Covered patios and pergolas in Elm Creek
Elm Creek covers 410 acres with 582 home sites and 141 acres of greenspace, and its Architectural Control Committee reviews hardscape, pergola and fence changes.
What we build in Elm Creek
Covered Patios
Match-the-house roofs for year-round shade.
Pergolas
Cedar, aluminum, louvered and bioclimatic.
Landscaping
Sod, xeriscape, edging, lighting and hardscape.
Removal & Haul-Away
Decks, pergolas, sheds, fences, hot tubs, haul-away.
Starting price
16x30 basic wood deck with handrails
from$4,000
- 16 ft by 30 ft (480 sq ft)
- Basic wood, handrails
- Labor and materials
A 16x30 basic wood deck with handrails in Elm Creek, San Antonio starts at $4,000, labor and materials included. Covered patio, pergola or a bigger deck in Elm Creek? You get a fixed price in writing within 3 to 5 business days.
Price my projectBuilding in Elm Creek
Gated community off Vance Jackson at Huebner, inside Loop 1604
- ZIP and place78230
- Inside San Antonio city limits in Council District 8, between Vance Jackson and Huebner inside Loop 1604. 410 acres, 141 of them common greenspace, 582 home sites. The land was the Friedrich family retreat, opened as the Algo Diferente resort hotel in 1947, planned as a community in the 1960s and gated in the mid-1980s: the first San Antonio neighborhood designed with guardhouses and gates. Zoned to Northside ISD.
- Permit deskCity of San Antonio Development Services
- Under the city's exempt-work list a small uncovered, detached deck under 30 inches above grade, an uncovered patio under 30 inches and a detached accessory structure up to 300 square feet typically need no permit. An attached patio cover, an attached pergola or a covered deck does; per Information Bulletin 151 a deck permit applies when the deck or its roof exceeds 300 square feet or sits over 30 inches. A new fence, or repair of more than a quarter of one, takes a residential fence permit on BuildSA. Confirm the thresholds for your lot with the city.
- HOA reviewElm Creek Owners Association, Architectural Control Committee
- An Application for Approval of Plans goes to the ACC with the plat marked for location and size, the materials, and the exact brand and color. Per the association's fee schedule there is no fee for the application on a fence in a different material or color, or on any alteration or addition including hardscape and major landscape renovation, which covers decks, pergolas and patio covers; a same-material, same-color fence replacement needs no application. Elm Creek has fifteen units with their own covenants, so fence height, stain and iron rules are read from your unit's document before the design is drawn.
- Contractor gate hours
- March through September, weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays 8 to 5; October through February, weekdays 7:30 to 6 and Saturdays 8 to 5. No Sunday work and no work on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Dumpsters and trucks may not block a neighbor or an emergency or garbage route. Access is controlled around the clock. Our crews are scheduled to those hours.
- Ground
- Elm Creek sits in the Edwards Aquifer artesian zone, not the recharge zone, so the recharge-zone impervious-cover caps do not apply here. Lots roll along the creek and greenbelt on limestone with mature oaks and elms; piers are drilled and posts are placed to the root zones.
- Lots and homes
- Lots typically run from a third of an acre with many one-acre greenbelt sites. Homes are custom builds largely from the 1980s and 1990s onward, from about 1,500 to over 8,000 square feet, Mediterranean, contemporary and traditional, and many original patios and pergolas are at the age where they are replaced rather than repaired.
Same six steps in Elm Creek
- Step 1: Consult
- Step 2: Design and scope
- Step 3: Materials
- Step 4: Permits and HOA
- Step 5: Build
- Step 6: Walk-through
What Elm Creek homeowners ask first
Do I need ACC approval for a pergola or patio cover in Elm Creek?
Yes. The Elm Creek Owners Association's Architectural Control Committee requires an Application for Approval of Plans for any alteration or addition, including hardscape and major landscape work, which covers a pergola, a patio cover, a deck or a new patio. The application carries the plat marked with location and size, the materials, and the exact brand and color. Klema Builders prepares it as part of the quote and files the city permit once the committee signs.
Does replacing my fence need an application?
Not if it is the same material and the same color. A fence in a different material or a different color does need the ACC application (no fee). Height and stain rules come from your unit's covenants, and Elm Creek has fifteen of them, so we read yours first. The city fence permit applies to a new fence or a repair of more than a quarter of the run.
What hours can a crew work inside the gates?
Weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays 8 to 5 from March through September, weekdays 7:30 to 6 and Saturdays 8 to 5 the rest of the year, never on Sundays or the five major holidays. Dumpsters and trucks stay clear of neighbors and emergency routes. Violators can be barred from the community, so our schedule is written to those hours from day one.
Do you handle the permit and the design review in Elm Creek?
Yes. In Elm Creek that means the ACC Application for Approval of Plans to the owners association first, then the city permit for anything attached or covered, plus the fence permit when a fence is new. We prepare the drawings, the site plan and the material list, file the application, and handle the back-and-forth; the permit and the review are line items in the quote. Every project starts with a free in-home consult and a fixed-price quote line by line within 3 to 5 business days, and we build across San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country and the I-35 corridor to Austin.
How much does a deck, pergola or covered patio cost in Elm Creek?
A 16x30 basic wood deck with handrails in Elm Creek starts at $4,000, labor and materials included. Covered patios, pergolas, composite and multi-level decks are quoted fixed-price, line by line, after a free in-home consult. The written quote arrives within 3 to 5 business days.
Which permits does the city actually require for a backyard project in Elm Creek?
Elm Creek is inside San Antonio, so the city's list applies. Typically exempt: a small uncovered, detached deck under 30 inches, an uncovered patio under 30 inches, and a detached accessory structure up to 300 square feet. Typically permitted: an attached patio cover, an attached pergola, a covered deck, any deck over 30 inches or 300 square feet, lighting circuits, and a new fence. Small deck permits are usually issued within a day or two.
More questions (3)Fewer questions
What does it cost to take down an old pergola or deck in Elm Creek?
A 12x12 pergola removal in Elm Creek starts at $3,750, haul-away and yard grading included. Decks, patio covers, fences, sheds, hot tubs and playsets are taken down in 1 to 3 business days, hauled off and the ground graded or raked. Concrete footings and any siding or stucco repair at the ledger are handled separately. Already tore it down yourself? We haul off the pile.
Does the Edwards Aquifer limit my patio in Elm Creek?
Less than in Stone Oak or Shavano Park. Elm Creek sits in the artesian zone, where the recharge-zone impervious-cover caps do not apply, so patio and cover size is governed by the ACC and the lot, not the aquifer ordinance. We still grade every patio to drain away from the house and the creek.
How long does a project take in Elm Creek?
A cedar pergola is built in 1 to 2 weeks on site once materials and approvals are in hand. A composite or cedar deck takes 3 to 6 weeks from signed contract to walk-through once the permit clears, and a multi-level or pool deck 6 to 10 weeks. ACC review typically adds 2 to 4 weeks and city permit review 1 to 3 weeks before the build starts. The schedule is committed in writing in the contract.
Built for Elm Creek lots, reviewed the first time.
Free in-home consult in Elm Creek, then a written fixed-price quote in 3 to 5 business days.