# Pergolas, patio covers and fences in Terrell Hills Canonical page: https://klemabuilders.com/locations/san-antonio/terrell-hills Terrell Hills (78209) is a separate city of 1.61 square miles inside Loop 410, chartered March 31, 1939, which beat San Antonio's 1945 annexation in court. It permits fences, walls, decks and patio covers through its own desk, caps fences at 6 feet above natural grade and 4 feet in the front setback, allows construction only 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and keeps dumpsters and material piles 15 feet off every lot line. Klema Builders files the permit and builds fixed-price inside those rules. Terrell Hills (separate city inside the San Antonio metro), ZIP 78209. Separate city inside Loop 410, east of Alamo Heights. ## Starting price A 16x30 basic wood deck with handrails in Terrell Hills starts at $4,000, labor and materials included. ## What we build here - [Pergolas](https://klemabuilders.com/pergolas): Cedar, aluminum, louvered and bioclimatic. - [Covered Patios](https://klemabuilders.com/covered-patios): Match-the-house roofs for year-round shade. - [Fencing](https://klemabuilders.com/fencing): Cedar privacy, horizontal board, and wrought iron. - [Landscaping](https://klemabuilders.com/landscaping): Sod, xeriscape, edging, lighting and hardscape. ## Building in Terrell Hills - **ZIP and place** (78209): A separate city east of Alamo Heights inside Loop 410, named for banker and 1901 San Antonio mayor Frederick Terrell. Chartered March 31, 1939, home rule since 1957, and it defeated San Antonio's 1945 annexation attempt in court. About 1.61 square miles and 5,045 residents at the 2020 Census. - **Permit desk** (City of Terrell Hills): Permits run through My Government Online, with separate fees for walls and fences and for patio covers and decks. Construction is allowed 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays only. No material piles, dumpsters or portable toilets may be visible from the street or sit within 15 feet of a lot line, and a silt fence and stabilized entrance are required on the site. - **Fence rules** (Code Sec. 3-10 and Zoning Ch. 14): Typically a maximum of 6 feet above natural grade, inside the property lines, and never in an easement without the city's and the utilities' consent. Fences in the front setback are typically capped at 4 feet from the highest finished grade. Retaining walls stay under 4 feet, terraced where more height is needed. The city's Fences and Walls design standard applies to new construction, additions, accessory structures and front-setback landscaping. - **Setbacks and coverage**: Front setback 25 feet, sides 10, rear 20; accessory structures may sit 5 feet off side and rear lines when 15 feet tall or under. Lot coverage is typically capped at 35 percent with a floor-area ratio of 0.38, and new lots need 12,000 square feet and 80 feet of frontage. A detached pergola or pavilion is placed inside that envelope on the survey. - **Design review**: No architectural review board. The Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Adjustment handle variances; the permit is the approval for a fence, pergola or patio cover. - **Trees**: No tree preservation ordinance, but new construction and front-yard improvements typically trigger a requirement to plant one or two front-yard shade trees. The mature live oaks and pecans on most lots still decide where posts go. - **Lots and homes**: Lots from about 6,000 to 20,000 square feet, with half-acre estate lots on a few streets. Homes date largely from the 1930s through the 1960s, Spanish Colonial Revival and Georgian through mid-century ranch, on the same ridge-and-drainage ground as Alamo Heights with chalk near the surface and clay pockets. ## Why Terrell Hills is different Terrell Hills went to court to stay independent in 1945 and still runs like a small city that watches its streets: weekday-only construction hours, staging kept out of sight and off the lot lines, a fence cap tied to natural grade, and a coverage cap that matters on the smaller lots. Nothing here is a surprise if you read it first. Klema Builders designs pergolas, patio covers and fences to the setbacks and the coverage cap, files the permit, runs the crew inside the city's hours, and writes it into a fixed-price quote after a free in-home consult. ## Questions and answers ### What are the construction hours in Terrell Hills? 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays only. The city also requires that no material piles, dumpsters or portable toilets be visible from the street or within 15 feet of a lot line, plus a silt fence and stabilized entrance. Our schedule and staging plan for a Terrell Hills job are written to those rules before the crew arrives. ### How tall can a fence be in Terrell Hills? Typically 6 feet above natural grade on side and rear lines and 4 feet in the front setback, measured from the highest finished grade, inside the property lines and out of easements. Retaining walls stay under 4 feet and terrace above that. We confirm the section for a corner lot and prepare the permit with the survey. ### Do I need a permit for a pergola or patio cover in Terrell Hills? Yes. The city's fee schedule lists patio covers and decks and walls and fences as permitted work through My Government Online. Klema Builders files the permit, keeps the structure inside the setbacks and the 35 percent coverage cap, and carries the permit as a line item in the quote. ### Do you handle the permit and the design review in Terrell Hills? Yes. In Terrell Hills that means the city permit through My Government Online with the survey, plus the construction-site plan the city expects: weekday hours, staging 15 feet off the lines, silt fence and stabilized entrance. 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 Terrell Hills? A 16x30 basic wood deck with handrails in Terrell Hills 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. ### Where can a detached pergola or pavilion sit on my lot? Inside the 25-foot front, 10-foot side and 20-foot rear setbacks, or 5 feet off the side and rear lines when it stays under 15 feet tall, and inside the 35 percent lot-coverage cap. On a 6,000-square-foot lot that cap matters; on the half-acre streets it rarely does. We draw it on the survey so the permit reads cleanly. ### What does it cost to take down an old pergola or deck in Terrell Hills? A 12x12 pergola removal in Terrell Hills 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. ### How long does a project take in Terrell Hills? 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. City permit review typically adds 1 to 3 weeks, and the weekday-only hours set the build calendar. The schedule is committed in writing in the contract. ## Nearby pages - [Decks in Alamo Heights](https://klemabuilders.com/decks/alamo-heights) - [Fencing in Alamo Heights](https://klemabuilders.com/fencing/alamo-heights) - [Alamo Heights](https://klemabuilders.com/locations/san-antonio/alamo-heights) - [Olmos Park](https://klemabuilders.com/locations/san-antonio/olmos-park) - [Monte Vista](https://klemabuilders.com/locations/san-antonio/monte-vista) - [San Antonio](https://klemabuilders.com/locations/san-antonio) ## Contact - Phone: (210) 974-1420 (Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Saturday 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM) - Email: hello@klemabuilders.com - Based in: San Antonio, TX - Service area: San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country and the I-35 corridor to Austin - Free in-home consult, fixed-price quote line by line within 3 to 5 business days. - Get a quote: https://klemabuilders.com/get-quote