Are you the DIY kind of person who likes to be as hands on as possible? If so, then we have some patio design tips that can help you make a space you will absolutely love. As you think over ideas for how the patio might look, there could be a few things you aren’t considering or a few areas you could use some help with. Here are our best tips to help you make the patio of your dreams.
Think about Coverage
Once the patio is built, it will likely be a space you spend a lot of time on. You will want it for entertaining and for relaxing hours of soaking in the sun and the breeze. But the patio might not always be a pleasant place to hang out if you haven’t built it with coverage in mind.
You won’t be able to use an uncovered patio during rains, high winds, and other inclement weather, unless you take the time to build some protective cover for it. We recommend you seriously consider covering the top of the patio, building at least a partial cover so that you can still relax there even when the sun is blisteringly hot or the rain is falling lightly.
If you build walls on a couple of the sides, you can still enjoy a cool breeze and the sounds of nature but be protected from the elements. Consider using clear walls, like glass or plastic, to allow in plenty of light and keep the view clear.
Keep It Clean
Have you thought about how much work your patio will be if you don’t have any kind of walls or roof on it? There may be lots of leaves and other debris to clean up every day, and you may feel like just leaving it dirty most of the time or feel compelled to clean it daily, depending on how much you value neatness.
To help keep the space clean, you can put up plastic sheeting when it isn’t in use. You can also remove nearby trees or cut them back.
Also consider the impact your patio will have on the rest of your house. If you want to keep dirt and debris from blowing indoors from the patio, put a rubber guard at the base of the entryway into the house.
Patios require extra cleaning from you, so be prepared to do some additional gutter cleaning, drain cleaning, and other chores in the surrounding area once that patio has been installed.
Cleaning the patio regularly will help avoid tracking in a lot of dirt and grime. If you feel like that patio is making your housework load drastically increase, then you can have cleaning experts come in occasionally to make things neat for you, says Carlos with this cleaning organization.
Ensure There Is Shade
Maybe you have decided to leave off a covering for your patio and you want it completely exposed to the outside. That’s fine, but you need to think of the necessity for shade. There will be times when you want to be out on your patio, but it is too hot for you to properly enjoy it. How can you read a book in a chair on the patio if the sun is too bright to read the pages comfortably?
So, you can install a shade structure for some kind. This can be a simple patio umbrella, but you could create something more durable if you are up for it. Consider covering a corner of the patio, adding a partial roof that extends from the home over some for the patio. This can provide enough space for one or two people to enjoy some shade and still leave most of the patio open.
Plan Your Space Physically
Before you start building and even before you start to put your plans in writing in detail, you should physically and visually plan out the space. If you have some ideas for how the patio should look and what kind of furniture you want it to accommodate, then put that furniture out in the space you are planning to use.
You may not have the right pieces of furniture yet, but you can use what you have available and test the area out. Take some chairs and other items and put them in the space and see how much room you have left over. Is there enough space for people to move freely across the patio area? Do you need to make more space to ensure the area is comfortable? Planning it out like this lets you see the flaws before it is too late and helps you to change up your plans as needed to accommodate everything you want.
Get Rid of the Grass
You want to be careful about building a patio over grass. Uprooting the grass before you build is a good idea, since grass is soft, wet, and spongy a lot of the time, making it a poor foundation for your patio. Uprooting the grass ensures it will not grow back easily and provides you with a good base to begin with.
Compare Materials
Do you have a pretty good idea of which materials you want to use for your patio? Don’t get your heart set too much on specific materials until you do a little shopping around and comparing. You can check out the prices to see what will fit your budget and talk to building experts to see what materials they recommend. Looking at your options will help you to find the best possible material, and you may just discover that you like a different material better than the one you initially wanted.
In Conclusion
These are just a few tips that we think will be helpful for you, and they cover aspects of building a patio that many people overlook or rush through. We hope that you have fun building the patio and that it turns out well for you. A well-built patio can last for many years and provide countless hours of enjoyment.