NW Austin Homeowners Love their Delightful Patio and Covered Pergola
When you have a covered outdoor space suitable for entertaining, you’re ready for anything! These NW Austin homeowners originally had a tiny covered area at their back door, with room for three or four chairs and a tiny table. It wasn’t enough! They seriously needed space to move around in—and space for actual tables where they could sit outdoors and enjoy a meal. Space where they could celebrate every occasion, large or small. That’s why they called Archadeck of Austin, the Austin patio builder, to design and build a patio and covered pergola combination.
NW Austin Patio Delights the Senses
When we design your outdoor living project, we collaborate with you to design a functional space that meets your needs and suits your tastes. Here you can see this NW Austin patio addition is a pleasing combination of colors and textures. Our clients chose this side-by-side combination of the lighter stonework for their seating wall and the darker flagstone pattern overlay for the patio. Not only do our eyes see the contrasting color patterns, we “see” the contrasting textures as well.
As you pull back from the scene, you’ll notice the additional contrast of the pergola’s dark cedar beams and posts. And that’s not all! The homeowners were in the process of adding festive string lighting for nighttime ambiance. As darkness falls, the playful illumination of this covered patio will sweetly beckon the homeowners and their guests outdoors. Two ceiling fans will wrap them in a gentle breeze. This outdoor living space offers plenty of versatility, day or night. From intimate family dinners to an all-out party on the patio, our clients now have the perfect outdoor setting for whatever they can dream up.
Details of this Patio and Pergola Combination
The patio’s size, extending a spacious 20′ out from the house, meets the clients’ first priority for a larger outdoor living space. The covered pergola fills their priority for a covered space they can use rain or shine. Speaking of sunshine, bring it on! Our clients chose to add a TopGal polycarbonate cover atop the pergola that will protect them from the sun’s heat and damaging UV rays. This is not just any ordinary sheet of plastic. TopGal is multiwall polycarbonate system that provides thermal insulation for the area by reducing solar heat gain.
The patio itself is concrete with the addition of a flagstone overlay, rich in texture and color variations. We constructed the seating wall with white limestone, and the smooth bench surface is made of Lueders limestone. We built the large custom pergola with cedar. Creature comforts for this covered patio include two ceiling fans and plenty of lighting with electrical outlets for additional creature comforts as needed.
Plenty of lighting? Our clients can adjust the outdoor lighting levels according to their needs and the mood they want to set. For ambiance, we installed subtle LED lighting all along the seating wall, just under the bench surface. The effect of this lighting at night is stunning. Then, the clients have the festive string lighting they added themselves. In addition, two of the pergola’s posts feature lanterns that illuminate the covered patio for dining. The two outermost posts have spotlights that illuminate the yard. And if they want more light, the ceiling fans include light fixtures as well. The only way the homeowners will be in the dark is if they choose to be!
Perfectly Versatile Covered Patio Design in NW Austin
The versatility in this patio comes from its size, its protective cover and the low seating wall that surrounds it on three sides. The seating wall adds coziness and a hint of privacy for relaxation and intimate gatherings. It also provides additional seating for larger get-togethers. On nights when they choose to stay indoors, the family can enjoy the ambiance of their patio’s illumination as they look outside from within the home. Call Archadeck of Austin today at 512-259-8282 or email us to schedule your free design consultation.
Archadeck of Austin Recommends Resurfacing Rather Than Staining Concrete
When is the last time you were told “satisfaction is not guaranteed“? Probably never! However, if you are looking at Austin patio ideas and are thinking about getting your existing patio stained, we ask you to give some more thought to that before you proceed. Archadeck of Austin can offer a better solution.
Perhaps you have wanted to give your old patio new life and considered staining to be like a face lift for concrete. You may have seen a neighbor’s patio that was stained, and maybe they were thrilled with it. We want to caution you about expecting the same results at your home. There is just no way of knowing how staining will turn out. Here is the truth: Staining concrete is so unpredictable that we ask our clients to sign a disclaimer before we will stain their concrete surfaces.
The best thing about staining is the price. It is the most affordable option if you simply want a new look for your patio. But is it worth the risk? We have stained patios with mixed results — and it’s not just us. We don’t want to get too technical here, but the most important factor is the condition of the concrete. How porous is the surface? And is that porosity uniform across the entire surface? Does the patio show any (unintentional) stains, maybe from fruit punch spilled during a long-ago birthday party?
