Put a Lid on It--Roofs for Patios & Decks

If you have an open patio or deck, you've doubtless enjoyed many sunny days in your outside space. But you've also likely wished at some point for some shelter from the sun's rays -- or raindrops. What are your roofing options?

Umbrellas
One of the fastest and easiest ways to provide outdoor shelter from sun and rain is with a market umbrella. These are sold in sizes that range from 6 feet to 12 feet across (1.8 to 3.6 metres). Think beyond the obvious picnic set with umbrella and create a shady nook with your favorite lounge chair and side table, or provide your outdoor chef with protection from the elements.

Market umbrellas are not designed to withstand extremely high winds and should be anchored in a cast iron stand, in a metal deck mount, directly in the ground or in a large bucket of rocks. You should also leave the umbrella closed in the event of strong wind or if you are not home.

Giant umbrellas, often used in commercial establishments, are also available for home use. Although they are pricey, they form part of a permanent outdoor installation (most being sunk into a ground socket). Ranging in size from 12' to 26' (about 3.5m to 8m), certain models can withstand winds up to 45 mph (70 kph).

Similar to umbrellas, polyethylene canvas garden pavilions with open sides are a quick and easy solution to providing needed shade.

Awnings and Sunshades
Awnings, a slightly more fixed solution than a market umbrella, come in a variety of styles and materials. They are generally installed on a wooden or steel tubing frame. Many are retractable so that winter snow weight need not be a worry, and so that they can be rolled up during especially strong winds.

Awning fabrics have been greatly improved over the last few decades and now stand up well to rain and sun. If you are constructing your own awning, look for Army duck -- a specially woven canvas that is chemically treated to resist mildew and fungus -- or a vinyl-coated canvas. Plain canvas is relatively inexpensive and also wears fairly well, and polyester and acrylic-based fabrics resist mildew.

Choose from a variety of colors and thicknesses (determined by weight) and be certain to stretch the fabric tightly over your frame to avoid wind damage.

New windshades or windsails anchor securely for resistance to breezes. Or for easy temporary shelters, attach Indian saris or even sheets to walls, trees, or frames.

Pergolas
Perhaps the most popular style of roof deck is the pergola -- an open roof of cross rafters supported on posts or columns. When they are covered with vines (such as grapes, silver lace, trumpet and so on), they can provide a great deal of cool shade, especially since the greenery itself helps lower temperatures. Most pergolas, however, offer only limited protection from the rain.

Although pergolas are most often attached to a ledger on the side of your house, you can be innovative and make freestanding pergolas. For example, anchor two arbors six or eight feet from each other and attach beams to the tops of them to form a tunnel. Then close in one or both sides with lattice and you have a small and charming free standing structure over a patio or portable decking to relax in.

I'll discuss pergolas in more detail in a future issue of Tales from the Porch Swing.

Closed Roofs
The variety of roofing materials available for decks is dizzying. Depending on your climate, you can choose reed or bamboo rolled roofing material, corrugated plastic, corrugated polycarbonate or tinted fiberglass sheets, clay tiles, wood shakes, or several types of shingles.

Again, I'll cover more details of roofing materials and how to build a deck roof in a future issue, so stay tuned!

Shelter is a basic need for outdoor spaces, increasing the pleasure you can derive from outdoor living. Today, there are countless options available -- so, go on, put a lid on it!

Article By: Debbie Rodgers, The Haven Maven
http://www.paradiseporch.com

Bugs Out, Breezes In: A Screened-In Room

Do you love to sit outside in the fresh air, but find you just can't abide the mosquitoes and other biting critters of summer? Consider a screened outdoor area. It may be easier than you think.

Building Your Screened Room
A screened in "room" consists of three surfaces: a floor, a roof and the walls.

The floor might an existing porch or deck, or it might be a brick patio or newly poured concrete slab. It might even be the ground itself if you use a pre-fabricated free-standing screened-in room.

If you're starting out with an existing structure that consists only of a floor, be sure to obtain the necessary permits from your municipality for constructing a roof. Roofing is available in a wide variety of materials including fibreglass panels, translucent sheeting and solid roofing materials such as wood and shingles. Your roof might also be an awning, or a pre-fab screened room canvas.

