Pergolas, fences and patios in King William
King William became San Antonio's first historic district in 1968, so every fence, pergola and patio cover needs a Certificate of Appropriateness before the permit.
What we build in King William
Pergolas
Cedar, aluminum, louvered and bioclimatic.
Fencing
Cedar privacy, horizontal board, and wrought iron.
Removal & Haul-Away
Decks, pergolas, sheds, fences, hot tubs, haul-away.
Covered Patios
Match-the-house roofs for year-round shade.
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 King William, San Antonio starts at $4,000, labor and materials included. Covered patio, pergola or a bigger deck in King William? You get a fixed price in writing within 3 to 5 business days.
Price my projectBuilding in King William
San Antonio historic district south of downtown on the San Antonio River
- ZIP and place78204
- About twenty-two blocks south of downtown between South Alamo Street and the San Antonio River, named by Ernst Altgelt for Kaiser Wilhelm I. Roughly 65 acres with seventy-nine historic structures counted by the Texas State Historical Association.
- Permit desk
- Inside San Antonio city limits, so the City of San Antonio Development Services Department issues the permit through BuildSA. Per Information Bulletin 151 a deck typically needs a permit when the deck or its covered roof exceeds 300 square feet or the deck sits more than 30 inches above grade; 48 inches and up typically needs an engineer's letter. Lighting is a separate electrical permit and a new fence needs a residential fence permit. Confirm the thresholds for your lot with the city.
- Historic reviewOffice of Historic Preservation
- A Certificate of Appropriateness is required for all exterior work in the district; there is no stated rear-yard exemption. Landscaping, fencing, patios and small additions are typically eligible for administrative approval by OHP staff. Larger work goes to the Historic and Design Review Commission, which meets the first and third Wednesdays with applications due about 19 days before. Residential COAs carry no fee. Work started without one draws a stop-work order and a post-work fee.
- Fence rulesOHP Fences Policy Guide, 2022
- Rear privacy fences typically max out at 6 feet in wood and are set back from the front facade. Front fences are typically capped at 4 feet or matched to the block; approved styles are wrought iron, painted wood picket and garden loop, and chain link is to be avoided. Vehicle gates sit behind the front facade, and a new front fence can be denied on a block that has none.
- Trees
- Under UDC 35-523 a significant tree is 6 inches in trunk diameter (10 inches for Ashe juniper, mesquite, hackberry and a few others) and a heritage tree 24 inches. An existing single-family home is exempt from tree permits, but a hired contractor needs a City of San Antonio Tree Maintenance License to prune. Post and pier layout is planned around the pecans and live oaks.
- Ground
- River alluvium over the Houston Black clay belt: soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, so footing depth and ledger flashing matter more here than on a rock lot. River-adjacent lots may sit in the mapped floodplain; the 1921 flood ran through this district. We check the flood map for the address before the design is drawn.
- Lots and homes
- Homes date from the 1860s through the 1920s: Italianate, Second Empire, Romanesque Revival and Texas-German vernacular, most on pier-and-beam foundations. A pergola or patio cover is detailed to sit off the historic fabric, and a ledger on a pier-and-beam house is planned with the framing, never bolted to siding.
Same six steps in King William
- Step 1: Consult
- Step 2: Design and scope
- Step 3: Materials
- Step 4: Permits and HOA
- Step 5: Build
- Step 6: Walk-through
What King William homeowners ask first
Do I need a Certificate of Appropriateness for a backyard pergola in King William?
Yes. The Office of Historic Preservation requires a COA for exterior work throughout the district, backyard included. Rear-yard pergolas are the kind of project the HDRC has approved by COA, and patios, fencing and landscaping are typically eligible for administrative approval by staff, which is faster than a commission hearing. Klema Builders draws the pergola to scale on a site plan, notes materials and finish, and files the COA before the city permit.
What fence can I build in King William?
Per the OHP Fences Policy Guide, a rear privacy fence is typically wood up to 6 feet and set back from the front facade. A front fence is typically 4 feet or matched to the neighbors, in wrought iron, painted picket or garden loop; chain link, barbed wire and corrugated metal are to be avoided. Vehicle gates go behind the front facade. We match an existing masonry wall or iron run cleanly and include the COA drawings in the quote.
How much time does historic review add?
Administrative approvals for fences, patios and small structures typically take days. A project that goes to the Historic and Design Review Commission runs about 18 calendar days from the Friday application deadline to the Wednesday decision, and the COA is issued within about 10 days after. City permit review typically adds 1 to 3 weeks. We file the COA first so the permit follows without a second wait.
Do you handle the permit and the design review in King William?
Yes. In King William that means the Certificate of Appropriateness with the Office of Historic Preservation and the building or fence permit with Development Services, in that order. 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 King William?
A 16x30 basic wood deck with handrails in King William 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.
What does it cost to take down an old pergola or deck in King William?
A 12x12 pergola removal in King William 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.
More questions (3)Fewer questions
Can you take down an old carport, deck or shed in the district?
Yes, and the takedown is checked with the Office of Historic Preservation first, because removing an exterior structure in a historic district can itself need a COA, especially anything visible from the street or counted as contributing. Once cleared, a wood deck, pergola or shed comes down in 1 to 3 business days, hauled off, the yard graded or raked. Concrete piers and any siding repair where a structure met the house are handled separately.
How do you build on pier-and-beam and clay in King William?
Pergola and patio-cover posts are set on piers sized for Houston Black clay, deeper and wider than a rock lot needs, with the ledger connection planned with the house framing rather than bolted through old siding. Where a live oak or pecan root zone is in the way, we shift posts rather than cut roots, and any pruning is done under a licensed tree maintenance contractor.
How long does a project take in King William?
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. Historic review and the city permit run before the build starts; administrative COAs typically take days and a commission hearing about three weeks. The schedule is committed in writing in the contract.
Built for King William lots, reviewed the first time.
Free in-home consult in King William, then a written fixed-price quote in 3 to 5 business days.