Keep in mind that while stain adds color to concrete, it does not cover up markings already there. Stain does not cover a surface the way paint does; it permeates the concrete. If a concrete sealer was applied to your patio in years past, that sealer will affect the results of staining today. How well was the concrete cured, originally, and was it cured uniformly? Was a curing membrane applied to the concrete? There may be a lot you don’t know about that patio you see every day. Inconsistent sealing or curing, no matter how long ago, will lead to inconsistent results when the patio is stained.
Austin covered patio with custom overlayment.
Archadeck of Austin recommends resurfacing, also called concrete overlay, instead of staining a patio to give it new life. We can show you exactly how it will turn out. If its surface is even and has no large cracks, your patio is a good candidate for resurfacing. We will apply a concrete overlay, a cement-like material that we spray or spread over your patio to give it a new surface.
Even better, you can select a decorative finish for your patio such as the look and texture of stone. We can achieve the look of stone by stenciling or stamping the overlay after it’s applied. We can show you a wide range of textures and colors for your “new” patio. You can even request a slip-resistant surface if that feature is important to you! What’s more, we recommend installing the concrete overlay near a pool, if you have one, because the new surface is less likely to be damaged by pool chemicals or exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
In a hurry? Many concrete overlay products dry quickly. Don’t wait to call us! If you would like to learn more about updating your patio without having to remove it and start over, contact Archadeck of Austin today at (512) 259-8282 or via email at jim.odom@archadeck.net to schedule a free design consultation.
Jim Schallon, senior designer Archadeck of Austin.
This Spacious Cedar Park, TX, Patio-Pergola-Fire-Pit Combination Pairs the Natural Beauty of Flagstone and Cedar
What could be better than a big, beautiful flagstone patio just outside your back door? How about a double flagstone patio with a grand cedar pergola for shade at one end and a stone fire pit for warmth and ambiance at the other end? Archadeck of Austin recently completed such a combination outdoor living addition in Cedar Park, Texas, and the homeowner can’t wait to show it off.
The first two things you notice here are the spacious patio, with its unique curvy shape, and the beauty of the multi-blend Oklahoma flagstone. Equally as impressive is the rustic cedar pergola, and this pairing of natural flagstone and cedar is stunning. In character with its Texas setting, this pergola is stronger and “beefier” than some because it features big, 6″ x 6″ posts, exceeding the normal standards for pergola construction. Since shade is so valuable on sunny Texas days, we designed the pergola with 2″ x 2″ slats across the top spaced every 3″ apart to enhance the structure’s shade benefits. Strings of party lights hanging from the pergola’s rafters turn this section of the patio into the ideal spot for outdoor dining any time, day or night.
On cooler evenings, the family will be drawn to the opposite end of the large patio where a matching stone fire pit will provide warmth as well as cozy ambiance. This is a gas-burning fire pit with a 36″ burner that heats rock and blue glass stones. The result is a highly effective and beautiful fire pit with stones that glow with firelight and put off a lot of heat. Don’t you love the custom-designed Texas star pattern of the blue glass stones in the fire pit?
Family and friends will naturally gather around the fire pit to share stories, sing campfire songs or just get lost in the hypnotic glow of the flames. This Texas-size patio is large enough that quite a few people can gather by the fire for warmth and camaraderie. The homeowner chose to add a seating wall on one side of the fire pit while leaving the other side open for patio furniture that can be rearranged depending on the need. The seating wall was built with natural limestone that complements the flagstone patio but doesn’t compete with it for attention.
This patio floor is built to exceed the standards for patio builders in the Austin area. Most builders only use a layer of decomposed granite with grout mixed in as the base for their patios. Archadeck of Austin actually poured a solid, full-scale concrete patio to use as the patio’s base. This is because, over time, this patio will not sink, tile chip or joints crack with this method. This gives the patio a longer life with no chance of incurring structural issues due to weather conditions or time.
Archadeck of Austin started this gorgeous project with a “blank slate” because, before we built this addition, the rear of the house simply opened into the backyard. The finished patio makes great use of an area that was once void, so this project can serve as inspiration for anyone presently lacking an outdoor living space!
If you would like to learn more about creating such an inviting outdoor living space right outside your back door, contact Archadeck of Austin today at (512) 259-8282 or via email at jim.odom@archadeck.net.
Jim Schallon, senior designer Archadeck of Austin.
Austin Decks, Pergolas, Covered Patios, Porches, more 