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This may be an odd question; has anyone installed a solid patio cover in their back yard? did you find it cooled the house at all? Was it darker and depressing?

My back yard faces west, so that side of the house sits in the hot sun all day with no protection. I'm thinking about spending $2500+ to have a solid patio cover installed. The estimator says i'll be able to 'bbq in the rain' if I get the solid surface rather than the lattice pergola. I just want to cool the house down in the kitchen/family room where we spend all our time.

I already have solor panels on the windows and vertical blinds on the sliding glass door, and that room still cooks in the summer.
The south wall has only two windows where i keep the blinds closed all the time.

Thoughts? Experiences?

I have a "solid" patio cover, but it (and two replacements in 42 years) has always been there so it's hard for me to say what it would feel like without it. And yes, I have bbq'ed in the rain many times!

This means I'll have to buy a bbq-er next

Do you mean a bbq pit or a man to "man" it. A good friend of mine went thru her divorce about the same time I did many years ago and we laughed about not needing a man anymore since we started mowing our own lawns AND learning to bbq ourselves!

Ha! Both.
I already have some guys mow the lawn because it would be a jungle if left up to me. I finally bought some tan bark for the dirt pits/flower patches. There's some volunteer flowers in there that survive on their own somehow.

I've lived in this house 5 years now and was finally able to re-fi even though it's underwater by 30-50%. I figure since i'm living here and it's cheaper than rent, i might as well make it more comfortable. As long as the patio cover is moderately affordable.

I have a solid patio cover, that covers the whole back of my house. And it faces west as well. We love it, best thing we ever put up. I would never put up lattice, the solid cover is the way to go. Our bbq is right under it, as you exit the slider. We bbq a few times a week.
I don't think you would regret it.

quote:

Originally posted by lilsophie:
I have a solid patio cover, that covers the whole back of my house. And it faces west as well. We love it, best thing we ever put up. I would never put up lattice, the solid cover is the way to go. Our bbq is right under it, as you exit the slider. We bbq a few times a week.
I don't think you would regret it.

Thanks, lilsophie, Does your house feel cooler inside?

Well you all are going to send me on a search to find out what a solid patio cover is!

When you say solid patio cover, do you mean wood, roofed like the house? Or canvas or fiberglass panels? We have the lattice on top of our patio because of all the snow we get in the winter...the lattice does help with the heat/sun. Our patio is on the south side of our house. I think one of those roll-up canvas patio covers would be great..but expensive.

The solid patio cover i was looking at is type of plastic covered aluminum. They also have a pergola lattice style but the solid cover would almost make it like there's another room outside. A lot of the neighbors around here got the wood pergola lattics style which seems more decorative than protective.

I looked at the motorized sun shades that roll up but they are as expensive as a permanent structure that would be built, plus I'd have to install that to the house myself. (up to $2000+)

Right now i have a canvas cover gazebo and that is nice and solid we put together, but it doesn't help much to prevent the sun against the house. The canvas has also lasted about 3 years now which is long considering the winter and summer seasons it's surivived so far.

It would probably look something like this...

this is my back yard before noon. After the sun comes around it's baked out here.

sorry for the humongous pictures.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: wendek,

I don't have one, but I love the idea that's in that pic. Solid means you can be out there when it's raining too.

If you get a solid one, be sure to get an all weather ceiling fan to diffuse some of the trapped heat out there.It's nice to have ventilation and a slight breeze. We have an 18' wide motorized awning covering part of our deck(we face SE and have sun from sun up to 4in afternoon). We can sit outside in rainy weather unless it's a blowing driving rain.

Wendek...Yes it does help keep the house cooler. The patio cover, covers three windows and a sliding door. No sun at all hits those windows now. It's great. Mine in all wood, with an aluminum top. It's all white.

I had an aluminum patio cover installed over my deck/patio doors on a previous home and it was a very good thing. It was insulated -- keeping more heat from penetrating the deck area. Good decision on my part.

I have recently been pondering having a new 42 foot cover installed over the entire rear of my present home -- presently there is a 30 foot uninsulated aluminum cover out there -- the patio outside the sliding glass doors is not covered -- and gets hot. I have been searching for a patio cover with a skylight or something that will let more light in through the patio doors while protecting the deck from the elements and heat. I don't even know if such a thing is available.

I think you will be so pleased with a cover -- you might want to ask about an insulated cover too.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

WWanda, I'm starting to get that idea it will be nice on rainy days. In the SF East Bay it's hot in the summer and the rain is warm too.

I like the idea of a ceiling fan, mamaspoon, and wired for lights.

And insulated vs. non-insulated keeping the heat out is good to know, lilsophie.

MyLifeVaction1, in my internet search, I have seen 'skylight' panels in the solid covers. The guy had said insulated was strong enough to stand on, so that's good since the TV dish is attached to the roof.

quote:

Originally posted by mamaspoon:
If you get a solid one, be sure to get an all weather ceiling fan to diffuse some of the trapped heat out there.It's nice to have ventilation and a slight breeze.

Here in Florida, those ceilings hold heat and create even more heat underneath it.

