Patio Heater

Winter Patio Enclosures

Custom solid patio covers in vinyl or aluminum will be the best choice for winter patio enclosures that require sealing and insulation. You’re going to want to know about Alumawood for a solid roof that looks like wood, or Elitewood or even Alumalattice which can be custom designed to be semi solid or close and open by a push of a button.

What to look for when Choosing Custom Solid Patio Covers:
Custom solid patio covers should be designed with some features in mind, so that later your patio winter enclosures do not become a maintenance nightmare. So, make sure you get a contractor who uses strong, long-lasting and low maintenance aluminum or vinyl. Check that the kits you may decide to buy have sturdy beam construction and have the versatility of being colored or textured with a wood grain finish so your patio winter enclosures don’t stand out as being too different from the house. If you go with products that are weather resistant like the popular Aluma-Shield finishes, then you will be sure that the harshest of sun, wind, rain and snow will not adversely affect your patio covers. Many aluminum style have baked enamel finishes for two reasons: one for durability and the other is to allow for color choices to match your house.

Designing Your Patio Winter Enclosures:
There’s a company called SunPorch that makes patio enclosures that you can buy as a kit and build yourself. Customize and have a patio enclosure for summer as a screen room but that is easily converted into patio winter enclosures that keep out the cold. How? Because the way that these unique custom solid patio covers work is that they retain solar heat and keep you warm in winter. How much warmer will it be inside than out? It should be about 10 to 20 degrees warmer inside of the enclosure than outside. That is enough for most medium or mild climates, perhaps they won’t be warm enough for Siberian winters, but if you’re in the US you should be fine. And what about summer? Well they’re also  designed in such a way as to have a ventilation system that keeps you cool. How? It’s based on a special air circulation system that forces fresh air in and pushed the inner air out.. To find out more about these versatile custom solid patio covers that will add to your lifestyle by memorable outdoor adventures you can share with family and friends even on cold days without the need for cast iron radiators, go to SunPorch and get your free catalogue and order a kit and get started right away!

Outdoor Lighting Tips for your home

The first and the obvious question if you have a home is that why do I need special outdoor lighting? Yes you can do without outdoor lighting however the outdoor lighting gives a decent boost to the appearance of your property and helps in making your home secure and safe. If you are trying to sell your house then this outdoor lighting will provide will give your property value a big plus. While planning for the lighting for outdoor lighting make sure that you keep a note of all the activity that is going to happen outdoors, the kind of ambiance you want to create as well as if you have any special decorative things that you want to accentuate.

Since outdoors will be dark at night you need to have lighting at various places on outside. Imagine having wall lanterns on each side of the door. They will provide a very welcome look to the visitors as well as provide adequate light when you open the door for you to venture outside.

If you have a garden then having the low level path lighting is a must. These path lighting fixtures generally spread that circular patter of light will help you identify the walkway at night as well as it will make sure that your flower beds and shrubs are highlighted.

Deck or step lights are a must if you have a patio, porch or a deck. There are a lot of lighting manufactures who supply low voltage deck or step lights. The advantage of these lights is that these lights can be concealed and they can easily convert your deck or patio into a nice romantic place. The other option for lighting which can give you a very special feel is the garden tiki torches. Tiki torches have been used for long in the Hawaiian culture. There are a wide variety and style of tiki torches that are there ranging from modern to traditional. For modern look you can go in for glass or metal torches and for more traditional look you can go in for the bamboo tiki torches. In fact for a traditional feel you can also try the outdoor post lanterns. These lanterns will give a very vintage type feel to your outdoors.

If you have a barbecue area or a serving area outside then you should highlight that area by using strong lights. A recessed spot light is the answer for that or a patio heater light.

How to Ruin Patio Cushion Covers

Patio cushion covers are easily ruined it has to be said if you do not buy patio cushions in the right fabric in the first instance. A good quality outdoor fabric needs to be resistant to all types of weather. It should be waterproof to a degree and fade resistant too and tough enough to withstand being sat on for hours on end all summer long.

But even with good quality fabric it is easy to ruin your covers if you do not take care of them. Here are the main ways folks ruin their patio cushions and how you can avoid being one of them:-

1. They think Weatherproof or weather resistant means “leave out in all weathers”

Even if patio cushions are tough they last longer if you do not test out their toughness too often. if you store away your patio cushions when not in use you will find that they repay you with many more years when they look good as new. If possible have a storage box or small shed close to your patio so that it is easy to put your cushions away.

2. They spill stuff

It is easy to spill drinks, food and sun oil on your cushions. Somehow being careful and relaxing in the sun do not seem to go hand in hand. When you do spill something make sure that you treat the stain with warm water right away and upholstery cleaner if necessary so that the stain does not become “set”. If you think you will get sun oil on your cushions be sure to lie on a towel as sun oil is one of the worst substances to remove and the last thing you want to do is discolor your retro metal patio chairs.

3. They put them away wet

If you put your cushions away when they are wet they will grow black mold and mildew and be generally unusable after a few weeks so make sure that you allow your cushions to dry thoroughly before putting them into storage for any longer than a day or two. Make sure that the space where you store them is dry too.

4. They are late or neglect putting them away at all

Similar to patio furniture you should always put your patio cushions away in winter so that they are not subject to the worst weather conditions. If you leave it too late your cushions will get very wet and can show signs of mold and mildew right where they are on your garden furniture. In any case, clean your cushions before you put them away and dry them out thoroughly before storing.