I think we had this conversation before. The husband is adamantly opposed to St Augustine. Is not going to happen. I've tried Shadow Turf, also from Fanick's. There's a patch in the front that I planted a year ago. It barely budged. However, it was VERY shaded under a cedar elm. Eventually I trimmed back the tree substantially, though that was in the autumn. My hope was that it'd fill in, and I'd use it to plug the side yard. A year later, that area is still mostly dirt. It's finally spreading, but very slowly even with the extra sun it didn't have a year ago. I'd be more than happy if it took over the side yard, but it wasn't going to happen for a few years and we've already had 4 years of weeds and dirt. It also costs a small fortune and this is a large space (took 4 pallets of grass) and could probably do with one more to fill in the sides. Everyone I know in SA with zoysia has been really happy with it a few years on, even in shadier spaces than we have, so I feel pretty comfortable with it. Each area gets at least 4 hours of sun, some more, at different times of the day (part of the lawn is shaded in the morning, but the other half is full sun; opposite in afternoon). I'm not found of the ash (if indeed that is what it is), I prefer the palm. The husband doesn't want ANY trees cut down (I convinced him we had to lose some if we were going to have any grass, and that most were weeds anyway, so we got rid of a few weed trees last autumn). Then the ash was trimmed and 'shaped' and looked quite good, but I'm not going to hire an arborist on a regular basis. I'll give it another year then fight that battle ;) (The St A vs. Zoysia is not one I'll ever win, so I won't bother). I'd be happy to lose one of the pecans, or at least cut it back a bit more, but one battle at a time... In any case, I'm trying to figure out what's going to work under this tree. I hate the chainlink but that also isn't moving for a number of years (too expensive to replace), but I don't want to plant shrubs which will block out my neighbor's plants which include some vines that will eventually cover the side fence. if I plant shrubs its going to block what little sun their side gets. I'm ok with waiting for their plants to grow and cover the fence. We're not really worried about a privacy fence there, that would make it difficult for us to chat over the fence ;) I don't like roses (yes, I'm strange but I have no love for them). I do like the Indian hawthorne, but I thought that required full sun? This doesn't get nearly that much sun. I love lavender also, but I don't see that doing very well in this spot. Is there something similar that would work and is at least moderately drought tolerant? The grass edges will be smoothed eventually. Right now I'm trying to fight off the weeds in the dirt where we didn't clear to plant. Once I figure out if I'm going to let the grass spread or put a border, then I'll clean up the edges. One step at a time.

I can tell you this: extending a low-pitch roof is looking for trouble. We have tons of these "patios" that were converted open sun rooms (that were just screen porches, but made into part of the existing structure by pitching the roofs a little) and they are giving our residents here nothing but trouble. Not only does the snow here destroy them and cause leaks, but the rubber roofs are a headache. (Not that I'm complaining, I get 30% of my work from them!) But just sayin' - hope you don't live up North. Now - as to the extension: It's going to be too long- too short. You'll find that the inspectors will want you to hire an architect to assure the soundness of the build. They will also prefer that you match the existing structure.

Perhaps it's the photo, but the area to the right seems to slope away from the patio. I would slope the roof in that direction. Does water flow from the left either from your downspout or your neighbor's yard? If so, you can consider a French drain. Where the drain is put depends on where the excess water is coming from. It might be better to run it down the side of your home towards the front yard into a rain garden. The best plants for a rain garden are those that don't mind occasional wet feet but will also do well in dry conditions. Here is a list for Pennsylvania and here is one for Texas. Do a search for "rain garden plants" for your state. The simplest fix for keeping water off your patio is to raise the patio level with a layer of pavers. Way simpler than digging trenches. As to moss in your yard, I have to ask why? Do you have a high annual rainfall and/or many cloudy, humid days? Is your soil a heavy clay? Is the soil deeply wet or only wet on the surface? I don't see any trees in your yard, so it ought to dry out enough to keep moss at bay. However, even less dense soil can become compacted and resist rain infiltration. The fix for dense, compacted soil is to aerate it and add a thin top dressing of sifted compost. This is best done in the spring of each year. Be sure to water well a couple of days before aerating as well as after adding the compost.

This is the only entry, so you don’t see it until you get all the way up the driveway Shady. Rain is the reason for needing an overhang, Hu. We get windy rain off the bay. The door on the cottage started out as a Dutch door but we had to have it converted to a regular door. The rain was blowing right in where the top and bottom halves of the door met.