Pools & Spas in Buffalo Gap
Gunite pools and spas planned with the deck, shade and kitchen.
Outdoor Living in Buffalo Gap, 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 Buffalo Gap homeowners in Taylor County, with one family-owned team.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
- 1984Family-Owned Since
- 334Texas Cities Served
Before you build in Buffalo Gap
Buffalo Gap is at Farm roads 89 and 1235, thirteen miles southwest of Abilene in central Taylor County. The Callahan Divide crosses the town east to west, and Elm Creek, once a watering hole for buffalo, passes through.
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 Buffalo Gap 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 Buffalo Gap, TX
Outdoor Kitchens in Buffalo Gap
Stone islands, built-in grills, fridges and a real vent hood, under cover.
Patio Covers in Buffalo Gap
Solid-roof shade over the patio. It’s the simplest way to use it year-round.
Pergolas in Buffalo Gap
Fixed or louvered, built to your slab, the yard’s centerpiece.
Sunrooms in Buffalo Gap
Glass walls under a solid roof. Real square footage, light all day.
Patio Enclosures in Buffalo Gap
Screened rooms: the breeze and the view, none of the mosquitoes.
Hardscaping in Buffalo Gap
Travertine, pavers, seat walls and fire pits, with drainage solved first.
Landscaping & Lighting in Buffalo Gap
Water-wise planting, irrigation and lighting for North Texas.
Outdoor living ideas for Buffalo Gap homes
Homes and Yards in Buffalo Gap
Founded in 1877, Buffalo Gap grew where buffalo hunters made winter camp in the 1860s and 1870s. It was Taylor County’s first seat of government until Abilene won an 1883 election.
In a town that keeps an 1879 limestone jail and other old buildings, natural stone columns or a cedar pergola can tie a new patio to that local character.
Taylor County is semi-arid, with an average rainfall of 23.59 inches and a growing season of 225 days. Its loamy surface soils are reddish to brownish over clayey subsoils that often hold lime accumulations.
Water comes from the City of Buffalo Gap, which treats surface water.
By 1880 Buffalo Gap had 1,200 people, a big hotel, a jail, and several grocery stores. Buffalo Gap College, a Presbyterian school and the county’s first formal attempt at higher education, opened in 1885, and the town called itself the “Athens of the West.” The Santa Fe Railroad was built through town in 1895.
The native limestone jail dates from 1879 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings. The Ernie Wilson Museum of the Old West, founded in 1956, became part of Buffalo Gap Historical Village in the 1990s. The town had 409 residents and six rated businesses in 1990.
NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 118 hail reports in Taylor County from 2016 to 2025, 104 of them an inch across or larger, with stones up to 3 inches. 5 of those reports were logged at Buffalo Gap itself, the largest 1 inches. The same records show 89 damaging thunderstorm wind reports, with gusts up to about 96 mph, and 5 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 Buffalo Gap, TX
How is a pool built in Buffalo Gap?
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 Buffalo Gap the permit goes through the city or county office that covers Buffalo Gap, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
What does a patio cover need in Buffalo Gap?
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 Buffalo Gap the permit goes through the city or county office that covers Buffalo Gap, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pergola built to last in Buffalo Gap?
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 Buffalo Gap?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Buffalo Gap is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the city or county office that covers Buffalo Gap 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.
Buffalo Gap 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 Buffalo Gap and handles the inspections, so the schedule does not stall on paperwork.
Buffalo Gap sits on Rolling Plains clay ground in Taylor 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 Buffalo Gap
Every town we serve in Taylor County · See all 334 cities we serve
Free design visits in Buffalo Gap
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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