Patio covers for Tri-Cities summers

Plenty of patios in the Tri-Cities are lovely in April and unusable by July. The concrete is fine. The furniture is fine. The problem is the sun. A patio cover fixes that, and when it is built by a roofer instead of tacked on as an afterthought, it also becomes a durable part of the house.

Why shade changes how you use the yard

Black Diamond Roofing & Construction opens its patio page with a question many homeowners have asked: “What good is your patio if it's too hot to enjoy?” A covered patio gives you a place to sit through a summer afternoon, and that changes how the whole backyard gets used. Meals move outside, kids play near it, and the rear of the house becomes a place to be rather than a place to look at.

Three reasons to cover your patio

The company lists three benefits of covering a patio. They are straightforward, and worth thinking about before you decide.

• It cools down your patio and makes it safer for you and your family to enjoy.
• It protects your patio from the sun and the other elements that could ruin the materials.
• It boosts your curb appeal and increases the value of your home.

The first is about comfort and safety, since hot concrete and hot furniture are no fun for bare feet or children. The second is about longevity. Direct sun and weather wear down outdoor furniture, cushions and the patio surface itself. The third is about how the house looks from the street and the yard, and what that means when it is time to sell.

Why the cover should tie into the house roof

A patio cover is a small roof, and it follows the same rules as a big one. The most important detail is where the new cover meets the house. Water that runs down the wall has to be directed onto the cover and off, not behind it, and that takes properly installed flashing at the connection. This is a roofing job as much as a carpentry job, which is why it makes sense to hire a roofer.

The roof surface on the cover should also look like it belongs. A cover that matches the pitch and the roofing material of the main house looks like part of the original design. A mismatched cover looks like an add-on. Photos from Black Diamond's gallery show a timber-post cover with a dark roof against a white house, which sits comfortably with the home instead of fighting it.

Questions to settle before you build

Patio covers vary a lot, so spend an hour on the design questions before anyone starts work. Check with your city and with any homeowners association before you commit to a design, since requirements differ from place to place and a good contractor will be glad to talk through them.

• How big should the cover be? Black Diamond says there is no patio too big for it to cover.
• Should the roof be solid or open, and how much light do you want underneath?
• How will the cover be attached to the house, and how will the connection be flashed?
• Where will rainwater and snowmelt run off, and does it land somewhere sensible?
• What will the posts rest on, and how will they be anchored?
• How will the cover look from the street and from inside the house?

What a finished job feels like

Anne Marie Jones recently reviewed Black Diamond on Google after a patio cover project. She wrote that Dave and his team “did an incredible job,” that they were professional and courteous, and that they “kept us updated on daily progress and next steps.” Then she added the line that says it best: “We love our new patio. It feels like we added a room to our house.”

That is what a good cover does. It does not just add shade. It adds usable space, and it does so without making the house feel like it has been added to.

Planning a patio cover in the Tri-Cities

Black Diamond has built roofs in the Tri-Cities since 2003 and offers free estimates on its construction services. To talk through a patio cover, call (509) 943-ROOF or text the owner at (509) 308-6656. If you have photos of the patio and a rough idea of the size, send them along, and say what you want the space to do in July.