March Madness: The Sweet 16 for Your Patio

March 5, 2014 Outdoor Living, Patio Design
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Whether it’s college basketball or patio construction, the road to the final four is an exciting one!

Choosing the best design elements is a tough game. It’s best to approach it with a strategy in mind and a good knowledge of all the players. We’ve pulled out the Sweet 16 of the following categories to help you narrow down your options through the Elite Eight and down to the Final Four, including one in each of the following categories:

  • Flooring
  • Columns
  • Ceiling
  • Roof Shape

Download our Patio Bracketology PDF to discover which patio options will make it to your Final Four.

Take your patio options through these elimination rounds on the road to the final four to discover which options will come out on top!

The Brackets

Patio Bracketology

Flooring

The flooring you select sets the stage for your outdoor living space. Pavers and tile give a good showing with predictable patterns. Natural flagstone brings home the Texas Hill Country look. A stamped overlay gives a lot of versatility on the floor. It is flexible enough to look like random natural stone, patterned tile or even wood. Based on its performance, it is a favored pick among homeowners. Some flooring options that did not advance to the Sweet 16 are plain concrete (which is the base for almost all of our flooring options) and acid stained concrete. Both options are virtually maintenance free and durable.

Columns

Your choices in column options can help your patio blend seamlessly with the architecture of your home or make a powerfully contrasting statement to bring interest to your outdoor living space. A full brick column easily ties into a home, especially if the back of the home is all brick. Many homes in our area have hardie siding on the back, so the combination of masonry and HardieĀ® does a nice job of reintroducing the stone or brick from the front of the house again in the backyard. Masonry and cedar gives a rustic, Hill Country look. Full stone is a popular option for pool owners, who have a lot of stone around their pools and also for home owners whose facade features a lot of stone work. Stucco and decorative fiberglass column surrounds are column alternatives that didn’t make the round this time, but are fantastic options on stucco or very traditional homes, respectively.

Ceilings

In the design process, the ceiling is often underestimated in its ability to bring the entire project together. A ceiling, done right, can make an outdoor living space project a slam dunk. Let’s take a look at the contenders. A painted HardieĀ® ceiling is a good option to match an existing patio cover, as many builders choose this option during construction. Tongue and Groove Wood (spruce, pine or cedar) adds richness and warmth. Reclaimed wood brings a rustic, old-world charm. Tin tiles can give a unique, vintage flavor to the ceiling.

Roof Shape

The roof shape brings new definition to the architecture of the entire home. For most homes, a hip roof, one that slopes on all sides, will allow the patio cover to blend seamlessly into the architecture of the home and provide plenty of shade. A shed roof is a great fit on a two-story home with windows above the patio space, because it is a single-sloped roof with vertical sides. The loftiness of an open gable roof provides height and a soaring view. When the existing roofline and windows present tie-in challenges, a combination hip and gable roof is a solid and versatile player.

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August Project of the Month

August 23, 2012 Patio Design, Project of the Month

Our Project of the Month is this 30-year-old home, which sits on an acreage lot with plenty of room. Prior to our project, however, it had no covered outdoor living space. The new homeowner wanted to create an inviting space for entertaining and lounging while enjoying the views of their gorgeous backyard. Image

The home has lovely extensive windows in the back, so we decided to build the patio cover off the 2nd story roof. We added the arches to give the feeling of a more enclosed space and to add protection from the elements under the cover. When we couldn’t match the brick of the home, we went with a contrasting Oklahoma Chop stone (rustic blend).

The project includes a dramatic corner fireplace and beautiful stamped concrete in a flagstone pattern. Sconce lighting on the house and columns provides a great accent to the project.

See larger versions of these photos in our Flickr Photostream.

How to Choose a Finish for Your Patio Ceiling

April 20, 2012 Patio Design

Your patio is the ideal place to spend leisurely hours with family and friends — and a patio cover allows you to enjoy this outdoor room even more. Ā Usually the exterior of the patio cover is designed to match your home, but the underside offers a chance to get creative. Ā  Ā A decorative, finished patio ceiling is an aesthetic undertaking rather than a structural necessity, but this extra step adds visual appeal, creates a focal point for outdoor entertaining, and can enhance resale values.

