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Porches & Decks Design Dilemma Exterior

Patio Cover Dilemma

6 years ago

We are purchasing a new house and my "Day 1 task" is to build a patio cover, or porch cover. The HOA rules are loose enough to do whatever but with the variety of windows, fireplace protrusion, and curved porch, I'm needing advice. Help!

Featured Answer

Judy Mishkin

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

be certain you know which way the sun comes all through the warm weather so the cover covers where you want to sit, not what is convenient to cover.

it may be that a pergola, a distance from the house, will actually shade where you want to sit. especially if you want afternoon seating, not high noon shade.

patience, grasshopper. if it was an easy solution, the previous owner would have built it.

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Comments (10)

mmilos
6 years ago
I think I'd add more patio on the left side and remove the large shrub. Have a cover coming out from the single story portion of your home.
dr_kellyreyna thanked mmilos
tqtqtbw
6 years ago
Any plans for a pool?
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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
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i would start by looking at a lot of photos at houzz for materials that appeal to you. then with a large sheet of graph paper, with your covered porch and house drawn to scale at one side... and pieces of paper of outdoor furniture you have or want to buy. lay it out on the open paper... make a grill zone... conversation zone.... think about what you want to look at when you look out the window. think HARD about how much space you want between zones. draw a shape that you like around your furnishings... and get estimates on how much it would cost to build THAT SHAPE. hopefully you wont get knocked off your chair by the price. if its too much discuss how much to build the same space with a less expensive material... say poured concrete instead of pavers. or less space with the same material, there are two ways to go less expensive. but i'd rather have a lower cost material be the size i want than something still pricey AND too small. what rooms are in the back of your house? its a nice thing to someday open up a window to become patio doors... so maybe don't have the patio just to the side...
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It would probably look better if the concrete foundation was painted. For ease of maintenance I would opt for a perennial or groundcover that comes up to 1/2 to 3/4 of the concrete height ... so that you would not need careful pruning on an occasional basis. With a groundcover or perennial there is either only modest edging to do, or a periodic (annual) cut-to-the-ground-for-freshening task to do. Little artistic skill required for that. At the window use a low plant that doesn't cover any glass.
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Because it is an outside area and not an actual window, I would use bamboo or some smaller trees to cover them. You don't have to put them right in front of the windows...there is space between the fence and the wall to put them up. This preserves the nature feel and does the privacy trick. Best of Luck.
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dr_kellyreyna
Original Author
6 years ago
@tqtqtbw no plans for a pool. We have one now and don't desire one in the future; too much work. We like the neighbors pool! lol.
User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Not a feasible or cheap project without replacing windows, the bay, or both.
dr_kellyreyna thanked User
dr_kellyreyna
Original Author
6 years ago
Great point, @ninigret! The porch is north of the house; house faces south. It's Texas, so we have big sky and hot sun, need porch with fan to be able to utilize the space and cool the bird dogs.
wacokid
6 years ago
Unless you build a free standing patio cover away from the house in the back, it would be difficult to get it close to the house. You do not want to look out your back windows at a beam used for the cover. I would not put one in the front. I would re-sculpture the two high plants in the front.
dr_kellyreyna thanked wacokid
noisycats
6 years ago
Yes. Like wacokid said, I recommend a freestanding structure. Nothing approaching, obstructing, nor touching that back is going to look good.
dr_kellyreyna thanked noisycats
sillycannoli
6 years ago
I would get 2 frontgate offset umbrellas. I have their umbrellas and they cover a big area and you can tilt them different ways depending on where the sun is. They're pretty sturdy as they have survived several nor'easters.
dr_kellyreyna thanked sillycannoli
tqtqtbw
6 years ago
1) Maybe a two part design. The portion between the bay windows would be an open pergola design, height at the center section window brick line. Back from there and in the direction needed to provide shade, a solid covered patio cover with the misting system, fans, outdoor kitchen, the whole set up.

We didn't have the 2-story windows to deal with but do have bays. We covered the 10x10 builder concrete patio and then built a 16x16 pergola covered deck behind that. You have more space, more options.

2) Second idea - use umbrellas close to the house as suggested and build a solid cover further away from the house.
dr_kellyreyna thanked tqtqtbw

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