany?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Albany is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the city or county office that covers Albany and sits on footings designed for the ground under it. We match the roofline and the exterior to the house so it reads as part of it. More on sunrooms and patio enclosures.
Albany outdoor living questions
Almost always, for pools and for anything attached to the house, including patio covers, sunrooms and enclosures. Longhorn files the permit with the city or county office that covers Albany and handles the inspections, so the schedule does not stall on paperwork.
Albany sits on Rolling Plains clay ground in Shackelford County. The ground decides how a slab, a pool shell or a footing has to be built, so we plan the drainage and the footings for it at the first visit rather than after something moves.
Other cities we build in near Albany
Free design visits in Albany
Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll come measure, talk options and give you a straight number. No obligation, no pressure.
Call (972) 534-2716Get Your Free Quote
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