Terms — the Paperwork Before the Posts
When a shade quote becomes a commitment, how approvals set the calendar, what a slab can hide, and who is building the thing. Read it once; it is shorter than an HOA submittal.
Measured on the slab, then it holds
A ballpark from slab size and facing comes on the first callback, and it is called a ballpark. The written quote follows the on-site measure and names the roof type, the attachment, the footings, any electrical rough-in and the approvals work, each with its price, and from then on it holds. The per-square-foot ranges on the covers page are the New Braunfels market; the measured quote is the number.
Approvals set the calendar
The permit application and the HOA submittal go in first, with drawings we prepare. Winning the association's approval is your side of the job, and the build date is set the day it lands rather than before. Approvals usually take two to four weeks, decided mostly by the association's meeting schedule.
What the slab can hide
Three discoveries can shift a written figure, and each one is shown to you before the crew carries on: a slab too thin or too cracked to carry posts, so footings are poured beside it instead; a roofline tie-in that needs different flashing than the drawings assumed; and an electrical run the panel cannot carry without work. No line reaches the invoice without first being agreed on the patio.
Fans, lights and the rough-in
Fan blocks, switched circuits and outlets are asked about up front because they cost the least on install day. After the panels are on, adding them means fishing wire, and that is quoted as a separate job.
Timber has a maintenance clause
A framed wood cover asks for a stain-and-seal cycle in Texas sun. The schedule is explained at handover and is yours to keep; graying or checking from a skipped cycle is weathering, not a defect in the build.
The corridor
New Braunfels, Seguin, Schertz, Cibolo and Canyon Lake. Nearby in Comal or Guadalupe County? Bring it up when you call; the answer arrives on that same call, and no travel charge turns up on the quote later.
Who is building it
This site's part is the introduction. The builder who measures your slab is the builder who sets the posts and flashes the roof, and the structure is theirs, start to finish. At the measure, ask to see that builder's insurance paperwork; a crew that attaches roofs to houses expects the question.
Reading material, and the quote
The material comparisons, the cost guide and the town pages explain how shade structures are built and priced in this corridor. They are background reading. The measured quote for your patio is the only commitment.
Holds from 15 September 2026.