Pools & Spas in Kemp
Gunite pools and spas planned with the deck, shade and kitchen.
Outdoor Living in Kemp, 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 Kemp homeowners in Kaufman County, with one family-owned team.
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- 1984Family-Owned Since
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Before you build in Kemp
Kemp is on State highways 175 and 274 near Cedar Creek Reservoir, eight miles southeast of Kaufman in southeastern Kaufman County. The reservoir was completed just south of the community in 1965.
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 Kemp and follow it through review, so the schedule doesn’t stall on paperwork.
Longhorn has built across Kaufman 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 Kemp, TX
Outdoor Kitchens in Kemp
Stone islands, built-in grills, fridges and a real vent hood, under cover.
Patio Covers in Kemp
Solid-roof shade over the patio. It’s the simplest way to use it year-round.
Pergolas in Kemp
Fixed or louvered, built to your slab, the yard’s centerpiece.
Sunrooms in Kemp
Glass walls under a solid roof. Real square footage, light all day.
Patio Enclosures in Kemp
Screened rooms: the breeze and the view, none of the mosquitoes.
Hardscaping in Kemp
Travertine, pavers, seat walls and fire pits, with drainage solved first.
Landscaping & Lighting in Kemp
Water-wise planting, irrigation and lighting for North Texas.
Outdoor living ideas for Kemp homes
Homes and Yards in Kemp
Kemp was named for Malvina Kemp Watkins, wife of first postmaster John Marr Watkins, and was established when the post office opened in 1851. A rail line was completed in the mid-1880s, and Kemp became a trade center for the lower county.
A lake-area home gains the most from an outdoor kitchen and covered dining space set toward the best view, with fans and lighting for long evenings outside.
Eastern Kaufman County drains through Cedar Creek and its tributaries into Cedar Creek Reservoir in the south. The climate is subtropical-humid, and the growing season averages 245 days each year.
Water comes from the City of Kemp, which treats surface water.
A Presbyterian congregation organized in 1854, and the Kemp Academy of Learning opened in 1867. In 1870 Dr. A. J. Still platted land just north of the community and offered the Southern Pacific Railroad lots to lay tracks across it. By 1926 Kemp had 1,200 people, sixty businesses, and two banks.
The population fell from 1,000 to 816 between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s. In 1990 Kemp had 1,184 residents and seventy-five businesses, with much of the land around town still in cattle and many residents commuting to the Dallas area. The population was 1,133 in 2000.
NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 62 hail reports in Kaufman County from 2016 to 2025, 56 of them an inch across or larger, with stones up to 3.5 inches. 1 of those reports was logged at Kemp itself. The same records show 46 damaging thunderstorm wind reports, with gusts up to about 81 mph, and 4 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 Kemp, TX
How is a pool built in Kemp?
Blackland Prairie clay swells through a wet spring and shrinks hard by August, and a pool shell is a rigid object sitting in ground that moves around it. Here that means the shell, the beam and the deck are engineered for that movement from the drawing stage, and the flatwork gets its control joints placed on purpose rather than wherever the pour ends. In Kemp the permit goes through the city or county office that covers Kemp, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
What does a patio cover need in Kemp?
Blackland Prairie clay lifts and drops with the season, so a patio cover’s footings are the whole job. Posts set in shallow pads move with the top of the soil and take the roofline with them; footings taken below the active zone, tied to a slab that drains away from the house, do not. In Kemp the permit goes through the city or county office that covers Kemp, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pergola built to last in Kemp?
On Blackland Prairie clay a pergola’s posts are what decide whether it still stands square in five years. The clay moves most in the top few feet, so footings go deeper than the movement rather than resting in it, and the slab underneath gets its own drainage plan. More on pergolas.
Can a sunroom or screened enclosure be added in Kemp?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Kemp is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the city or county office that covers Kemp 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.
Kemp 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 Kemp and handles the inspections, so the schedule does not stall on paperwork.
Kemp sits on Blackland Prairie ground in Kaufman 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 Kemp
Every town we serve in Kaufman County · See all 334 cities we serve
Outdoor living guides
Hardscaping
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.
Patio Covers
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.
Patio Covers
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 Kemp
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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