Pergolas in Dallas–Fort Worth

Custom-built pergolas designed around your slab and your yard. Fixed or louvered, so you can dial the shade up in the afternoon and open it back up in the evening.

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Since 1984Family-owned, one office in Arlington
15,000+North Texas homeowners served
AndersenCertified contractor for windows and doors
Four SeasonsAuthorized sunroom distributor

What is a pergola, and is it right for Texas sun?

A pergola is an outdoor frame of posts and beams with an open or slatted top, built to break up the sun and give a patio some structure overhead. It looks lighter than a roof, it lets rain through unless you add a covering, and it keeps a yard feeling open.

In North Texas the honest test is which way the patio faces. On a north or east side, or next to a grill where you want the smoke to escape, a pergola works well. On a west-facing patio that takes the full afternoon sun, an open pergola will not make July comfortable, and a solid or insulated cover is usually the better choice. Louvered tops sit between the two. Size the frame to the furniture you will really use, and check with your city and HOA before you build.

Modern louvered pergola over an outdoor lounge

What comes with our Pergolas

Design Feature

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

Many pergola projects we build are planned together with the solid-roof cover, insulated cover and screened enclosure, so the whole patio is designed once.

Custom builtLouvered optionAdjustable shade

Get My Free Estimate Call (469) 949-5909

Installing and caring for Pergolas

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.

Pergolas: common questions

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.

Depending on size, complexity and weather, most patio projects are completed within 3 to 4 weeks of the start date. We work with your city on the building permit.

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 estimate visit
A specialist measures the patio, walks the access a crew would use, and talks through what you want the space to do. You get a firm written estimate, 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 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.

Who builds your project

Family-owned since 1984. Dallas–Fort Worth homeowners have hired American Eagle Builders for four decades, and the business is still family-owned and operated.
15,000 satisfied homeowners and counting. Many have come back for a second project, or called us twenty years later for a repair.
Free estimates and design consultations. A specialist visits, measures, and gives you a detailed written estimate with no surprises.
Permits handled. We work with your city on the building permit so the schedule does not stall on paperwork.
Comprehensive warranty. Every service we offer is backed by a comprehensive warranty, plus financing for various credit levels.