Forney, TX · Dallas County
Decks in Forney, Texas
Deck building, patio covers and pergolas in Forney, just east of Mesquite in Kaufman County.
01 — The area
Decks in Forney
Forney has expanded fast and most of what we see there is new-build housing with back yards that have not been finished yet — slab, fence, and nothing else.
That is a good position to be in, because it means the deck, the cover and any future outdoor kitchen can be designed together rather than bolted onto each other over several years. Posts end up where they should be, electrical goes in before the roof, and nothing has to be undone.
Forney is in Kaufman County rather than Dallas County, so permitting is handled by a different authority. We confirm the applicable requirements for your address before quoting — the rules are not the same across the county line, and assuming they are is how projects get stopped.
02 — Forney
A brand-new house with a blank back yard
Forney has grown quickly and a large share of its housing is recent, which produces a very specific starting point: a good house, a small concrete patio at the back door, a fence, a lawn, and nothing else. No trees of any size, no shade, no structure, and a yard that is usable in March and unbearable in July.
That blank slate is an advantage if it is used in the right order. The temptation is to build the deck first because it is the visible thing, and then find that shade has to be added to it afterwards — which costs more, because a cover retrofitted to a finished deck means working around a surface and sometimes strengthening framing that was not designed to carry posts.
So on new builds we would rather plan the whole back yard on paper once, even if it is built in stages over two or three years. Deciding now where the cover will stand means putting footings in for it while the ground is open, leaving the structural capacity in the deck where the posts will land, and running a conduit for lighting and a fan before the boards go down. None of those additions cost much at the start and all of them are disruptive later.
The staged version usually looks like this: deck or extended patio first, cover second, and the planting that will eventually give real shade going in on day one so it is ten years old by the time the furniture needs it.
03 — Forney
The builder patio is too small — extend it or deck over it
Nearly every new house here comes with a slab at the back door that is big enough for a grill and two chairs, and the complaint is always the same: it is not big enough for a table with people around it. There are three ways out and they suit different budgets.
Pouring more concrete is the cheapest per square foot and the least interesting. It matches what is there, it needs no maintenance, and it will be hot and bright in summer because concrete holds heat and reflects light. For a covered area it is perfectly sensible; for an uncovered one it is the option people regret.
Decking over the existing slab and extending the deck beyond it is the version we recommend most often. The slab becomes free foundation for part of the deck, the timber surface runs at one level over both, and the result is a single generous space rather than a patio with a deck stuck onto it. The constraint is door threshold height, which we measure before promising it.
Building a separate deck alongside and leaving the slab as it is costs the most and makes the least sense on a small new-build yard, because you end up with two competing surfaces and less lawn than either option needs. We mention it because people ask, not because we think it is the right answer here.
04 — Forney
No shade for a decade: why the cover comes before the landscaping
The trees that a new subdivision is planted with will shade the yard eventually, and eventually is the problem. A sapling put in when the house is handed over is of no practical use for eight or ten summers, which is most of the time you will be living there with young children.
This is why in Forney specifically we push the cover up the priority list, ahead of things that would normally come first. A deck without shade in an unshaded new-build yard gets used in spring and autumn and abandoned in between. A covered deck gets used all year, including in rain, which doubles the number of days the money is doing something.
There is also a straightforward comfort argument about the house itself. A cover over a west or south-facing patio door shades the glass, and shaded glass puts less heat into the room behind it. It is not the reason to build one, but it is a real effect and it makes the running cost of the structure smaller than it first looks.
If the budget will not stretch to a roofed cover, a pergola with tight slats or an adjustable louvre section over the seating area gets most of the benefit for considerably less, and it can be built so a solid roof replaces the slats later without rebuilding the posts.
Services
What we build in Forney
Every service below is available across Forney.
Deck Building
A new deck is mostly a structural job wearing a decorative finish. We build decks in Mesquite that are enginee…
Deck Repair
Soft boards, a wobbly rail, a post that has started to lean, or a deck that just does not feel solid underfoot…
Deck Staining & Sealing
Staining is the cheapest thing you can do to extend the life of a wood deck in North Texas, and the most commo…
Patio Covers
A patio you cannot use from June to September is not a patio, it is a view. A solid cover is what turns the ba…
Pergolas
A pergola defines an outdoor space and takes the edge off the sun without closing it in or darkening the rooms…
Questions
Forney — asked and answered
Should I build the deck first or the cover first?
Plan both at once even if you build them in stages. Retrofitting a cover onto a finished deck costs more, because the posts have to land on framing that was not designed for them. Putting the footings in and leaving the capacity while the ground is open costs very little.
Can you extend the small patio the builder left?
Yes, and in most new-build yards the best value is decking over the existing slab and running the deck past it, so you get one level surface instead of a patio with a deck attached. The limit is the height at the back door — the finished surface has to sit below the threshold, which we measure before quoting.
Is my yard too new for a deck — should I wait for the landscaping?
No, and waiting is usually the expensive choice. Ground work, footings and any conduit are far easier before planting and irrigation go in. If anything, the deck and the cover should come first and the planting around them second.
Does a new-build neighbourhood association have to approve this?
In most of the newer Forney subdivisions, yes, and the rules tend to be more specific than in older areas — colour, materials, height and position. We prepare the submission drawings and confirm the requirements for your address before anything is ordered.
Deck builders in Forney
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