If you enjoy seeing physical evidence of the passing of each season, Calgary is an amazing city to live in. Summers are long, hot and sunny, while the snow banks seem to last forever in the winter months. Spring and fall act as true transitions between the two main seasons, and you’ll want to enjoy it all from the comfort of your patio. However, with these extremes in weather patterns comes a lot of environmental damage. In the summer, your patio can bake in the hot sun, and in winter, ice can freeze and expand between the cracks in just one snowstorm. At all times of year, the perennial Calgary winds bring dust and debris to your patio, so it’s essential to find a way to protect it during each season.
Why Choose A Patio Cover
It’s of course possible to try and protect your patio manually throughout the year. This usually involves a lot of sweeping, shovelling and power washing to keep the debris and ice from doing permanent damage. For a quicker fix, you need to consider about installing a patio cover. A patio cover is a permanent structure that attaches to your home and provides overhead protection to your patio. In the summer, this means plenty of shade while in the winter it’ll keep most of the snow and ice away from the surface of your patio. In the spring and fall, a patio cover will also break up the wind and provide shelter from the rains and snowmelt. In all seasons, a Calgary patio cover offers you and your patio furniture protection from the elements.
Looking After Your Patio Cover
The main purpose of your patio cover is to look after your patio throughout the year. In return, you also need to look after your patio cover so it can continue to provide you with that year round protection. Simple maintenance includes:
- Clean the roof – keep the roof clear of debris in the summer and ice in the winter is a surefire way of keeping your patio cover in good condition for longer. You’ll either need a long handled broom or a stepladder to get to all the sections of the roof as you don’t want to leave anything up there that could cause permanent damage.
- Touch up the paint or stain – regardless of whether you have a wooden post and beam patio cover or a modern looking aluminium and vinyl combo, you’ll want to make sure that you patch up any gaps in the paint or damage to the wood as soon as the snow starts to melt. This simple maintenance will stop your patio from breaking down.
- Sweep around the base – finally, sweeping is going to be part of your patio owner lifestyle with or without a patio cover. However, you should pay special attention to the base of your patio cover to make sure nothing gets in that could cause long lasting damage.
