Pergola Shade Arbors Cover Patio, Protect Home & Provide Entertainment Space by Travis Jenkins

www.alltexexteriors.com

New construction tore down all the trees, leaving no shade. Now what?

Every city has at least one: a new neighborhood, built quickly, by first razing all the trees down and leaving no shady areas around the homes. If you own a home like this, especially if it´s in a hot climate like Houston, TX, you are probably looking for ways to shelter at least a portion of your porch from the sun´s intense rays.

Nancy was one recent customer. Her new home had a good-sized concrete slab off the back door for a porch. The western exposure of the back side of her house was letting a lot of direct sunlight into her family room, which made the house too warm in the afternoon. Nancy liked to garden and had a variety of shade loving plants from her old home she wanted to transplant. And when she had guests, she wanted a place where they could sit outside near the grill and not get sunburn while they were doing it. She started shopping around for options and discovered it was important to make sure she was purchasing the right kind of cover for her needs.

Pergolas

A pergola is an open covering. It can be used to define space for entertaining and provide some amount of shade for windows, increasing energy efficiency. Done well, it can be an attractive architectural feature for your home. What a pergola will not do is provide serious rain cover protection. It´s important to choose a pergola constructed of termite resistant metal or treated wood. You might also hear a pergola referred to as a lattice, arbor, or shade cover. Pergolas often provide support for climbing plants and play an important role in good garden design.

Covered Patios

If rain protection is high on your list of requirements, you need to go at least one step up to a covered patio. This will include a roof of some kind, preferably insulated. Covered patios have infinite design possibilities. They can be framed, include column features, and match the style of your home. They are rising in popularity as people add outdoor kitchens to their porches or screened areas to extend their living space. Materials such as stone, brick and wood add beauty and tranquility to a home, as well as sun and rain protection.

Sunrooms

Because it can be heated and cooled, a well-built sunroom can add year round comfort to your home. Also sometimes referred to as an atrium or solarium, sunrooms are an excellent choice for gardeners like Nancy. She´ll be able to grow a wider variety of plants with the climate-controlled light her sunroom will provide. Constructed using energy-efficient windows, sunrooms also allow the benefits of spending time outdoors without the discomfort of high heat and humidity. Sunrooms can even be used to enclose swimming pools, allowing homeowners to get the maximum use out of their investment, no matter the season.

To learn more about what kind of porch covering would be right for your home, or to inquire about having your home professionally assessed for one of the options listed here, visit www.alltexexteriors.com or call 866-921-5715.