Custom pool houses and pergolas, built by a home builder.
Cabanas, guest suites, louvered pergolas, and covered lounges, designed and built as real architecture: foundation, plumbing, power, and finishes that match your home. Not a kit. Not a shed.
- The outdoor-living arm of Stephen Alexander Homes
- Permits, engineering, and inspections handled for you
- Engineered for coastal wind loads and salt air
Get Your Free Design Quote
Prefer to talk now? Call (757) 692-7002.
You already have the pool. Now build the part you actually live in.
Most homeowners who find us already have the water. What is missing is shade, storage, a place to change, a place to host. Pick the structure you have in mind.
Pool Houses & Cabanas
Real construction with foundation, plumbing, power, and HVAC. A cabana, a guest suite, or an entertainment pavilion built to match your home.
See pool house options
Pergolas & Covered Structures
Louvered, motorized, and fixed-roof structures engineered for coastal wind and salt air, so your backyard works in April and October, not just July.
Compare structuresA pool house is architecture, not a shed.
Every pool house we build starts with a footing and a permit and ends at final inspection. Climate-controlled interiors, wet bars and kitchenettes, full baths and changing rooms, exterior finishes coordinated with the main house.
Poolside Cabana
Shade, a changing space, and a place to keep towels and gear out of the sun. The lightest way to make the pool livable.
Guest Suite
A conditioned bedroom and full bath for family and guests, built to the same standard as the main house.
Entertainment Pavilion
An open lounge with a wet bar or kitchenette, TV wall, and covered dining for hosting through the season.
Storage + Bath
A working structure with a half or full bath, equipment storage, and a covered porch. Practical, permitted, and built to last.
Climate-controlled interiors
Wet bars and kitchenettes
Bathrooms and changing rooms
Exterior finishes matched to your home
Four ways to cover the backyard, compared honestly.
Fixed, louvered, motorized, or fully covered. Each one changes how much sun, rain, and season you control. Here is how they line up.
| Feature | Fixed Pergola | Louvered (Manual) | Louvered (Motorized) | Covered Pavilion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shade control | Partial, fixed | Adjustable by hand | Adjustable by app or remote | Full, permanent |
| Rain protection | None | Yes, when closed | Yes, with rain sensor | Yes |
| Material | Cedar or aluminum | Aluminum | Aluminum | Framed structure + roof |
| Add-ons | Lighting | Lighting, screens | Lighting, screens, heaters, fans | Lighting, screens, ceiling |
| Typical price tier | Entry | Mid | High | High |
Custom-engineered, not a catalog kit. Every structure is spec'd for your lot, your wind exposure, and the salt air, then permitted and inspected like any other build.
Pergola, covered patio, or pool house.
A quick way to place yourself before the consultation.
You want shade you can adjust
- You mostly need to control sun over a patio or seating area
- You want the option to open the roof on a perfect day
- Lighting, screens, or heaters would extend your season
You want a permanent roof
- You want to sit outside in any weather, rain included
- You want a finished ceiling, fans, and full outdoor lighting
- An outdoor kitchen or dining area needs real cover
You want a room, not just cover
- You need a bathroom, changing room, or kitchen by the pool
- You want conditioned, year-round space for guests
- The structure should read as an extension of your home
Honest ranges, before you fill anything out.
We do not publish exact quotes because no two lots are the same. These are the bands most Hampton Roads projects land in.
Depends on size, plumbing, HVAC, and finish level. A full bath, kitchenette, and matched exterior finishes move a project up the range.
Fixed and manual louvered structures start lowest. Motorized systems, larger spans, and covered pavilions with finished ceilings sit higher.
Financing through HFS Financial
Spread a pool house or pergola over a monthly payment. We can walk through options with you before you commit to a design.
If you are looking for a prefab kit, we are not the right fit. We build permitted structures to a home-builder standard.
Permitted for the coast, engineered for the salt air.
- Permits and inspectionsFooting, foundation, framing, insulation, and final. A habitable structure always requires them, and we handle the process.
- Chesapeake Bay Act & FEMA flood zonesResource Protection Area buffers and elevation certificates handled where your lot requires them.
- Coastal wind loads and salt airStructures engineered to ASCE 7 coastal wind, with aluminum, coatings, and stainless hardware chosen to resist corrosion.
- HOA submittalsWe prepare and submit the drawings your neighborhood board needs, so approval is one less thing on you.