Assuming you have a permanent structure, once the floor and the roof are up, you can get on with constructing the walls for the screening. There are many books, such as Great Decks and Porches by Rick Peters with detailed directions for building a typical screening frame of 2x2s and 2x4s.

You can install the actual screening using the traditional method of stapling the screen to the frame and covering the staples with batten.

Or you can use an updated product such as ScreenTight which uses a rubber spline to lock the screen into a patented base molding which is then covered by an external cap.

A third method is to use a screen product fitted with Velcro® commercial fasteners. Available in three screen types as well as clear PVC film, each panel is crafted to the exact size and shape of your openings including triangles and trapezoids. This system is designed so that a PVC panel can be installed over a screen panel for rain and wind protection. When not needed, the PVC panel can be rolled up and stored at the top of the opening.

If you don't install PVC panels, you can use wood panels that screw or hook to the frame in order to board up the space during winter months. Of course, commercial windows that slip in and out are also available. These glass panes make the most practical screened rooms as the rooms in which they are installed can be used for more months of the year than any other configuration.

Decorating Your Screened Room
Screening not only makes an outdoor space more usable by eliminating bugs, it also provides a sense of enclosure. Your space becomes a true room -- an extension of your home and a transitional space between indoors and outdoors. Thus furniture is often more formal than you might use on a deck or patio, yet still has a garden feel.

White wicker pieces are a very traditional screened porch look, but dark green wicker also makes a dramatic earth-toned statement. Wooden furniture such as a white porch swing, or twig chairs are also very appropriate to the look.

Since a screened area makes an ideal sleeping porch -- whether to escape hot, humid nights or to catch a catnap in the afternoon-have somewhere to stretch out. It could be cots for the kids, a hammock or a daybed stacked high with comfy cushions.

A screened porch is also a great place for container plants because they'll be protected from harsh sun and weather extremes. Fill your room with living green plants and flowers to enhance that sense of outside that lies just beyond the room's borders.

Whether you use an outdoor screened space as an extra dining room, bedroom, sitting room or greenhouse, you'll be sure to gets lots and lots of enjoyment from it -- without being bothered by pesky bugs!

Article By: Debbie Rodgers, The Haven Maven
http://www.paradiseporch.com

Designing the Deck of Your Dreams

Decks are the most common outdoor living space in suburban North America. The (American) Forest Products Society estimates that there are over 30 million residential decks in the U.S. alone and more than seven million new ones are constructed annually. In addition, about once every decade, homeowners upgrade, expand or replace their existing decks.

That's a lot of deck building! Are you ready to build a new deck or give your existing one a major overhaul? Here are some tips to help you design your ideal outdoor living space.

1) Verify the Codes
Before you plan anything, make sure you know the deck building codes in your area. Most municipalities have limitations on property line and street clearances, and stipulate certain railing and stair safeguards. While you're at it, determine if there are restrictions on fire units or water features such as pools or spas.

2) Location, Location, Location
The biggest decision you'll make in designing your deck is its location. Obviously, you'll want to have easy entry from your house but don't forget convenient access to the rest of the yard.

Don't be limited in your planning by previous structures, whether an older deck or an existing patio or concrete slab. Consider taking in part of the lawn or garden area. Imagine a curved outline-a shape naturally found in the outside world and not nearly as difficult to build into a deck as you might think.

Once you have an idea of where you'll place the new addition, outline it with stakes and string. Still happy with what you see? Then measure the dimensions of the space and make a scale drawing. On this diagram, sketch in the outline of the house, property lines, trees and gardens and any other features that may be pertinent to your plan.

3) Make Some Lists
First, stop and think about what uses you'll have for your new space. Does it need an area where the kids can play, maybe on rainy days? How about a quiet reading or meditation spot? Maybe what you see is a lively gathering of family or friends, around scrumptious outdoor meals?

Based on the uses you've established, inventory the features you think you'd like. Many people dream of an outdoor spa tub; others fancy a built-in grill; some want lots of built-in storage space for pool equipment or kids' toys.

