Make Your Patio Cover an Extension of Your Home

One of the most common mistakes inexperienced Houston builders make when putting up a patio cover is not matching it seamlessly to the house. If you can tell where the house left off and the cover was added, you are looking at an amateur job. After all, the goal of a patio cover in Houston is not just to shade you from the sun and protect you from the rain; you also want to improve the value of your residence.

Make Your Patio Cover an Extension of Your Home

Get out of the Sun

Fan Houston

Make Your Patio Cover an Extension of Your Home

You know perfectly well what the weather is like in Houston during the summer. In fact, most of the year is hot and rainy. A patio cover will provide shelter from sun and rain, enhance the beauty of your home, and increase your living space. Talk about your win/win situation.

Make Your Patio Cover an Extension of Your Home

By putting up a cover, you enable yourself to enjoy the outdoors regardless of the weather. That barbecue you planned for the weekend doesn't need to be canceled if those thunderclouds burst, and no one will need to run through a storm to flip the steaks while the guests crowd around the kitchen. Add a brazier and you can use the patio year round for social gatherings.

Features to Consider

Recessed lighting, ceiling fans, gas lines, and decorative columns are pretty standard. If you want a bit more panache, you have many things you can choose. Add some walls and make a partially enclosed cover so you can use it year round and decrease the odds of rain infiltration. Outdoor draperies can shade you as the sun sets and keeps the sun out of your eyes. Customized concrete or brick work can enhance the look of your patio floor.

Of course, not all covers look the same. Perhaps your best selection is a peaked roof that blends seamlessly with the original roof line - shingles and all. A flat roof that is solid or one that is slatted can be fitted to houses with different styles. Do you own a two story home? Let the top of your cover become a deck that leads out from your master suite. If you have pictures of patio covers you like, bring them out and show them to your potential Houston builder. Communication is essential to getting exactly what you want.

Pick the Right Person

I can't stress this enough; find the right Houston builder. You will be spending a significant amount of money on this renovation and you want quality. Between hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme rainfall, and other weather phenomena common to the Houston area, the structure had better be ready to withstand a lot. A company that has been around for a year may offer you a better price up front, but a shoddy job costs you a lot more in the long run.

Ask people who have had a patio cover built if they would use their builder again. If they would, ask for the name. If you must go search online yourself, ask for references that are recent and go look at the work - with the owners' permission. You will get ideas for your own job as well as reassuring yourself that you are picking the right individual. This will ensure that your new patio cover will blend seamlessly with your home and provide years of pleasure.

Make Your Patio Cover an Extension of Your Home