There are several options and styles for finishing your patio ceiling, including fiber cement, tongue and groove, T1-11 panels, vinyl panels, and tin tile.Ā  Depending on your budget and time constraints, the options are limited only by your imagination.

Fiber Cement

Hardiepanel ceiling

The most common finish for an exterior ceiling is a fiber cement product such asĀ HardiePanel.Ā  This finish comes in 4×8 sheets and is generally installed with H-mould at the seams. It can then be painted to match or complement the home.Ā  Fiber cement can be used on flat or vaulted ceilings.Ā  With a 50-year warranty for materials, fiber cement products provide years of low-maintenance use.

Tongue and Groove

ā€œTongue and grooveā€ means that each piece has a tongue side and a groove side:Ā  one tongue fits snugly into the groove of the adjoining board. This option is ideal for visible spaces that need tight, solid seams between separate pieces, with no room for imperfections. One advantage of using tongue and groove is that it lies flat across the ceiling, which helps defend against the elements.

Tongue and Groove Ceiling Finish

Tongue and groove is available in two different grades. Knotty grades provide a unique casual look, while clear grades produce a more formal look. Tongue and groove boards come in a variety of materials and a variety of widths, so you can customize your look. Common materials are cedar and pine, along with paintable composites that resist moisture.

If you choose wood boards (like cedar or pine), finishing them will help prevent darkening, damage from smoke and grease, and stains from moisture in the air. A finish also makes the ceiling easier to clean.

Exposed Rafters with T1-11 Panels

Exposed Rafters with T1-11 Panels

For another casual or rustic look, leave the rafters revealed, and add a layer of T1-11 panels under the roof decking for a more decorative finish.Ā  Exposed rafters need a more decorative grade of framing materials:Ā  try rough-cut pine if youā€™re staining the rafters, or #1 grade if youā€™re painting them.Ā  The T1-11 sheets give the appearance of tongue & groove under the rafters because the seams are hidden by the rafters.

Vinyl / PVC Panels

Vinyl and PVC are popular materials for their durability and ease of care: they wonā€™t decay and donā€™t attract bugs. They resist weatherization and experience little expansion.

Vinyl and PVC ceiling panels are available in a variety of colors and typically sport reversible edges to customize your ceiling with a bead or v-groove design. The panels install directly onto ceiling joists or onto plywood backboards with paneling nails.

Tin Tiles

Tin ceiling tiles are a charming, yet simple, solution for your patio ceiling. They install without special tools or equipment, either directly onto the ceiling joists or onto a sheet of substrate plywood.

Most home improvement stores have a variety of tile styles, including copper, brass, bronze, andĀ paint-ableĀ white. Today, most ceiling tiles are faux tin that fend off moisture and cost a fraction of the price of the antique tin tiles of yesteryear. You can leave them ā€œnaturalā€ with a simple protective top coat of exterior polyurethane, or paint them to accentuate your outdoor living space.

Final Touches

To personalize your outdoor room even further, add decorative touches to the ceiling. Add a simple splash of personality with a coat of paint — or stencil on a design with either store-bought or personally created stencil patterns. Apply decals (like giant stickers) that can either be used once or reapplied/rearranged as your mood changes. Hang clusters of decorative paper lanterns, using lighted lanterns or arranged around an overhead light to provide a soft glow.

Have a project in mind? We work throughout the Houston and Dallas - Fort Worth areas.

Our Customers Love Us

Ryan, our project manager, was both attentive and patient with every request, question, and concern that we raised at any point throughout the duration of the project. He was always a phone call or text away, responding every time in an impressively timely manner. He listened to and accommodated our requests, but he also offered suggestions to broaden our imaginations as to what we could create with simple adjustments to our design.

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