Outdoor Living in Arlington, 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 Arlington homeowners in Tarrant County, with one family-owned team.
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Before you build in Arlington
Arlington covers a lot of ground and a lot of build eras, from post-war ranch lots to newer south Arlington. What a backyard needs here changes street to street, which is why the visit comes before the price.
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.
In Arlington the job is reviewed by the Planning and Development Services: Permitting & Inspections, and we file and follow the permit through that office ourselves. Our permit guide lists the office for every city we have checked.
Longhorn has built across Tarrant County and the wider Metroplex since 1984, and every project starts with a free design visit and a firm price.
Outdoor living we build in Arlington, TX
Most asked for in Arlington: patio enclosures, patio covers, sunrooms, outdoor kitchens.
Homes and Yards in Arlington
Arlington is a post-war boomtown whose population grew fastest between 1950 and 1990.
On older lots, big shade trees, narrow side gates and aging utility lines are common, so crew access and where the old lines run get checked at the first visit.
Johnson Creek and the Trinity River flow through the city. Near a creek or river it is worth checking the flood maps early, before a pool or slab is placed.
Arlington Water Utilities treats raw surface water supplied by the Tarrant Regional Water District.
Arlington was founded in 1876 on the Texas and Pacific Railway as a market town and incorporated in 1884. The population went from 7,692 in 1950 to an estimated 19,000 in 1953, and the General Motors plant opened January 6, 1954. Counts then ran 89,723 in 1970, 160,123 in 1980, 261,717 in 1990 and 394,266 in 2020. The eastern part of the city has fertile Blackland Prairie soil and the western part sandy loam.
Lake Arlington sits on Village Creek; construction began May 15, 1956 and finished July 19, 1957, the city owns and operates it, and it covers 2,275 acres at the spillway. The city describes itself as a 99-square mile city with nearly 1,500 miles of public water mains and two water treatment plants. Water use nearly doubles in summer because of outdoor irrigation, and a city ordinance bars sprinkler use between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Permits are handled at the One Start Center on the second floor of City Hall, 101 W. Abram Street, or online at www.arlingtonpermits.com; the city’s required-permit list includes Fence, Swimming Pools, Storage Buildings, Irrigation and Concrete/Foundation. Inspections must be requested before 7 a.m. or they move to the next business day.
The city counts more than 5,600 acres of park land and 123 miles of trails. River Legacy Park at 701 NW Green Oaks Blvd. is a 1031-acre forest floodplain park on the Trinity River in northwest Arlington, with more than 10 miles of cross country trails and 28 tree species.
Arlington services, one by one
What each project needs on Arlington ground and through the City of Arlington.
What each outdoor project needs in Arlington, TX
What does a patio cover need in Arlington?
Eastern Cross Timbers loam is easier to dig than clay, but it sits on clay, so a post hole that looks clean at three feet can still be in moving ground at five. Footings are sized for what is under the sand, not what the auger came through first. In Arlington the permit goes through the Planning and Development Services: Permitting & Inspections, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pergola built to last in Arlington?
In the Eastern Cross Timbers the sand drains and the clay beneath it does not, so a pergola post can sit in a hole that holds water after a storm. The footing detail and the grade around each post are what keep the base of a wooden post dry. More on pergolas.
How is a pool built in Arlington?
Eastern Cross Timbers ground is sandier loam over clay, which digs more kindly than the black prairie but drains onto a layer that does not. On a pool that shows up as water travelling under the deck, so the drainage and the backfill detail matter as much as the shell. In Arlington the permit goes through the Planning and Development Services: Permitting & Inspections, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
Can a sunroom or screened enclosure be added in Arlington?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Arlington is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the Planning and Development Services: Permitting & Inspections 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.
How a Backyard Project Runs in Arlington
- 1
A free design visit in Arlington
A designer comes out to the house, measures the space a backyard project has to fit, walks the access a crew would need, and talks through what you want it to do. You leave with a firm price. On Eastern Cross Timbers ground, that is also when the grading, drainage and movement details get decided rather than improvised on site.
- 2
Drawings, permit and HOA
We file the permit with Planning and Development Services: Permitting & Inspections at the City of Arlington and follow it through review. Where an HOA wants a submittal, we prepare the drawings it asks for.
- 3
One crew, one schedule
The same team builds the whole backyard project in order, so the slab, the structure, the electrical and the finish work are not three different companies working around each other.
- 4
Walkthrough and warranty
We walk the finished backyard project with you, settle the punch list and leave one warranty on the work, and we are still Tarrant County-local if you need us later.
Arlington outdoor living questions
The Planning and Development Services: Permitting & Inspections reviews residential projects in Arlington. Pools and structures attached to the house, such as patio covers, sunrooms and enclosures, almost always need a permit. Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection.
Arlington sits on Eastern Cross Timbers ground in Tarrant 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.
Where an HOA in Arlington asks for a submittal, we prepare the drawings and details it wants, alongside the city permit, so the approval runs in parallel with the design rather than after it.
Yes. Many homeowners start with one piece, such as a pool or a patio cover, and add the rest later. We plan the whole space up front so the gas, power, water and drainage for later phases are in place from the start.
Other cities we build in near Arlington
Outdoor living guides
Outdoor Flooring for a Frisco Backyard: Pick by Zone
One yard, five jobs for the ground: dining, cooking, swimming, play and the dog. Here is how to match a surface to each zone, and what Frisco’s clay, heat and city rules change.
Outdoor Kitchen Countertop Materials in Frisco, TX
Granite, porcelain, quartzite and quartz all behave differently in Frisco sun, freezes and clay. Here is a pick by exposure, a sealing test, and what the base under the stone needs.
HOA Approval for a Patio Cover in Texas: DFW Guide
The HOA and the city are two separate approvals, and the HOA usually comes first. Here is the packet a DFW committee wants, how long it takes, why it says no, and how to answer a denial.
Free design visits in Arlington
Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll come measure, talk options and give you a straight number. No obligation, no pressure.
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