Ordinary to Extraordinary

Patio structures are one of the easiest ways to transform an outdoor space.  They can turn an otherwise dull and boring area in to a place that beckons us to come out from the indoors; to sit, relax, and unwind.

Our family recently sold our first home that we built in Fort Worth in 1999.  As someone who builds patio structures and hardscapes for a living, you can imagine how anxious I was to do something with our tiny 8’x8’ “builder” patio when we moved into the home.  The back of the house where the patio was situated had a southern exposure, so the sun literally beat down across the back of the house, running the utility bills up due to the transfer of heat through the back wall of the home. Not until late in the evening when the sun finally retreated below the rooftops of the homes adjacent to us, would we get a reprieve and actually be able to enjoy the backyard.  The summer months were brutal, while we welcomed the sunshine on the back of the home during the winter.  The goal in designing the patio area was to build a structure that would shade the back of the home during the summer months, but still allow some sun on the patio during the winter months, making it a space that we could enjoy for more than just one season of the year.

The first step was to tear out the 8’x8’ “builder” patio and pour a 24'x13' concrete slab with an adjoining 18’x7’ concrete slab.  This new patio extended literally across the entire back of the home, making it almost 7 times the size of what we started with.  After the slab was poured, we designed a multi-level lattice pergola to cover it.  The idea was that the two distinct heights of the structures would break up the large area and add some interest.  We used cedar embossed roll formed aluminum material from Alumawood™ to build the two structures.  Alumawood™ is coated with DuPont Teflon®  surface protector which resists chalking and fading, is virtually maintenance free, and carries a lifetime warranty.   To add some detail to the structure, we chose a scallop end cut style for all of the rafters and beams and spaced the 1-1/2 x 1-1/2” square lattice tubes 1” apart to create about 65-70% shade across the patio, about the amount of shade you would expect if your were sitting under a shade tree.  The white color that we chose provided a nice contrast to the dark trim color of our home.  We also wired the structure for two outdoor lights, one on each corner post of the larger structure, which added a nice ambiance to the patio area on warm summer nights. 

During the summer months when the sun is more directly overhead, our Alumawood™  shade structure provided a nice shady area for our family to enjoy, while also shading the wall across the back of the home, which meant a cooler home and lower utility bills.  During the winter months when the sun is lower on the horizon, the patio area was bathed in sunshine, and the lattice across the top of the structure provided a combination of shade and sunlight across the back wall of the home which was ideal in the cold winter. 

We enjoyed many hours on our patio because it was an area that was inviting and comfortable.  The Alumawood™ structure completely transformed the space from an otherwise un-usable area, into a beautiful backyard oasis.  And there was virtually no maintenance to speak of.  Once every year, usually as spring approached and I knew we would be spending more time outdoors, I would take a garden hose and spray the structure down from one end to the other to remove any cobwebs or dirt that may have accumulated from the previous year.  When we sold the home after having lived there for almost 15 years, the Alumawood™ patio structure looked virtually as good as the day it was built.  I truly believe that the patio structure helped sell our home because it set our home apart from the other homes on the market.  It was a good investment that added value to our home when it came time to sell, and value to our lives while we were living there. 

If you would like to learn more about Alumawood™  and the other no-maintenance products that we offer, please visit us at www.myinnovativehome.com and find out why Innovative Home Solutions is the contractor of choice when it comes to no-maintenance patio products. 

Let us help you turn your backyard dreams in to a reality!