Enough with the view from indoors. It’s time to step outside onto our patios, decks, balconies, or terraces and embrace the changing season. To really get the most out of the three seasons that are ahead of us, consider redefining the outdoor space where you enjoy relaxing and entertaining.
How well does your outdoor garden room work for you? Does it, for example, provide you with an area that protects you from spring showers or pesky mosquitoes? Are you driven indoors when the weather turns chilly or by extreme heat in summer? Put the emphasis on comfort this year with smart solutions that provide shelter, create intimacy and promote a level of privacy.
Last summer Winnipegger Gladys Lovallo decided to install a patio cover that would shade her deck. In addition to providing her pool guests with a comfortable area where they could escape from the sun, Lovallo wanted a space in her full sun backyard which would allow her the chance to display her collection of tropical plants and grow shade-loving annuals and perennials.
Too often, says Lovallo, her property’s full sun exposure has taken its toll on some of her more tender plants, burning their leaves to a crisp. Lovallo decided to have a patio cover installed over her deck and contacted Lumon Canada. Available in glass or shatter-resistant acrylic, Lumon’s unique cover can be mounted by installers on a roof, fascia, or outside wall. Support posts are secured firmly to a patio or deck. Lovallo chose a patio cover with shatter-resistant acrylic sheets that block up to 75 percent of the sun’s heat while still letting in natural light.
Last fall Lovallo discovered some additional benefits of her new patio cover. When the first frost of the season was forecast, she moved all of her potted tender bulbs and warm season annuals such as Popcorn Cassia (Cassia didymobotrya) onto her deck beneath the patio cover. None of the plants suffered injury and Lovallo was able to enjoy them right up until the first hard frost. This spring Lovallo is looking forward to bringing her indoor tropical plants outside onto her deck under the protection of her new patio cover without the worry of having to move potted plants to various locations in her yard as the sun’s direction changes.
It will be easier, too, says Lovallo, to gradually acclimatize new plant purchases this spring to the bright sun. The acrylic patio cover allows enough light for healthy growth and also provides protection from heavy downpours. In the past Lovallo has been restricted to growing only sun-loving plants. She’s excited now to have the opportunity to experiment with shade loving plants such as the new White Feather Hosta which she plans to grow on her deck.
Kazwel Levandoski, a sales representative with Lumon, says that all of Lumon’s patio covers are designed to be fully or partially enclosed as a sunroom, solarium, or three-season room at a later date should the homeowner desire. Levandoski says that demand is growing for enclosures that minimize the effects of weather while creating a garden room of one’s own that is intimate and comfortable but also low-maintenance. "The trend we’re seeing is towards enhancing your home," says Levandoski, "with a sleek, modern structure that blends seamlessly."
Today’s smaller living spaces can be expanded exponentially with the addition of an outdoor garden room but only if you actually use it. Levandoski admits that he rarely used his deck during the hottest days of summer when the full, unrelenting sun made even walking on it uncomfortable. Now, with a patio cover, his young children play outside on the deck longer and without risk of sunburn.
Often, says Levandoski, when a customer opts for a full enclosure such as a sunroom, it becomes another room of the house, increasing the feeling of available square footage. A Lumon product that is widely used in countries such as Finland but only beginning to make inroads into Manitoba is frameless retractable balcony glass for condos. Typically, says Levandoski, the balcony glass that is used is the exact same glass that comprises the sunroom wall systems of a residential home. For condo owners it extends the use of their balcony, keeping out debris as well as wind and rain. Another benefit is acoustical privacy.
"What people miss most when they sell their home and move into a condo," says Levandosky, "is their outdoor space." The addition of a balcony enclosure, however, would be subject to approval by a condo board or building owner. Levandoski says that all of the structures that Lumon provides are designed to support the weight of winter snow.
Shawn Graydon’s large deck on the back of his house in Morris, Manitoba is roomy enough to include a screened room that is 2.1 meters deep and 8 meters long. Accessed from inside his house as well as from the outdoors, the screened room doubles as an outdoor living room complete with furniture and a barbeque. An installation by Quality Concepts, Graydon loves the fact that his screened room is ready to use in spring with no clean up or maintenance necessary.
Quality Concepts is a family owned business based in Morris that specializes in custom screened enclosures. Travis Dreger, Sales and Marketing, says that Quality Concepts’ product line was inspired by visits to his parents’ vacation home in Florida which has a screened area that includes a hot tub, swimming pool, and barbeque. Indeed, says Dreger, it is very common for most Florida homeowners to have screened rooms directly adjacent to their homes.
Dreger says that in the example of a home that has a walk-out basement, it is very simple and cost-effective to screen spaces either above or below decks so that homeowners can enjoy a comfortable area that is bug-free.
In addition to installing permanent three-season screened rooms, Quality Concepts offers an extruded, powder-coated aluminum framed gazebo-like structure that can be anchored to a deck, patio, or ground surface. TuffScreen, a highly durable fibreglass mesh screen that is pet resistant and tear and puncture resistant, is stretched tightly between the support posts for a smooth finish. There is an option for a screen top that allows full view of the sky or a rainproof vinyl top.
What’s really unique about the enclosure is that it has been designed by Quality Concepts to include a roll-up feature which allows the screen to be rolled up and secured for the winter.
Quality Concepts also offers fixed and retractable motorized screens for garages to convert them into dual purpose spaces. The motorized garage screen is a permanent installation that is mounted on the exterior of the house above the garage doors and is remote operated from your vehicle. Dreger says that the retractable screen does not interfere with the operation of the garage door. In addition, motorized screens are designed as screening solutions for pergolas, covered porches, balconies, terraces, or wherever there is a large opening.
Dreger’s company also offers Eze--Breeze windows. Three-season windows that are custom built to fit your porch, the Eze-Breeze sliding panel system consists of four sliding vents that nest up or down or can be cascaded into one. The vinyl-glazed panels have the transparency of glass but without the cost or weight. The beauty of the product, says Dreger, is that it allows protection from wind, rain and dust, enhancing enjoyment of your porch in a debris-free, pest-free environment that also extends the life of your outdoor furnishings.
Suppose you prefer the open beams and open sides of a pergola? Dreger has that covered as well. Constructed from heavy duty aluminum with a powder coat finish that is available in a range of colours, Quality Concepts’ pergola design pergola includes round pillars and an open beam ceiling with a distinctively modern flair. Dreger says that the advantage of aluminum over wood is that it is virtually maintenance-free. Deck surfaces must be level and structurally sound, says Dreger, prior to installing a pergola, gazebo or screened room. If installation is on a patio or lawn, piles are first screwed into the ground.
Planning to add more liveability to your outdoor garden room this year? Drop by Gardening Saturday today at the Victoria Inn and talk to Kazwel Levandoski at the Lumon display. Look for Travis Dreger at Quality Concepts’ booth at the Winnipeg Home and Garden Show, April 1 – 3, at the RBC Convention Centre. Lumon plans to be at the Home Show as well.
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NOTICE
The Manitoba Orchid Society’s 2016 Spring Show & Sale is on today and tomorrow at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory, 9 a.m. to 4:20 pm. Admission is $7. Children 14 and under free. For more details visit www.manitobaorchidsociety.ca.
