Choosing the right patio for your home is not always as straight forward as it would first seem. The popularity of 2 story town houses, units or apartments has seen the great Australian back yard become almost extinct.
Add to this odd shape blocks to increase more properties into one area and the size of the homes are almost the same size of the block and you can start to see the obstacles that you may need to overcome to have your ideal patio.
So what are the top 5 considerations that you will need to look at when getting a new patio.
1. The size of the new patio
Consideration has to be given to the area you want to have covered by your new patio. Take into account outdoor furniture, bbq, and garden beds.
It is very common to find that once the new patio has been built that the new outdoor furniture you had purchased is a lot larger than you first thought and fills the patio area more than you wanted leaving you with little room for anything else.
You will also need to take into account setbacks from boundaries if you are looking at building next to the fence line. If you only have a court yard or smallish area you may be limited already as to the size of the patio you can have and this leads us into the next consideration.
2. Design of your new patio
Selecting the patio design is important, not only for the overall look but how it will flow with your home. The design of the patio can help add height, privacy from neighbors and while keeping it simple often provides the cleanest looking patio, it’s not always possible and that’s were Great Aussie Patios comes in and helps look at design options for you. As mentioned blocks of land are getting smaller and odd shaped so you may need to think out of the square so to speak.
We have seen a growth in custom design patios due to odd shaped blocks as a straight forward gable or dome just won’t fit with the style of home.
With odd shape blocks and homes being built closer together than ever before this leads us to the next consideration.
3. Light and shade
It’s a common theme we hear, we want to keep the winter light coming into the house but we want the shade to keep out the summer heat. With a north facing backyard it is the ideal of both worlds, but not everyone has this available. You may have no morning sunlight yet have the full afternoon sun and the heat associated with it. As mentioned the design of your new patio can help with maintaining light, shade or the design may help increase the light or shade.
It may mean that a compromise is needed to get what you would like, you may need to add more Suntuff polycarbonate skylights to get the light or none at all if you want to keep the heat out or you may need a mix of both to get the best of both worlds.
The advancement in Suntuff polycarbonate means that light and heat transmissions as well as UV rays are better than years gone by and those in the Solar Smart range are recommended by Great Aussie Patios. Given we are now thinking about this light and shade we can now ponder the next consideration.
4. Patio roof options
In recent years we have seen advancement in roofing options for your new patio. No longer just colorbond roof sheets, fibre glass skylights or shade cloth. We have seen the introduction of insulated roof panels such as Solarspan which provide’s the ultimate heat protection in the summer but also keep’s the warmth in winter when used in conjunction with blinds making the patio a room you can use all year round.
Polycarbonate for not only skylights but as a roofing option have also become a popular choice. Products like Multicell and Sunglaze are light, clean and simple.
Of course the main staple is the ever popular Colorbond steel roofing with a few sheets of the Suntuff polycarbonate for light.
With the above considerations firmly on the forefront of your mind what is the most important consideration that Great Aussie Patios deem the most important?
5. You, the owner
Yes it’s true we at Great Aussie Patios have been designing and building patios for years. We have a wealth of experience and are always happy to provide options for you for all of the above considerations, but ultimately you as the home owner will see the patio every day and what we at Great Aussie Patios will do is offer advice based on what you have described and what you want to achieve. We are often asked for advice on design and options to which we will provide. The best way to provide this is by asking you and if you have considered what you want out of your new patio Great Aussie Patios will help make that idea for you and provide you with a new patio. For your new patio and design ideas contact our friendly staff at Great Aussie Patios. Give us a call on 94937115 or request a free quote online.