Handyman in McKinney, from the square to Stonebridge Ranch
Pre-war houses around the square, a big HOA to the west, and utility districts to the north that sit outside the city's permits. Send the list and we'll sort out which rules apply.
In McKinney, which part of town you're in decides more about a handyman job than the job does. Around the square, the outside of a house needs a certificate before anything changes. In Stonebridge Ranch a committee reviews basketball goals. Up in Trinity Falls, city permits may not apply at all. Indoors, it's our ordinary handyman services list wherever you are.
Shed and pergola rules in McKinney
A detached one-story shed, pergola or patio cover up to 120 square feet needs no permit. The setback grows with the size: up to 100 square feet, 1 foot from the rear and side lines; 101 to 300, 3 feet; 301 to 500, 5 feet. Pergolas, gazebos and arbors top out at 12 feet, and once one needs a permit, an aluminum or steel structure has to be engineered.
The historic district, Stonebridge Ranch and Trinity Falls
Around the downtown square, McKinney's historic overlay covers the older houses as well as the shops. Changing anything visible from the street, like windows, doors, fences, trim or light fixtures, needs a certificate of appropriateness first. Like-for-like repairs and same-color repainting don't, and in the residential blocks even a color change is exempt.
Out west, Stonebridge Ranch has more than 9,400 homes in 75 villages, and its modifications committee reviews a long list of outdoor changes, basketball goals and patios among them. North of town, much of Trinity Falls sits in municipal utility districts outside the city limits, where McKinney's building permits don't reach. Check your own address. The HOA's rules apply either way.
Craig Ranch, around the TPC course, and Tucker Hill, built as a traditional-neighborhood development off US 380, are ours too, and so are Frisco, Plano and Garland.
Before you book
Send the list and photos, and tell us which neighborhood you're in; around the square and in Stonebridge Ranch that decides the paperwork.
Call (469) 577-1791McKinney limits construction work to weekdays 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays 8 to 5, and Sunday afternoons 1 to 5. We're closed Sundays anyway, so in practice it's Monday to Saturday, and a Saturday job there starts no earlier than 8.
Once the HOA's modifications committee has signed off, yes; basketball goals are on its list. A portable goal is one visit. An in-ground one needs a cured concrete footing first.
Yes. Inside, nothing changes. Outside, anything that shows from the street needs its certificate first, and in the residential blocks the preservation officer can approve it without a board meeting.
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