Take into account your climate - not only the weather where you live, but also the micro-climates that every home has - the brick walls that collect and radiate the summer heat, the lake breeze that's a little too cool in late summer evenings. Often, several different zones co-exist in one outdoor living space. You may want to include heating or cooling units on your wish list.

Make a note of any other factors that will affect the use of your new living space. For example, you might feel like you're in a fishbowl because of surrounding two-story houses or open fence lines. In that case, you'll want to include ways to create privacy.

4) Let the Plan Take Shape
Now make several copies of your planning diagram. That way, you can change your mind several times as you work out the details of your dream deck.

On your sketch, you've indicated a floor area. Next consider walls and a ceiling. These will help delineate the spaces, perhaps dividing it into areas for various purposes, and provide privacy. You can also use walls and ceilings to adjust your mini-climate areas.

It's not likely you'll want barriers around ALL sides of your deck and not all walls have to be solid. Think lattice, plants, or drapes. You may choose to install an awning, pergola or umbrella over just a portion of the living space (perhaps the tub or the dining area), leaving the rest open.

Bearing in mind the uses and features that you've decided on, indicate where built-ins such as a fire pit, grill or tub might go. Remember to mark where electrical outlets, lighting and spigots for watering plants and washing would be useful. Add furniture and décor and you'll be living easy.

Don't let a tight budget stop you from ending up with what you want-with a good plan in hand and a clear picture in mind, you can work toward the finished products in logical stages. So, go ahead -- design the deck of your dreams!

Article By: Debbie Rodgers, The Haven Maven
http://www.paradiseporch.com

Top 10 Outdoor Havens in the Movies

Outdoor living spaces, such as porches, patios and balconies, are integral components of our homes -- and movies. Can you imagine any of these memorable films without their signature outdoor space to set the scene?

1. The absolutely most wonderful outdoor space in all of movie-making history must be the quintessential Adirondack-style screened porch in On Golden Pond. Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn's portrayals of Norman and Ethel Thayer earned them Academy Awards in 1982.

2. Childhood dreams came to life in the musical number that Liesl and Rolfe danced around that fabulous gazebo in The Sound of Music. Nominated for ten 1966 Oscars, this musical saga of the von Trapp family took away five statuettes including Best Picture.

3. The widow's walk that Colonel Behrani added to The House of Sand and Fog played an integral part in the plot of this 2003 drama. Who can forget Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo's last afternoon together, watching the sun set from their precious balcony?

4. Last moments together play a recurring theme in movies and outdoor spaces. In the 1999 version of Anna and the King, Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat danced together in the royal gazebo the last time he held her in his arms.

5. Porch swings have often been associated with old-time courting, and so the scene in Witness in which Rachel and Daniel sat silently rocking spoke volumes; no dialogue was needed. Witness won two 1986 Academy Awards.

6. Hark! What light through yonder window breaks? The most famous balcony scene in history is over 400 years old. Willy Shakespeare would no doubt have loved Franco Zeffirellis's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, which copped two Oscars at the 1969 ceremonies.

7. Although the plantation setting might suggest lots of activity played out in outdoor living spaces, Gone with the Wind's most memorable porch scene was when Melanie caught sight of Ashley's return and fairly flew off the steps to run into his arms. GWTW was nominated for a phenomenal 15 Academy Awards in 1940 and won nine - including, of course, Best Picture.

8. Much of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is set on Matt and Christina Drayton's elegant terrace overlooking San Francisco. At the 1968 Academy ceremonies, Katherine Hepburn won her second of four Oscars for this picture.

9. Forrest Gump and his mother lived in a rambling southern country home with one of movies' most beautiful white painted verandas. It was from here that Jenny stepped down on her wedding day. Among the six 1995 golden statuettes that this movie won was an award to Tom Hanks as Best Actor, and Best Picture.

10. Titanic swept the box office and the 1998 ceremonies, winning an astonishing 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. But wait, this movie was set on a boat. Where's the outdoor haven? Of course -- Jack declared himself King of the World -- all the while standing on the deck.

Article By: Debbie Rodgers, The Haven Maven
http://www.paradiseporch.com