Pools & Spas in Sweetwater
Gunite pools and spas planned with the deck, shade and kitchen.
Outdoor Living in Sweetwater, 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 Sweetwater homeowners in Nolan County, with one family-owned team.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
- 1984Family-Owned Since
- 334Texas Cities Served
Before you build in Sweetwater
Sweetwater, the seat of Nolan County, lies on Interstate Highway 20, U.S. Highway 80/84, and State Highway 70, forty-two miles west of Abilene in the north central part of the county. Kiowa Indians called the site Mobeetie, meaning sweet water.
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 Sweetwater 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 Sweetwater, TX
Outdoor Kitchens in Sweetwater
Stone islands, built-in grills, fridges and a real vent hood, under cover.
Patio Covers in Sweetwater
Solid-roof shade over the patio. It’s the simplest way to use it year-round.
Pergolas in Sweetwater
Fixed or louvered, built to your slab, the yard’s centerpiece.
Sunrooms in Sweetwater
Glass walls under a solid roof. Real square footage, light all day.
Patio Enclosures in Sweetwater
Screened rooms: the breeze and the view, none of the mosquitoes.
Hardscaping in Sweetwater
Travertine, pavers, seat walls and fire pits, with drainage solved first.
Landscaping & Lighting in Sweetwater
Water-wise planting, irrigation and lighting for North Texas.
Outdoor living ideas for Sweetwater homes
Homes and Yards in Sweetwater
Billie Knight ran a dugout store for buffalo hunters in 1877. The county’s first post office, opened in 1879, was named Blue Goose. The site became county seat in 1881, the year the Texas and Pacific Railway arrived.
Homes in an established county seat like Sweetwater often call for a patio roof finished in the same shingles and trim color as the house so the addition blends in.
Nolan County has light to dark loamy soils over deep, clayey or loamy subsoils, and altitudes from 2,000 to 2,700 feet. Rainfall averages 22.19 inches, and the growing season averages 221 days.
Water comes from the City of Sweetwater, which treats surface water.
A blizzard in 1885 killed most of the area’s livestock, and the 1890 population was half that of 1884. Prosperity returned when work began on the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway in 1903, and railroad shops provided a steady payroll. To attract railroads the town built a small lake in 1898, followed by Lake Trammell in 1914, Lake Sweetwater, and Oak Creek Reservoir.
The Gulf refinery ran from 1929 to 1954, and International Harvester operated a factory from 1920 to 1950. During World War II the Army Air Force trained at the local airfield, and the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots trained there in 1943. Sweetwater had 10,367 residents in 1940, 13,914 in 1960, and 11,415 in 2000.
NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 52 hail reports in Nolan County from 2016 to 2025, 47 of them an inch across or larger, with stones up to 2.75 inches. 24 of those reports were logged at Sweetwater itself, the largest 2.75 inches. The same records show 47 damaging thunderstorm wind reports, with gusts up to about 85 mph, and 1 tornado. 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 Sweetwater, TX
How is a pool built in Sweetwater?
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 Sweetwater the permit goes through the city or county office that covers Sweetwater, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
What does a patio cover need in Sweetwater?
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 Sweetwater the permit goes through the city or county office that covers Sweetwater, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pergola built to last in Sweetwater?
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 Sweetwater?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Sweetwater is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the city or county office that covers Sweetwater 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.
Sweetwater 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 Sweetwater and handles the inspections, so the schedule does not stall on paperwork.
Sweetwater sits on Rolling Plains clay ground in Nolan 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 Sweetwater
Every town we serve in Nolan County · See all 334 cities we serve
Free design visits in Sweetwater
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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