There’s nothing like summer in Calgary. The brutal cold and snow of winter seem impossible in the face of what feels like eternal days of sunshine and heat. The season is designed for spending as much time as humanly possible outside on your patio. However, as all Calgary residents know, there are a few hidden problems with the joys of summer. Calgary’s reputation as the windiest city in Canada is well deserved, and with the high winds comes bugs and dirt that can ruin a fun afternoon outside. The long sunny days can also be overpowering at times, especially on a stone patio where the heat gets stored by the stones and reflected back throughout the afternoon. It makes sense therefore to think about a patio cover to help you and your loved ones get the most out of the summer in the city.
What Is A Patio Cover?
In its most simple form, a patio cover is a permanent structure that attaches to your home to provide shade and protection over your patio. The exact form of the patio cover will be decided by a variety of factors. The size and shape of your deck will dictate the structure of your patio cover, as well as the cost, as custom shaped patios will cost more to cover than those that use standard size materials. You can also change the form of the cover, ranging from a full lattice to make it feel like a romantic pergola to a full roof that almost turns your patio into an outside room. Finally, you’ll get to choose the materials, with the most common patio cover options being a wooden post and beam system or an aluminum and vinyl combination for a more modern look.
The Benefits of A Patio Cover
It’s easy to see how a patio cover helps you to deal with the worst of the Calgary weather, but it can also redefine how you use your patio throughout the year. For example, being able to use your patio during the hottest days with some shade means that you’re more likely to put some high quality patio furniture outside to relax in. Getting protection from the wind and debris allows you to set up the grill you’ve always been dreaming of as you don’t have to worry about it get dirty or having dust and bugs blowing around as you cook.
How To Choose A High Quality Patio Cover
Like with all home improvement projects, it’s easy to look at the overall cost of a patio cover installation and try to save as much money as possible. It’s not a project that you’ll have the money ready to go for, so it does make sense to set a reasonable budget as you’ll likely need to borrow the money from somewhere. However, it’s also true that by trying to cut corners, you’ll end up with an inferior project. Given that you’ll be wanting to spend as much time as possible out under your patio cover, it’s worth considering increasing your budget a little to get a product that will last for a long time. Some tips for getting a high quality patio cover in Calgary include:
- Pick long lasting materials – it may sound obvious, but you need to pay attention to the materials that you’re using to build the patio cover. You should be provided with some options that will alter the budget of the project, but you should be concerned with materials that will last the longest without need of repair or replacement. With a patio cover, you should be looking at either vinyl or aluminum as they don’t degrade in either the strong Calgary summer sunshine or under the weight of snow and ice in the long winters. You will need to think about internal support structures depending on the size of your patio cover to make sure that the weight of either of these options doesn’t cause your patio cover to collapse.
- Think about the aesthetics – gone are the days when a patio cover simply meant sticking a sheet of plastic over your patio area and calling it good. Your new patio cover will bring everyone’s attention to your outside space, so you want to make sure it looks good. This means considering a hybrid patio cover design. This is where you have part of your patio covered by a full covering, giving optimal shade, and the other parts as either open to the elements or in a lattice configuration. This combination gives the best of both types of patio cover as well as adding a feeling of luxury and elegance to your outdoor area.
- Talk about ongoing maintenance – another great conversation to have during the design phase of your Calgary patio cover project is to talk about the maintenance of your patio cover. These tips from the professionals will give you a roadmap about how to care for your patio cover and increase its longevity. Possibly the most important piece of patio cover maintenance is keeping it clean throughout the year. This means getting up on a step ladder and clearing off excess snow and ice in the winter and debris from trees and leaves during the warmer months. While your patio cover will be strong enough to withstand a build up of nature’s debris, you’ll want to keep it clean to avoid rain water backing up and causing damage, as well as the potential for injury when hard items fall off your patio cover roof.
- Find a reputable contractor – finally, you need to work together with a local reputable contractor who understands the Calgary weather patterns and building codes. While a patio cover isn’t considered an actual home extension under Calgary building laws, you’ll need to follow code about the profile of your house, as well as making sure that what you’ve designed will work from an engineering perspective. At Desert Sun Patios, our team of patio cover experts will be able to help you plan and build your dream patio cover project to help you get the most out of the summer in Calgary.
