alumawood patio covers
Mission Viejo Aluminum Patio Cover Project; Before & After 0
Just finished a recent job Aluminum Patio Cover in Mission Viejo project that I thought I would share. As is fairly common with most of our jobs, the old patio was a wooden patio I would estimate to be around 10 years old and also is fairly common with most wood patios was a monstrosity of wood rot, termite damage and what was arguably the worst case of wood fungus we had seen in recent years. I talked a little bit about the downside of wood patio covers in a previous blog that goes into some of the details about the pros and cons of wood versus aluminum and the three items mentioned above all stand as exhibit A as to the downside of a wooden patio cover.
Below you can seem some of the pictures of the old wooden cover. You can see the splitting of the wood and how over time the wood just starts to deteriorate to the point where it can even become a hazard. When wood rot sets in along with termite damage there is simply no way to warrant any type of repair given the costs of repair for wooden patio covers can be comparable to the costs of installing a new aluminum patio cover altogether.
Danger Lurks with Termites and Wood Rot!
On this wooden patio cover, the amount of wood rot and structural damage was to the point where the demolition and removal was quite easy. The rafters and lattice had enough wood rot where they could almost be removed by hand simply applying a bit of pressure. It’s great for the crew that tears down and removes the old, beat up wood patio but once again-when the damage gets that pronounced and evidenced it can also be a health hazard and at risk to collapse or fall.
Below you can see the old cover has been taken down and waiting to be removed. Depending on the size of the patio cover, most demo jobs and removal can be completed in a day. Once again it may vary a bit depending on the size but the majority of the time the demolition of an old cover can be accomplished in one day.
Old Cover Removed; New Aluminim Patio Cover Awaits!
Once the cover has been removed, we deliver all of the material needed to complete the installation of a new Aluminum Patio Cover and much like the demolition, can be installed and constructed in one day! This is also one of the great benefits of Aluminum Patio Covers is that because they are prepainted in the factory(with a lifetime guarantee on the paint no less!), it saves a great deal of time and labor that would normally be spent applying primer and paint.
Below is the completed patio cover that was took only one day to install including the running of wires for additional options like ceiling fans and/or speaker wire. This aluminum patio cover in Mission Viejo was a quick, easy installation and fairly routine. We were able to remove the old, dangerous wood cover and install this new aluminum cover in only 2 days!
If you are looking for a free estimate on an aluminum patio cover in Mission Viejo or any other city in Orange County give us a call! You never know-we may feature your backyard for a future blog post on the Patio Mans Orange County Patio Cover Blog.
Orange County Alumawood Patio Covers; Many Advantages Over Wood Patio Covers 1
Alumawood Patio Covers offer Greater Space
Alumawood Patio Covers are Maintenance Free
Installation Done Right
Patio Covers in Laguna Hills; A Case Study in Danger 0
As Orange County’s leading Patio cover expert I have seen a lot of things in my day, and sometimes you come across some things that still tend to shock you or shake your head a bit. I talked about it in my last blog about the patio cover in Fullerton which took some real creative finesse to get the job done right and this most recent job was in similar vein. This job I did the other day stands as a good testament for “What not to do” when it comes to building a patio cover in Orange County.
I recently completed a new wood patio cover in Laguna Hills. When I arrived at the home there was an existing wood patio cover all along the rear wall of the house with what looked like a second story deck built on top of a small portion of that same wood patio cover. As with most wood patio covers in Laguna Hills and the Laguna Niguel area, there was severe dry rot to the point where not only was this project unrepairable, but also a legitimate health hazard and danger to anyone within 15 feet of it.
After speaking with the homeowner, whom I will refer to as Mr. L, this existing patio cover was apparently was built by the previous homeowner. The upstairs door that led to the improvised patio cover/deck conversion was a full foot down from the door, with a hard plastic step stool type device that was used as the step to get down to it. Basically it had homemade/poor design written all over it and given the beautiful Laguna Hills locale, seeing a hard plastic step stool being used as a step had red flag warnings written all over it. And given the amount of wood rot and wood damage that had set in, it was dangerous across the board. As a side note, most people when seeing the havoc and damage to the integrity of the beams and posts due to wood rot, will generally have me replace them with a solid or open Alumawood patio cover so the home owner will never have to worry about wood rot, termites, or anything other typical wear and tear associated with wood patio covers.
After we completed the demo and removed the old, dry rotted wood, we were able to replace the old with a new deck and patio cover were installed at the correct height. The deck material we selected was Timbertech XLM Rustic Bark composite. Timbertech makes a fantastic, durable product and one I generally endorse. This was the first time, however, that I saw this particular color and I really liked it. It has a wood grain and a dark brown color with black streaks running through it which gave the entire project a classy, professional look. For the patio cover we used a double 2′ by 10′ for the beam and went with double 2′ by 8′ rafters. The finished product was beautiful and Mr. L will never again be embarrassed to have people in his back yard, and can also take solace and have some piece of mind knowing his patio cover is not only beautiful, but safe and durable as well. Just another day in the life for the premiere Orange County patio cover expert.
Patio Covers in Fullerton- No Headache for this Guy! 0
In the patio cover business, each job seems to have and present its own unique set of challenges. The most recent was one of the large type wood patio covers in Fullerton that was badly dry rotted and in dire need of replacement. The house, like many in Orange County, had a fairly low roof line. One of perks of being the Patio Man, is the fact that I enjoy offering all of my clients creative solutions on not just replacing, but to improve on what was there.
The easiest way to raise a patio cover would have been to use what most patio covers installers would have insisted on and that would have been opting and pressuring the homeowner to go with an Alumawood patio cover. Because Alumawood patio covers are lighter in weight, they offer some additional options and flexibility that simply are not available with wood patio covers. But the homeowner, whom we will refer to as Jim A, and his wife were dead set on a wood patio cover so my work was cut out for me. It didn’t help that the home owner and his wife are 6’6 and 6’8 so this project, while challenging, was one that I took some major initiative on to meet the request and wished of the homeowner to give them the patio cover they wanted from post to pillar.
Jim A. contacted me after several weeks and said I was the only Orange County Patio Cover contractor that was actually able to put together a design that could raise the roof a full 14’’ and thus being the result I was able to sign the job, but more importantly-deliver Jim and his wife the patio they had envisioned and always dreamed of.
To be honest, when I was new to the patio business, and even though I worked as a carpenter and framer for many years, I likely wouldn’t have known to run the beams front to back due to simple lack of previous similar type homes and the gumption and know how on what it takes to get a project done that not only meets the wishes of the homeowner, but also can carry the structural integrity and aesthetics we provide with all of our work. At the end of the day, sometimes hiring an old construction guy who has seen it all and done it all and built almost every kind of wood patio covers orange county has to offer can pay some major dividends. And at the end of the day, there really is something to be said for experience!
This may have been the patio cover from hell for other OC Patio guys…but for me it was another challenge met and just 1 more satisfied home owner.
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