We pull the permits. You approve the design.
Built and stood behind.
We had an excellent experience with Agua Vida on our pool, pool house, fire pit, and backyard. They helped us think through the layout and materials so everything came together cohesively, and the natural stone work makes the space feel like a Mediterranean resort. They stayed responsive after completion too.
Agua Vida is an amazing company to build your pool house. Part of Stephen Alexander Homes, their professionalism and depth of resources show. They worked around our existing pool to fit it in the permitted area, and their design studio let us customize everything. Worth every cent.
I've referred many clients to the team at Agua Vida over the years, and the feedback is consistently outstanding. They are there every step of the process, making sure clients feel informed, comfortable, and confident. Their professionalism, communication, and attention to detail set them apart.
A poolside pool house with a conditioned lounge, wet bar, and covered porch, finished to match the main home and built to a home-builder standard from footing to final.
A two-story guest structure taken from framing to a finished board-and-batten exterior, with a full wet bar inside. Permitted, inspected, and matched to the main house.
From first call to final inspection.
Consultation & Feasibility
We talk through what you want, your lot, and whether it can be permitted.
2 to 3 daysSite Visit & Proposal
We come out, measure, check setbacks, and put a real proposal in front of you.
About 1 hourDesign & Contract
We design the structure to match your home and lock the scope and finishes.
Design phasePermitting & Scheduling
We pull permits, order materials, and set your build dates.
1 to 2+ weeksConstruction
Pergolas go up in days. Pool houses take weeks, through to final inspection.
Days to weeksStructures across Coastal Virginia.
Let's design the structure your backyard is missing.
A free design quote is the first step. We will talk through your lot, your goals, and what a permitted, home-builder-grade structure would look like.
Get My Free QuotePool house and pergola questions.
How much does a custom pool house cost in Virginia Beach?
Most custom pool houses in Hampton Roads land between $75k and $180k, depending on size, plumbing, HVAC, and finish level. A cabana with no plumbing sits lower. A conditioned guest suite with a full bath and matched finishes sits higher. We give you a real range for your lot during the consultation.
Do I need a permit for a pool house or pergola in Virginia Beach?
A habitable pool house always requires a permit and inspections, and larger accessory structures usually do as well. We handle the permitting process, including footing, foundation, framing, insulation, and final inspections, so you do not have to.
How long does it take to build a pool house?
A custom pool house with a bath and finished interior typically takes a few months from permit to final inspection, because it involves a real foundation and inspections. Pergolas and covered structures go up much faster, often in days once permitted. We give you a schedule before construction starts.
Louvered versus fixed pergola: which do I need?
Choose a fixed pergola if you want partial, permanent shade at the lowest cost. Choose a louvered pergola if you want to open and close the roof to control sun and rain. Motorized louvered systems add app or remote control and rain sensors. We help you decide based on how you use the space.
Will a louvered pergola keep the rain out?
Yes. When the louvers are closed, a quality louvered roof sheds rain and channels it away through the frame. Motorized systems can close automatically with a rain sensor, so you stay dry even when you are not home.
Are your structures rated for coastal wind and salt air?
Yes. We engineer structures to ASCE 7 coastal wind loads and specify aluminum, protective coatings, and stainless hardware to resist salt air corrosion. This is a core part of building in a coastal market rather than an inland one.
Can you build if I already have a pool?
Absolutely. Many of our clients already have a pool and are adding the shade, storage, or living space they wish they had built the first time. We work around the existing pool and match the new structure to your home.
Do you offer financing?
Yes. We work with HFS Financial so you can spread a pool house or pergola over a monthly payment. We can walk through options during your consultation.
Do you handle HOA approval?
Yes. We prepare and submit the drawings and documentation your neighborhood board needs for architectural review, so approval is one less thing on your plate.
Do you build in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Williamsburg?
Yes. We build across Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, and Williamsburg. If you are nearby and unsure whether we cover your area, ask us in your consultation.
Your free design quote is a scroll away.
Tell us about your home and the structure you have in mind. We will talk through what is possible on your lot and outline what a home-builder-grade pool house or pergola would look like.
- Complimentary, no-pressure design quote
- Permits and engineering handled for you
- One team, from design through final inspection
Get Your Free Design Quote
Prefer to talk now? Call (757) 692-7002.
Call (757) 692-7002