Patio Covers & Carports
The cover is the easy part. Where it meets your house is the job.
An attached patio cover is a roof, and it has to be flashed into your existing roof or wall the way a roof is. Most of the failed patio covers we are called to were built by someone who treated it as a carpentry project with a lean-to on the end, sealed the connection with mastic, and left.
Two or three years later the water is running down inside the wall, and the homeowner thinks the patio is fine because the leak shows up in the back bedroom.
The connection detail
Where the new roof meets the house, there must be a ledger board flashed into the wall or the existing roof, with the flashing lapped correctly under the housewrap or under the shingle course above it, so water sheds over the joint rather than into it. Sealant alone across that joint is a two year solution. This is the single most important part of the entire structure and it is the part you cannot see once it is finished.
Pitch decides the material
Patio covers are usually built at a shallow pitch, because headroom at the house and clearance at the outer edge do not leave much fall. That immediately rules out shingles on a lot of them.
- Above 4:12, shingles matching the house are straightforward and look right.
- Between 2:12 and 4:12, shingles are only acceptable with doubled underlayment and specific detailing.
- Below 2:12, it needs metal or a membrane, not shingles, whatever anyone tells you. Why that is.
Standing seam metal is frequently the right answer on a patio cover. It works at low pitch, it looks intentional, and it lasts. The one thing to know is that rain on metal over an open patio is loud, which some people love and some people cannot live with.
The things that catch people out
- Permits. An attached structure generally requires one, and in this metro which authority issues it depends on your exact address. Six separate incorporated cities sit inside what people call Memorial. Your area page says which one is yours.
- Setbacks and lot coverage. Cities limit how close to a property line you can build and what proportion of the lot can be covered. This is a very common reason a plan has to change.
- Deed restrictions and HOA approval, which are separate from the permit and frequently stricter. Both have to clear.
- Drainage. Adding a covered area sends a new volume of water somewhere. If that somewhere is against your slab or into your neighbour's yard, you have created a problem. It needs guttering and a discharge plan.
- Foundation. Posts need proper footings. On Houston's expansive clay, posts set in shallow concrete move with the soil and the structure racks.
What we build
Attached patio covers, carports, porch roof extensions and roof-over conversions on existing slabs. Framed timber or steel, finished in shingle to match, standing seam metal, or membrane depending on the pitch. Flashed into the house properly, guttered, and with the water taken somewhere sensible.
What we do not do is anything requiring a stamped engineer's drawing we did not commission, or a structure carrying loads it was not designed for. If your plan needs an engineer, we will tell you that at the quote rather than partway through.
What it costs, and how you can check
Every job on this page is priced Cost Plus. You see the supplier invoice for the materials, the crew hours at our published rate, the permit and disposal at what they actually cost, and one service fee of 20 to 30 percent set by job complexity and locked before anything starts. There is no second number and no change order conversation after the fact. The full breakdown is here.
Common Questions
Do I need a permit for a patio cover in Houston?
An attached structure generally does, and which authority issues it depends on your address. Deed restrictions and HOA approval are separate from the permit and often stricter, so both have to be cleared.
Can you attach a patio cover to my existing roof?
Yes, and that connection is the most important part of the job. It needs a properly flashed ledger lapped into the existing roof or wall, not sealant across the joint.
What is the best roofing for a patio cover?
Pitch decides it. Below about 2:12 it needs metal or a membrane rather than shingles. Standing seam metal suits most patio covers well, with the caveat that rain on metal over an open patio is loud.
Will a patio cover cause drainage problems?
It can, because you are collecting water that previously fell on open ground. It needs guttering and a discharge point clear of your foundation and off your neighbour's lot. We plan that as part of the build.
Get a Cost Plus quote for patio covers & carports
Free inspection, photographed and written up, with a line-by-line quote inside one business day.
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