Outdoor Kitchens, Fire Features and Pergolas: Build Them With the Pool

The expensive mistake here is not what you build. It is when.

Most homeowners think about outdoor kitchens, fire pits and pergolas as phase two. Get the pool in this year, add the rest later once the budget recovers.

It is completely understandable and it is usually the most expensive way to do it.

These structures share materials, crews, substrate and utility runs with your pool and decking. Built alongside, they use work that is already happening. Added later, they mean cutting into finished hardscape, bringing crews back, and matching materials that may no longer be available in the same lot.

So the useful decision is not whether you can afford all of it now. It is which parts you can rough in now so that adding them later is cheap rather than disruptive.

What we build alongside a pool

Outdoor kitchens and grill cabinets. Fire pits and fire features. Pergolas. Planters. Retaining walls. Patio extensions.

All of it sits in the same design conversation as the pool itself, and all of it is drawn into the same 3D rendering so you can see the whole backyard rather than the water in isolation.

Outdoor kitchens and grill cabinets

The scale of these varies enormously, from a built in grill cabinet with a counter to a full kitchen with sink, refrigeration and seating.

The decisions that matter most:

Where it sits relative to the pool and the house. Far enough from the water that splash is not an issue, close enough to the house that carrying things is not a trek. This is a traffic pattern problem more than an aesthetic one.

Which way the cook faces. Facing a wall means the person cooking has their back to everyone. Facing the pool means they are part of it. This sounds minor and it determines whether the kitchen gets used socially.

Utilities. Gas, water, drainage and power all have to reach it. These are far easier to run while the yard is open and trenches exist.

Shade and smoke. Where does smoke go, and is the cook standing in full afternoon sun?

Counter space. Consistently underestimated. Somewhere to put a platter matters more than an extra burner.

Fire features

Fire is what extends a North Texas backyard into the months when the pool is not comfortable. Between the spa and a fire feature, a backyard becomes year round rather than seasonal.

Options range from a simple fire pit to fire bowls integrated into pool walls or raised structures.

Gas or wood is the first decision. Gas is instant, controllable and requires a line run to the location. Wood involves storage, ash and a genuine ritual that some people specifically want.

Where the seating goes matters as much as the feature. A fire pit with nowhere comfortable to sit around it is decoration. Work out the seating first, then place the fire.

Distance from the pool and from structures is both a safety and a comfort question. Local requirements may apply to placement, so confirm with your city.

Wind. Note the prevailing direction before choosing a spot, particularly for wood.

Pergolas and shade

Shade is not a luxury in this climate. It is what determines whether a deck is usable in July.

A pergola or covered structure changes how much of the year the space works, and it is worth treating as infrastructure rather than ornament.

Where it goes should follow where the sun actually is at the times you use the backyard. Stand out there at four in the afternoon and look at where you want to be sitting. That is where the shade belongs.

Footings matter here. A pergola is a structure with posts going into ground that moves seasonally. In North Texas expansive clay, that is an engineering consideration rather than a detail. What clay soil does to structures around a pool.

Coordinate materials with your coping and decking so the backyard reads as designed rather than assembled. More on material selection.

Why sequencing saves real money

These structures sit in the finishes phase of a pool build, alongside tile, coping, electrical and decking. That is deliberate.

At that point the yard is already open, crews are already on site, hardscape substrate is being prepared anyway, and utility trenching is either open or straightforward. Adding masonry to that is incremental.

Coming back in two years means the opposite: cutting into finished decking, working around a filled pool, re-trenching for gas or power, and matching stone from a different batch.

Where this phase sits in the build.

If you cannot do it all now

This is the practical middle path, and it is worth raising with your builder explicitly.

Rough in the utilities now. Run gas, water and power to where the future kitchen or fire feature will go, and cap them. Trenching while the yard is open costs a fraction of trenching through a finished deck.

Pour the substrate now. If the pad for a future structure goes in with the decking, adding the structure later is straightforward.

Set footings now for a future pergola.

Buy the stone now if a later phase needs to match, and store it.

Doing this properly requires deciding roughly what phase two looks like during phase one design, which is the part homeowners skip. It does not need to be final. It needs to be located.

Frequently asked questions

Is it cheaper to build an outdoor kitchen with the pool or later?
With the pool, and often substantially. The structures share crews, substrate, utility trenching and materials with work already happening. Adding one later means cutting into finished hardscape, re-trenching and matching stone from a different batch.

Can I add a fire pit to an existing pool area?
Yes, and it is one of the more feasible later additions, particularly a gas feature if a line can be reached without crossing finished decking. Placement requirements may apply locally, so confirm with your city.

What should I rough in now if I am building later?
Utilities to the future location, capped. Substrate or a pad where a structure will sit. Footings for a pergola. And stone from the current batch if a later phase needs to match. All of it is inexpensive while the yard is open.

Do I need a permit for an outdoor kitchen or pergola?
Often yes, and it depends on your city, the structure and any utility work involved. HOA approval may also be required separately. Confirm both with your building department and your HOA rather than assuming.

How much shade do I actually need?
Enough to cover where you will sit at the hottest part of the day you use the backyard. Stand outside at four in the afternoon in summer and note where you want to be. That is the answer, and it is more useful than a square footage figure.

Should the grill face the pool?
Generally yes. A cook facing a wall has their back to everyone, which is the difference between an outdoor kitchen that gets used socially and one that gets used to cook.

The bottom line

Decide what your finished backyard looks like now, even if you build it in stages.

Then rough in the utilities, pour the substrate, set the footings and buy the stone. Doing that while the yard is open turns an expensive phase two into a straightforward one.

And take shade seriously. It is the single thing that decides how many months a year the space is worth being in.

Who You Build With Matters®

Our gallery shows finished outdoor living spaces built alongside pools. If you want to plan the whole backyard rather than just the water, that is the conversation to have.