Pools & Spas in Van Alstyne
Gunite pools and spas planned with the deck, shade and kitchen.
Outdoor Living in Van Alstyne, 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 Van Alstyne homeowners in Grayson County, with one family-owned team.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
- 1984Family-Owned Since
- 334Texas Cities Served
Before you build in Van Alstyne
Van Alstyne is on State Highway 5, U.S. Highway 75, Farm Road 121, and the Southern Pacific line, twelve miles south of Sherman in extreme south central Grayson County. Its townsite was land bought from the railroad company by settlers from nearby Mantua.
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 Van Alstyne the job is reviewed by the Building Department (Permits & Fees), 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 been building since 1984, and every project starts with a free design visit and a firm price.
Outdoor living we build in Van Alstyne, TX
Outdoor Kitchens in Van Alstyne
Stone islands, built-in grills, fridges and a real vent hood, under cover.
Patio Covers in Van Alstyne
Solid-roof shade over the patio. It’s the simplest way to use it year-round.
Pergolas in Van Alstyne
Fixed or louvered, built to your slab, the yard’s centerpiece.
Sunrooms in Van Alstyne
Glass walls under a solid roof. Real square footage, light all day.
Patio Enclosures in Van Alstyne
Screened rooms: the breeze and the view, none of the mosquitoes.
Hardscaping in Van Alstyne
Travertine, pavers, seat walls and fire pits, with drainage solved first.
Landscaping & Lighting in Van Alstyne
Water-wise planting, irrigation and lighting for North Texas.
Outdoor living ideas for Van Alstyne homes
Homes and Yards in Van Alstyne
Settlers founded Mantua in the 1850s. When the Houston and Texas Central Railway bypassed it in 1872, residents laid out a new town named for either surveyor William A. Van Alstyne or railroad shareholder Marie Van Alstyne.
In a town with a long history, a pergola or patio cover sized to the house, rather than built with oversized beams, keeps the backyard in proportion.
Grayson County is drained mainly by Choctaw Creek and its two main tributaries, Post Oak and Iron Ore creeks. The southern areas drain to Trinity River tributaries, and the growing season averages 227 days a year.
Water comes from the City of Van Alstyne, which treats surface water.
Van Alstyne opened a post office in 1873 and incorporated in 1890, when it had a population of 400, two gristmills, a flour mill, a newspaper, and a college. Around 1900 the town had 1,940 residents, several banks, a grain elevator, a roller mill, and a chemical company.
By the mid-1970s Van Alstyne had 2,230 residents and seven manufacturers, including producers of clothing, motor homes, and mattresses. By the late 1980s it also had factories making plastics and aluminum products. The population was 2,090 in 1990 and reached 2,502 in 2000.
NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 181 hail reports in Grayson County from 2016 to 2025, 144 of them an inch across or larger, with stones up to 2.5 inches. 9 of those reports were logged at Van Alstyne itself, the largest 1.75 inches. The same records show 93 damaging thunderstorm wind reports, with gusts up to about 90 mph, and 5 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 Van Alstyne, TX
How is a pool built in Van Alstyne?
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 Van Alstyne the permit goes through the Building Department (Permits & Fees), and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on pools.
What does a patio cover need in Van Alstyne?
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 Van Alstyne the permit goes through the Building Department (Permits & Fees), and Longhorn files it and follows it through inspection. More on patio covers.
How is a pergola built to last in Van Alstyne?
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 Van Alstyne?
A sunroom or screened enclosure in Van Alstyne is attached to the house, so it is permitted through the Building Department (Permits & Fees) 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 Van Alstyne
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A free design visit in Van Alstyne
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.
- 2
Drawings, permit and HOA
We file the permit with Building Department (Permits & Fees) at the City of Van Alstyne and follow it through review. Where an HOA wants a submittal, we prepare the drawings it asks for.
- 3
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 a phone call away if you need us later.
Van Alstyne outdoor living questions
The Building Department (Permits & Fees) reviews residential projects in Van Alstyne. 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.
Van Alstyne sits on Blackland Prairie ground in Grayson 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 Van Alstyne 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 Van Alstyne
Every town we serve in Grayson County · See all 334 cities we serve
Free design visits in Van Alstyne
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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