Outdoor Living in Little Elm, 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 Little Elm homeowners in Denton County, with one family-owned team.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
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Before you build in Little Elm
Little Elm is nearly surrounded by Lewisville Lake and has one of the longest municipal shorelines on it; the town was tiny until the 2000s, so almost the entire housing stock is post-2000 subdivision construction on modest, closely spaced lots.
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 Little Elm and follow it through review, so the schedule doesn’t stall on paperwork.
Longhorn has built across Denton County and the wider Metroplex since 1984, and every project starts with a free design visit and a firm price.
Homes and Yards in Little Elm
Most Little Elm residents live in single-family homes, usually in master-planned subdivisions built between the late 1990s and late 2010s.
Newer subdivisions usually come with an HOA review and a small builder’s slab, so it pays to plan the full backyard together and take one complete set of drawings to the HOA.
Central Little Elm is surrounded on three sides by Lewisville Lake. Open ground near the water tends to catch more wind, so shade structures are anchored and placed with the breeze in mind.
Town of Little Elm, which buys treated surface water from the North Texas Municipal Water District.
Kit King established the community on the banks of Little Elm Creek in 1844, and the county’s first post office was in his house in 1852; the stagecoach from Preston Bend to Bird’s Fort used King’s Crossing. The town had 194 residents in 1900, 300 in 1966 and 363 when it incorporated in 1976. Population was 1,255 in 1990, 3,646 in 2000, 25,898 in 2010, 46,453 in 2020 and 51,042 in 2021.
The town sits on Farm Road 720 and an arm of Lewisville Lake, about twelve miles southeast of Denton. The town says it has 66 miles of shoreline and a trail system that continues to expand. Its parks and trails list includes Little Elm Park, Little Elm Beach, McCord Park and its splash pad, Union Park, Cottonwood Park, Beard Park, the Lakefront Trail, Harts Branch Trail and the Johnny Broyles Nature Trail, plus two dog parks.
Building Safety is a division of the Development Services Department on the second floor of Town Hall at 100 W. Eldorado Parkway. All permits and contractor registrations are completed online through MyGov. The town has adopted the 2018 International Residential, Building, Energy Conservation, Fuel Gas, Mechanical and Plumbing Codes with local amendments. Where a homeowners association exists, proof of architectural review committee approval must be provided before the town approves the permit. The residential permits page keeps separate guides for accessory structures, for patio covers, arbors and pergolas, and for pool regulations.
What each outdoor project needs in Little Elm, TX
How is a pergola built to last in Little Elm?
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.
What does a patio cover need in Little Elm?
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 Little Elm the permit goes through the City of Little Elm, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pool built in Little Elm?
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 Little Elm the permit goes through the City of Little Elm, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
Can a sunroom or screened enclosure be added in Little Elm?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Little Elm is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the City of Little Elm 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 Little Elm
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A free design visit in Little Elm
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 Little Elm 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.
- 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 Denton County-local if you need us later.
Little Elm 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 Little Elm and handles the inspections, so the schedule does not stall on paperwork.
Little Elm sits on Eastern Cross Timbers ground in Denton 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 Little Elm 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 Little Elm
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 Little Elm
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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