You can go ahead and put a patio cover! I think its the best idea! I had one installed in our house! I googled it its an adjustable Patio cover. www.patiocover.us Its a patio cover made out of aluminum, you wont need a fan or anything, its 100% ventilation, and you can choose how much sunlight you want in. I think its good! I loved it in our house! Can we post pictures here? I have no idea how to do this!

Congratulations on your new home. Most likely there are building codes that set requirements for safety railings. Here it is 24". Like you, we didn't want an accidental fall so installed tempered glass so as not to block a view while providing protection. We installed "landing-style" steps for easier egress by senior citizens and secure transport when carrying things between the house and patio. As to building a patio, I suggest waiting a couple years for the backfill to fully settle. I've linked photos of ours Hope this helps. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: Patio and Back Lawn

Thanks for the heads up - we are analyzing bids right now for a major remodel. Plaster, equipment, deck, etc. Luckily, our pool is pretty empty right now, except for a wayward sprinkler head that adds a few inches to the pool every day (gotta get out there and fix that!).

In front of our house we have about 7" of ice and the perch are biting nicely. We love "poor man's shrimp", perch fillets rolled in panko and deep fried, served with cocktail sauce. And the commute, well, I have a Subaru with bad ass studded snows and a high speed internet connection for the days I can't make it to the Syracuse and DH is a SAHD, so he can pick and choose his trips to town. Here's a few more pics for your DH, and tell him we love to make Ithaca a day trip, small city hippie culture and lunch at the Moosewood, a great cabin fever cure when we've had enough playing in the snow. Summer: Winter, DD and our neighbor: sandyponder