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Ruth:

Here in Florida, those ceilings hold heat and create even more heat underneath it.

what do you do about the sun or heat in Florida? i bet it's more humid there than here.

My daughter in LasVegas has a covered patio on the back of her house, it faces the east,and she could feel the coolness in her house before they were finished with it.She has a grill on wheels and she can roll it under there when she uses it if it is raining. Her's is made out something called 'alumawood' and well worth the cost.

Wanda

wendek,
The roof overhead on a hot-sun side should be insulated. The aluminum ones they sell you can add on just become an oven. We felt the difference when viewing houses on the market when we moved here. The Realtor pointed out how those roofs keep the rain off that area but are not cool in the summertime.

If I do a covered patio, I want a roof extension of the house to have an insulated ceiling overhead that creates cool shade to sit under in the summer.

And as far as humidity, there was more humidity in the Chesapeake area we lived in up in Virginia. My naturally curly hair was so tightly curled up there most of the time (frizzy too) and we were always noticing the dampness on our skin. Here in East Space Coast area we have a dryer climate, a bit less rain than we had in Virginia and we get less humidity (unless it is about to rain). The rain here pours for a short time, then clears up. In Virginia we had cloudy days and light rain spread out over a few days with very high humidity. Oh and my hair (curls) is more relaxed (curls not as tight)and more managable here in Fl.

I like the climate here better as you can tell by my post.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

THanks Mary Ruth and Goldiesmom, this does give me plenty to think about.
If the quote comes in too high, i won't have to think about it any more haha..

quote:

Originally posted by wendek:
It would probably look something like this...

That arbor or Pergola type design you posted a photo of is interesting. I like that type, and design, have that quoted also!

I prefer a screened in enclosure only because I want to sit out at night when the skitos come out! LOL

I posted on what my daughter had for a patio cover now here is a picture of what I have--it is a pergula with wisteria over it

Ooo, Pretty Wisteria pergola. and such a great view!

We had a solid wood covering added to the patio on our previous home. It did tend to make the room inside a little darker, but a benefit was that it was easier to cool and we didn't have damaging sun on our hardwood floors. Also, before adding the covering, we never used our patio. I love the look of pergolas, but it seems to me that the pergola covered patio would be unusable if it were raining.

~Lady50

quote:

Originally posted by Lady50:
We had a solid wood covering added to the patio on our previous home. It did tend to make the room inside a little darker, but a benefit was that it was easier to cool and we didn't have damaging sun on our hardwood floors. Also, before adding the covering, we never used our patio. I love the look of pergolas, but it seems to me that the pergola covered patio would be unusable if it were raining.

~Lady50

Preventing sun damage and cooling the house are my main goals. thanks. I do like the look of the lattice pergola but you're right, they wouldn't be as usable i think.
Thanks, Lady50

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Ruth:

quote:

Originally posted by wendek:
It would probably look something like this...

That arbor or Pergola type design you posted a photo of is interesting. I like that type, and design, have that quoted also!

I prefer a screened in enclosure only because I want to sit out at night when the skitos come out! LOL

I got a pre-quote on the patio cover that will look like the one in the white picture above
25' x 12' solid cover with lights - $3900.
Ugh, Trying to wrap my head around that number. It's not much different than the number he quoted me before 4 years ago at the height of the market. I had two companies quote me and they both were the same, same materials, etc. I don't suppose i'd find a better price, and... you get what you paid for.

The main reason for this is to cool the house down inside and stop the direct sunlight from baking my family room/kitchen.

ohh, what to do.. what to do...

Just make sure it's insulated and wired for a ceiling fan. Good luck on your decision!!

I got a pre-quote on the patio cover that will look like the one in the white picture above
25' x 12' solid cover with lights - $3900.
Ugh, Trying to wrap my head around that number. It's not much different than the number he quoted me before 4 years ago at the height of the market. I had two companies quote me and they both were the same, same materials, etc. I don't suppose i'd find a better price, and... you get what you paid for.

The main reason for this is to cool the house down inside and stop the direct sunlight from baking my family room/kitchen.

ohh, what to do.. what to do...[/QUOTE]

I too just had a quote for a patio roof -- insulated with skylight -- $10,000! So -- I have a contractor coming on Tues. to give an estimate on the deck and I am going to ask him about polycarbonate panels -- my personal guestimate is $1200 in materials for the roof plus labor. Home Depot carries the panels -- don't know if they handle colors other than gray and clear or not --

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/...suntuf&storeId=10051

Wendek, I don't thank that estimate sounds very high. That's a good sized cover (12x25).It will make your house cooler,decrease your AC cost a little, give you shelter for outside sitting and grilling in the rain and increase the value of your house. Sounds like money well spent to me.

We have a similar problem...our deck and screened room faces west. I call it the kiln.

We have a ceiling fan in the screened room and it makes all the difference in the world. We wouldn't be able to sit out there without it.

Your canvas gazebo is really nice looking!

MyLifeVacation, thanks, whew that is quite a big quote for your patio. House repairs and remodels just sound like it's not cheap whether the market is good or not.

Thanks MyDog, it's true, that side of the house becomes a bit of a kiln in the hot summer. thanks for sharing, this is good to know it's not really a ridiculous price.