Custom and Louvered Pergolas in Dallas–Fort Worth
A pergola is an open frame of posts and beams over a patio, topped with fixed rafters or adjustable louvers that filter the sun rather than block it. Longhorn custom-builds them across Dallas–Fort Worth around your slab and your yard, with footings set for the soil rather than dropped in from a kit.
- 40+Years in Business
- 15,000+Projects Completed
- 1984Family-Owned Since
- 90DFW Cities Served
What’s in Longhorn’s Pergolas?
We build them to fit the space you actually have, not from a kit: the posts land where the slab and footings can carry them, the height suits the house, and the beams line up with the patio and the roofline.
A pergola is the right pick when you want shade that comes and goes, a structure to hang lights or plants from, or a frame over an outdoor kitchen or fire pit that does not close in the sky. If you need to stay dry in a storm, look at a louvered pergola or a solid cover instead.
- Designed to your slab, not dropped in from a kit
- Louvered options let you adjust shade through the day
- Becomes the anchor the rest of the yard works around
Most pergola projects we build are designed at the same time as the patio it sits on, planting and lighting and solid-roof cover. That is the whole point of one team drawing the yard before anyone digs.
Pergolas by city: pergolas in Dallas, pergolas in Rockwall, pergolas in Mansfield, pergolas in Flower Mound, pergolas in Grand Prairie, pergolas in Weatherford, pergolas in Grapevine, pergolas in Little Elm, pergolas in Euless, pergolas in Fort Worth.
How are Pergolas installed, priced and cared for?
Cost is driven by size and height, the material, fixed rafters versus louvers, the footings, and any lighting, fans or motors. Louvered roofs cost more because of the moving parts and the power to run them.
In DFW, the footings matter as much as the beams. On Blackland clay, posts set on a thin slab can lift or lean as the ground swells and shrinks. We set footings for the soil and anchor the structure for spring wind. Wood needs a stain or sealer to stand up to the sun; metal needs very little.
Many cities want a permit for a pergola, especially one attached to the house or wired for power. Our permit guide explains the usual steps. The stages are design, permit, footings, posts and beams, rafters or louvers, then finish and electrical.
What a pergola costs in DFW
Half of the pergolas we sold in DFW over the last two years came in between $10,000 and $25,000. The typical one was about $15,500. Larger custom builds have run to about $45,000. Your number comes from a free design visit, measured on your yard.
Prices reviewed October 2026.
Pergolas: common questions
Half of the pergolas we sold in DFW over the last two years came in between $10,000 and $25,000. The typical one was about $15,500. Larger custom builds have run to about $45,000. Size, materials, how it attaches to the house and any electrical work move the number; the free design visit gives you a firm figure for your yard.
Not by default. In our own DFW sales, the typical patio cover came in around $13,500 and the typical pergola around $15,500, so the patio cover was the less expensive of the two. A pergola gives filtered shade and lets rain through; a solid cover keeps the rain off and shades the whole patio. Choose by how you want to use the space, then size it to the budget.
Ask where the posts will land and how the footings are designed. On Blackland clay, posts set on a thin slab can lift or lean as the ground moves. Ask too whether it is custom built or from a kit, and who handles the permit. Longhorn builds to your slab and sets the footings for your soil.
A louvered pergola is worth it if you want to change the shade through the day rather than live with one setting. It costs more than fixed rafters because of the moving parts and the power to run them. If you mainly need to stay dry, compare it with a solid cover first.
Decide by which way the patio faces. A west-facing patio takes the full afternoon sun in a DFW summer, and an open pergola will not make it usable; that wants a solid or insulated roof. North and east-facing patios get shade for most of the afternoon anyway, so a pergola gives you the light and the structure without closing the space in. Many of ours are half and half: solid over the seating, open over the grill.
Often, especially if it is attached to the house or wired for power. We file it and handle the inspection so it doesn’t stall your schedule.
An open pergola won’t. If you need to stay dry in a storm, look at a louvered pergola or a solid cover instead.
A cover or pergola is typically a few days on site once permitted. Enclosures and sunrooms take longer because there’s more structure and glazing.
Wood looks warm and can be cut to any shape, but in Texas sun it needs restaining on a regular schedule and can check or twist. Aluminum costs more up front on some designs but asks for almost nothing afterward. We will show you both next to your house before you decide.
Before You Commit to Pergolas
- Check which way the patio faces. A west-facing patio takes the full afternoon sun, and an open pergola will not make that comfortable in July. East and north sides are where an open structure shines.
- Decide fixed or louvered. Fixed slats give a constant pattern of shade; louvers let you close the roof down in the afternoon and open it again in the evening.
- Plan what hangs from it. Fans, lighting, heaters and a screen on the west side all attach to the structure, so they belong in the drawing rather than in an extension cord later.
How does a pergola project run?
- 1
A free design visit
A designer measures the yard, walks the access a crew would use, and talks through what you want the space to do. You get a firm price, not a range.
- 2
Drawings, permit and HOA
We draw the job, file the permit with your city and follow it through review. Where an HOA needs a submittal, we prepare the drawings it asks for.
- 3
One crew, one schedule
The same team builds the whole thing in the right order, so the slab, the structure, the electrical and the finish work are not three companies blaming each other.
- 4
Walkthrough and warranty
We walk the finished job with you, settle the punch list, and leave you with one warranty covering the work rather than a folder of separate ones.
Reading on Pergolas
Practical notes on building a backyard in North Texas.
Best Pergola Designs Abilene TX: Shade That Works
Abilene means open plains, steady wind, hard afternoon sun and clay that moves. Here is how roof type, direction, frame and comfort add-ons add up to a pergola you will actually sit under.
Backyard Pergola Ideas for DFW Lots
Most pergola inspiration comes from somewhere with a different sun, a different soil and a bigger yard. Here are the ideas that hold up once you put them on an actual lot in this metro.
Keeping a Wooden Pergola from Rotting
The damage starts at the post base and the cut ends, and it starts long before anything looks wrong. Here is how to check yours, what to do in which month, and when a post is past saving.
Recent work: Patios & Pergolas
Pergolas by city
Written for the soil, permits and lots of each city, in DFW and out in Abilene.
Who builds your project
- Family-owned since 1984. Dallas–Fort Worth homeowners have hired Longhorn for four decades. The business is still family-owned.
- One team, start to finish. The designer who measures your yard and the crew that builds it work for Longhorn, on one schedule.
- In-house crews. The people who quote the job are the people who stand behind it.
- Permits and HOA handled. We draw the job, file the permit with your city and prepare what most HOAs ask for.
- One warranty. One company answers for the whole project, not a folder of separate contractors.
Free estimate on Pergolas
We’ll come out, measure, talk through the options and give you a firm number. No obligation.
Call (972) 534-2716Get Your Free Quote
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