Outdoor Living in Keene, 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 Keene homeowners in Johnson County, with one family-owned team.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
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Before you build in Keene
Keene grew up around the Seventh-day Adventist school founded in 1893 (now Southwestern Adventist University) on land purchased about five miles east of Cleburne, so the older core of town is a compact grid of large platted lots around the campus.
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 of Keene and follow it through review, so the schedule doesn’t stall on paperwork.
Longhorn has built across Johnson 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 Keene, TX
Homes and Yards in Keene
Keene is a college town around what became Southwestern Adventist College, whose closeness to Cleburne and Fort Worth brought rapid growth from the late 1950s on.
Older neighborhoods tend to mean mature trees and tighter access, which decides how a pool gets dug, where the equipment sits and how materials reach the back of the house.
Keene sits on a watershed divide, with the north and east draining to Turkey Creek (Trinity basin) and the south and west to East Buffalo Creek (Brazos basin). Where the ground slopes or rock sits close to the surface, retaining walls or rock excavation get priced at the design visit rather than discovered during the dig.
City of Keene, using city wells plus treated surface water bought from Johnson County Special Utility District.
The Easterwood family settled the site in 1852 and the community was called Elm Grove until the Seventh-day Adventists opened a minister-training school on 836 acres in 1894 and the post office took the name Keene. The town held about 350 to 500 people from 1900 through the mid-1950s, then grew to 1,532 in 1960, 5,003 in 2000 and 6,387 in 2020.
Turkey Creek rises near the northwestern edge of Keene and runs ten miles southeast through Lake Alvarado to the North Fork of Chambers Creek. Most of it lies in the Cross Timbers, its creekbed is fine sandy loam, and it is frequently flooded. Local landmarks include the duck pond at Callicott Park and the Thomsen Observatory.
Keene entered Stage 1 of its Drought Contingency Plan on September 1, 2026, until further notice. Sprinkler watering is allowed once every seven days, only from 12:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.; hand-held hoses, containers of 5 gallons or less and drip or soaker systems may be used any day.
Permits run through the city’s iWorQ portal, and Development Services sits at 1000 N. Old Betsy Road under the 2018 International codes, including the Swimming Pool and Spa Code. The city’s exempt-work list follows IRC R105.2: no permit for a one-story detached accessory structure of 200 square feet or less, a retaining wall not over 4 feet, a prefabricated pool less than 24 inches deep, or a freestanding deck of 200 square feet or less that sits no more than 30 inches above grade.
What each outdoor project needs in Keene, TX
How is a pool built in Keene?
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 Keene the permit goes through the City of Keene, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
What does a patio cover need in Keene?
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 Keene the permit goes through the City of Keene, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pergola built to last in Keene?
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.
Can a sunroom or screened enclosure be added in Keene?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Keene is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the City of Keene 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 Keene
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A free design visit in Keene
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.
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Drawings, permit and HOA
We file the permit with the City of Keene and follow it through review, so the schedule does not stall on paperwork. Where an HOA wants a submittal, we prepare the drawings it asks for.
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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.
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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 Johnson County-local if you need us later.
Keene 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 of Keene and handles the inspections, so the schedule does not stall on paperwork.
Keene sits on Eastern Cross Timbers ground in Johnson 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 Keene 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 Keene
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 Keene
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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