Whole-yard builds · Houston Heights & Greater Heights
When a yard needs more than one thing, planning it as one project gets the levels, drainage, wiring and schedule right the first time.
A whole-yard project is different from hiring a deck builder, then a paver crew, then an electrician. The finished heights of the deck, patio, pool coping and lawn all have to agree; drainage has to be planned across all of them; conduit and gas need to go in before surfaces cover them; and a narrow Heights lot can only host one trade at a time.
We plan the yard as a single set of drawings and a single sequence: underground first, structures next, surfaces and finishes last. You can still build in phases — many owners do — but the phases are designed together so the second one does not mean tearing up the first.
Best when you are changing several things at once — say a deck, a patio, a fence and drainage. One plan, one schedule, one point of responsibility.
Design the whole yard now, build it over two or three phases. Underground utilities and drainage for later phases go in with the first.
If you only need a deck or a pergola, our individual Heights service pages are the better starting point.
Photos of our projects, labeled with where they were built. Reference images are marked as such.
| Integrated design-build | Separate trades | |
|---|---|---|
| Levels and transitions | Designed together | Each trade works to what it finds |
| Drainage | Planned across the whole yard | Often solved piece by piece |
| Utilities | Conduit and gas in before surfaces | Risk of cutting new work to add later |
| Scheduling | One sequence on a tight lot | You coordinate the gaps |
| Responsibility | One contractor | Split between several |
We price from a site visit rather than a square-foot number. These are the factors that move the figure most. The budget tool gives an illustrative amount for the individual items.
Each structure, surface and utility adds cost; the plan helps you prioritize.
Drainage, electrical and gas lines are a significant share of the budget and invisible at the end.
Removing old decks, slabs and fences through a single gate.
Hardwood, natural stone and steel push the budget up compared with composite, concrete and cedar.
Building in phases can spread cost, with some remobilization cost each time.
Long, narrow lots with one gate dictate the build order and what equipment can get in.
We decide early which trees stay and design every system around their root zones.
On flat lots, water from the roof, the patio and the neighbor’s yard all needs one planned route.
Some Greater Heights properties sit inside City of Houston historic districts and some do not; ZIP codes do not tell you which. Whether a Certificate of Appropriateness is needed depends on the specific address and scope of work, not only on what is visible from the street. That review is separate from building permits, and deed restrictions are separate again. We check the address on the City historic district map at the first visit and plan drawings and schedule around whatever review actually applies.
Walk the yard, list what you want, note trees, access and water.
Layout, levels and priorities; decide on one build or phases.
Building permits and any historic or deed-restriction review.
Remove old work, then drainage, electrical and gas.
Decks, pergolas, covers and fences.
Pavers, planting, turf, lighting and final walkthrough.
Projects are led by principals Omar Afra and Pedro Salazar.
Whatever the yard needs — typically some combination of decks, pergolas or covers, pavers, fences, pool surrounds, turf or planting, lighting and drainage — designed and sequenced together.
Yes. We design the full yard first, then install drainage and utilities for later phases with the first one so nothing has to be torn up.
It depends on scope, permits and weather, and on how many trades the lot can host at once. We give you a written sequence before work starts.
Principals Omar Afra and Pedro Salazar lead design and construction, and bring in licensed engineers or specialty trades where the scope requires it.
A site visit is the fastest way to a real scope and number.