Outdoor Living in The Colony, 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 The Colony homeowners in Denton County, with one family-owned team.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
- 1984Family-Owned Since
- 90DFW Cities Served
Before you build in The Colony
Close to Lewisville Lake, The Colony mixes original lots with newer infill. On the older yards, drainage usually needs fixing before anything else can go in.
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.
In The Colony the job is reviewed by the Building Inspections Department, and we file and follow the permit through that office ourselves. Our permit guide lists the office for every city we have checked.
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 The Colony
The Colony was founded in 1973 as a Fox and Jacobs development of single-family homes on about 3,000 acres.
In neighborhoods of that age the original patio and fencing are often due for replacement, and mature trees shape where a pool or a cover can sensibly go.
About 23 miles of Lewisville Lake shoreline, including two peninsulas, lie inside the city. Open ground near the water tends to catch more wind, so shade structures are anchored and placed with the breeze in mind.
City of The Colony, using city wells plus treated surface water bought from Dallas Water Utilities and the City of Plano.
The first twenty-seven new families moved into the Fox and Jacobs homes in the fall of 1974. A homeowners' association started the incorporation process in 1977 after negotiating release from the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Frisco, and in 1979 residents approved a charter with a council-manager government. The population was 11,586 in 1980, 22,113 in 1990, 36,328 in 2010 and 45,000 in 2021.
The city’s permit guide, 972-625-1756, requires a permit for any new fence or gate and for repairing or replacing more than 50 percent of a fence. Fences may not exceed 8 feet 6 inches in a rear or side yard or 4 feet in a front yard, and fences in drainage easements need City approval. Shade structures of 120 square feet and over, or attached to the house, need a building permit, as do sheds of 120 square feet or 30 inches or taller and retaining walls over 4 feet in height or 2 feet above grade. An in-ground pool, or an above-ground pool more than 24 inches deep, needs a permit, and pools must keep three feet from property lines to the excavation and stay out of easements. Property adjacent to Lewisville Lake needs a separate permit from the Lake Manager’s Office in Lewisville, (972) 434-1666.
In June 2023 the city reported it was in Phase 1 of its Drought Contingency Plan, with a twice-weekly schedule of Sundays and Thursdays for even-numbered addresses and Saturdays and Wednesdays for odd-numbered addresses. Utility Billing is 972-625-2741, and Stewart Creek Park hosts the annual Liberty Run.
What each outdoor project needs in The Colony, TX
What does a patio cover need in The Colony?
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 The Colony the permit goes through the Building Inspections Department, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pool built in The Colony?
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 The Colony the permit goes through the Building Inspections Department, and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
How is a pergola built to last in The Colony?
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 The Colony?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in The Colony is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the Building Inspections Department 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 The Colony
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A free design visit in The Colony
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 Building Inspections Department at the City of The Colony and follow it through review. 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 Denton County-local if you need us later.
The Colony outdoor living questions
The Building Inspections Department reviews residential projects in The Colony. Pools and structures attached to the house, such as patio covers, sunrooms and enclosures, almost always need a permit. Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection.
The Colony 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 The Colony 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 The Colony
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 The Colony
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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