When it comes to a home makeover, nothing refreshes a home like a patio cover.  If you create a well-designed patio, you will find yourself spending a greater amount of time outside.  It’s a better way to enjoy the great outdoors without all the UV exposure and sun on your back. You also get to enjoy cooler temperatures under your patio.  With ceiling fans, it will drop the temperature up to fifteen degrees cooler than the temperature in the sun. That’s incredible! When you purchase Patio Covers, you will notice it’s obviously not cheap.  Anything that enhances your outdoor experience, add value to your home, and adds to your overall comfort should cost a pretty penny.  There are some considerations when deciding whether to do it yourself or have someone professionally install your patio enclosure.

Patios aren’t cheap and since you only have to build them once, you should be sure they are built exactly the way you want for your home.  If you hire an architect, they will be sure it truly fits your home and bring ideas to the table that would improve your patio that you haven’t thought of.  Most importantly, they will ensure that your patio meets the city codes and engineered accurately.

Some things to consider when building a patio enclosure is one of many.  The budget is the most important. Without a budget, you wouldn’t have a patio right? Well, this will be your driving force to pic one material over another or to skip those add-ons that cost an extra thousand dollars.  Something important to know when you pay for a contractor or when you buy material yourself, you will notice that the price per square yard costs more for a smaller project than a larger one. For example, some contractors will use concrete slabs that range from one or two thousand for a 10×20 feet and can be upwards to $10,000 for a 100×100 foot. There are many factors for the cost of your dream patio.  The travel, size of the project, materials are chosen, labor, and equipment costs. If you plan to build your own patio yourself, it can run around $600 dollars for 10×20 feet as opposed to $2,000 from a contractor plus labor costs. That may be an option to save money if you know what your doing or can figure it on those how-to websites. Another thing to consider, time is money. Is it worth your time to save $1,400 if it took you 4 solid weeks of working on it?  After all, it may be best to hire a professional to ensure it is done correctly.

When you consider your budget, architectural design, type of materials, and the size of the patio you want, you may learn it is more cost-effective to do it yourself.  Unfortunately, time isn’t always an option and some of us aren’t apt to learning a new skill. Some of us physically can’t do the job that is required due to physical illness or disabilities.  If time is precious or any of the above is true, you may realize it prudent to hire a professional to install your patio cover.