Houston, Texas
A Houston construction and design-build company — residential and commercial
Right Angle Home & Outdoors is a Houston construction and design-build company working on residential and commercial projects, with deep capability in outdoor living and landscape design. We draw, permit, and build outdoor structures and hardscape — decks, pergolas and covers, paver patios and drives, pool decks, cedar fencing, drainage and retaining walls — for inner-loop and west Houston properties.
The firm was founded by Omar Afra and Pedro Salazar. Omar came to residential construction from restoration work on century-old Houston buildings — most notably years of work on Fitzgerald's, the old wood dance hall turned music venue on White Oak — and from building temporary infrastructure and logistics for large public events. Pedro runs construction operations and field execution. There is also family history behind it: engineering and architecture practiced a generation before Right Angle existed, which is why drawings and load paths were never treated as optional here.
Those two backgrounds — old buildings and hard event deadlines — produced the same two instincts: solve water before anything else, and sequence work so nothing finished has to be reopened.
Houston is the constraint, not the backdrop
Greater Houston sits on clay soils that swell and shrink with the seasons, gets heavy rain, and stays hot and humid long enough to shorten the life of an unventilated softwood deck. Drainage is a real design problem here, and permitting and HOA review shape what actually gets built.
So our specs are climate specs. Foundations and footings are detailed for moving clay. Hardwood and composite get airflow and corrosion-resistant fasteners. Paver systems are frequently permeable, over open-graded base, because infiltration is worth more than another impervious slab. Anything with a roof gets checked against local wind load requirements.
In overlay neighborhoods we file the plans. Heights Historic District and HAHC review, Woodland Heights, Norhill, Sunset Heights, and standard HOA architectural committees are part of the schedule — see the HOA and permit approval guide.
How a project runs
Water and grade first
Before materials come up, we look at where water goes on the property — roof discharge, grade, low spots, what the street does in a hard rain. On a lot of Houston lots the drainage plan is the project; the patio is what sits on top of it.
Drawings and a real number
You get a plan, a material spec, and a range that names its own unknowns. Demolition is discovery — we say up front which line items are firm and which depend on what we find under the old slab or deck.
Permits and review, scheduled honestly
City permits and, in the Heights and other overlay neighborhoods, HAHC or HOA review take the weeks they take. We build that into the schedule instead of promising a date that assumes review is instant.
Build in the right order
Footings and subsurface work, then structure, then surfaces, then finishes. Nothing goes over anything that still needs to be opened up.
Load-out counts
Punch list walked with you, site restored, protection pulled, drive cleaned. The last day is part of the build, not an afterthought.
What we build
One contract covers design, engineering coordination, permitting and construction. Full list on the services index. Documented work sits on our project case studies page, and homeowner feedback lives on our profile — see Right Angle on Google.
Decks
Ipe, Garapa, thermally modified wood, cedar, composite
Pergolas & Patio Covers
Cedar and powder-coated aluminum, detailed to meet local code wind requirements
Pavers & Hardscape
Permeable systems, travertine, limestone, flagstone
Drainage & Retaining Walls
French drains, channel drains, segmental walls
Pool Decks & Remodels
Resurfacing, deck rebuilds, clay-soil detailing
Cedar Fencing
Privacy, board-on-board, horizontal, custom gates
Exterior Painting
Bungalow restoration, mildew-resistant systems
Commercial Outdoor Work
Multi-family, hospitality, HOA common areas
Principals
Omar Afra
Co-founder and principal. Background in restoration of century-old Houston buildings and in festival and event infrastructure; leads design, client engagement, and the drainage-first approach the firm is built on. Previously founder and publisher of Free Press Houston and a producer of Free Press Summer Fest and Day for Night — now collected in the Free Press Houston Archive.
ProfilePedro Salazar
Co-founder and principal. Runs construction operations, crews, and field execution — the person responsible for the built result matching the drawing.
ProfileWritten by the principals
- What Restoring a Century-Old Houston Music Venue Taught Me About Construction
- What Festival Infrastructure Taught Me About Construction Project Management
- Building Outdoor Living in the Houston Heights: What to Plan Before Construction
- Houston Heights Backyard Drainage: Clay Soil, Pavers, Decks and Where the Water Goes
- Choosing Deck and Pergola Materials for Houston Heights Heat, Humidity and Shade
- 2026 Houston Outdoor Living Report
- Interview: Omar Afra & Pedro Salazar on Houston Outdoor Installations
We're not trying to be the biggest contractor in Houston—we're focused on being the most thoughtful.
Whether you're envisioning a serene backyard, a new commercial build, or something in between, we're here to help you bring it to life—honestly, thoughtfully, and with care.
