Outdoor Living in Rowlett, 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 Rowlett homeowners in Dallas County, with one family-owned team.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
- 1984Family-Owned Since
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Before you build in Rowlett
Rowlett occupies a peninsula between two arms of Lake Ray Hubbard, so a large share of its lots back to shoreline or to steep drainage falling toward the lake. Most of the housing stock dates from the 1970s through the 1990s buildout, with a band of newer construction replacing homes lost in the 2015 tornado along the northern edge.
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 Rowlett and follow it through review, so the schedule doesn’t stall on paperwork.
Longhorn has built across Dallas County and the wider Metroplex since 1984, and every project starts with a free design visit and a firm price.
Homes and Yards in Rowlett
Rowlett’s building boom began when Lake Ray Hubbard was completed in 1971.
Yards from those decades are usually established, with grown trees, a fence line and an original patio that is often too small. Most projects become a retrofit, planned around what is worth keeping.
Rowlett is bordered on the east and south by Lake Ray Hubbard and on the west by Rowlett Creek. Open ground near the water tends to catch more wind, so shade structures are anchored and placed with the breeze in mind.
The City of Rowlett, which buys treated surface water from the North Texas Municipal Water District.
The Missouri, Kansas and Texas line was built through the area in 1886 and a post office opened in 1889. Rowlett was incorporated in 1952, when it had a population of 250 and ten businesses. The population passed 2,500 by 1975 and reached 23,260 in 1990, 44,503 in 2000 and 56,199 in 2010. In the early 1990s the community had more than thirty miles of shoreline on Lake Ray Hubbard, with a nature trail and Springfield Park on Rowlett Creek.
The City purchases potable water from the North Texas Municipal Water District, whose primary source is Lake Lavon. From November 1 to March 31 residents are asked to water a maximum of once per week, following the district’s 2024 conservation plans, and any winter sprinkler use should run between 10 am and 6 pm to avoid icing of streets and sidewalks. The Water Utility Division is 972-412-6287.
Rowlett’s accessory building requirements, from Building Safety at 972-412-6125, limit accessory structures to the maximum lot coverage of the zoning district or 35 percent of the rear yard, whichever is less. A structure behind the house needs a minimum three-foot side setback, an enclosed accessory structure over 500 square feet requires a special use permit, and none may sit over underground gas lines or on an easement. The permit fee is $75.00 for buildings under 250 square feet, plus 10 cents per square foot above that. Repairing a portion of a fence or replacing it also requires a permit before construction, filed through the MyGov portal.
What each outdoor project needs in Rowlett, TX
What does a patio cover need in Rowlett?
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 Rowlett the permit goes through the City of Rowlett, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pergola built to last in Rowlett?
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.
How is a pool built in Rowlett?
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 Rowlett the permit goes through the City of Rowlett, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
Can a sunroom or screened enclosure be added in Rowlett?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Rowlett is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the City of Rowlett 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 Rowlett
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A free design visit in Rowlett
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 Blackland Prairie 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 Rowlett 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 Dallas County-local if you need us later.
Rowlett 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 Rowlett and handles the inspections, so the schedule does not stall on paperwork.
Rowlett sits on Blackland Prairie ground in Dallas 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 Rowlett 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 Rowlett
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 Rowlett
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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