Rain Cover

June 242009

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Rain Cover

Having a covered patio that you can use as an out side kitchen is an excellent idea no matter what the situation. Even people who hate entertaining love having covered patios for the comfort, and relaxation they provide. A covered patio adds extra living space to your home that costs much less than adding an addition, and having a barbecue on your covered patio means less dishes to wash, less work to do, and delicious food grilled to perfection.

If you have an existing concrete patio or deck it can be covered to create your covered patio. Or you can lay a concrete slab and cover it to get a covered patio. Why would you want to do that? LetÂ’s look at five reasons to have a covered patio:

1. A covered patio allows people to enjoy relaxing or entertaining outdoors but, at the same time, affords protection from the weather, whether that is rain, or sun!

2. A covered patio, for instance, ensures the backyard barbecue wonÂ’t end because of rain, so it means a good time regardless of the weather.

3. A cover patio means extra living space. Covering a patio basically creates an outdoor Â“roomÂ” and adds to the space in your home. With a cover, a patio can become an extension of a house, a garden, or a poolside area. Thus it also adds resale value for the homeowner.

4. Covered patios provide an element of design to your home. This is very nice, it is a space that can be decorated inexpensively, with plants, patio furniture, etc.

5. A covered patio is a perfect place and excuse for a party, so in other words, having a covered patio means your life is going to be more fun!

Now that we can see that a covered patio is a fabulous idea, and that if you have space for one, you should certainly consider building one, letÂ’s take a look at some of the options for covers: Basically your options are endless; covers for patios vary in appearance, functionality, amount of weather protection, and material. These same differences determine how much work, money, and help you need to cover your patio.

Whether or not will need professional help with installation of your covered patio will depend on the size of the project and the manner in which the cover is connected to the house. So, letÂ’s look at a few examples.

Patios can be covered with something as simple and inexpensive as large umbrellas; if you are going to go for this option then remember that while it is inexpensive it has some big drawbacks. However, despite those drawbacks, an umbrella is a good option if you get one with a push-button tilt option. This options is important because it allows you to move the umbrella in the direction where the sun moves. If you want easy, and inexpensive, and you want something a little more permanent than an umbrella a good option would be a canvas-type canopy. Another inexpensive, classy looking option for a covered patio is a latticework trellis. This is not going to provide you with much rain protection per say, but it is a beautiful option. The overhead trellis can be covered with climbing vines or flowers, providing shade and fragrance for the patio users, as well as a variety of color and design.

While all of the above options are great for a tight budget, umbrellas, canopies and trellises, afford only minimal protection from rain. So, the best option for a protective patio cover is an awning. This gives you options, and flexibility, as well as good protection. Awnings for covered patios come in motorized and manually operated options for easy retraction for when you want to enjoy the overhead sun on the patio. Make sure that the choice of material you use for your awning can withstand the weather conditions of the area, meaning snow, wind, rain, etc.

Blind Melon - No Rain (cover)