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Spending our spare time in the outdoor living area is one of the most popular pastimes in many parts of the world. People regularly spend many thousands of dollars making the backyard as comfortable as possible. They install decking, porches, hot tubes, pools, high fences and many other things. The problem with all of this spending is that none of it allows you to use these things anytime you want too. The weather, insects and many other factors will keep you away from the sun and fun you have spent so much money to enjoy. One way to solve this problem that many families are turning to is glass patio enclosures. These Glass sunrooms will protect you from the weather no matter what climate you live in, which means you can spend much more time in the light provided by the sun.

Glass patio enclosures come in a number of different brands, styles, shapes and styles. Many people wonder if the enclosure will actually block them from enjoying the good weather as well as the bad. The great thing about these enclosures is that most of them come with open and shut casing. This means that during good weather you can keep the glass windows open and enjoy the day, but when the storms roll in or the heat gets too high you can shut the windows and have a completely climate controlled environment. This also means that you can easily alleviate the green house effect that is common with many glass enclosures. It will also help you keep your valuable energy inside the house instead of losing it.

If you are interested in installing a glass patio cover you can expect to spend a fair amount of cash. The amount of glass and framing is extensive and usually expensive but the convenience of having one, especially after spending so much on your backyard, and the energy savings will start returning you investment in a fairly short period of time. With that said you will need to set aside a few thousands dollars to ensure that you have enough cash to have the job completed.

Some of the highest quality patio furniture on the market today is made of teak.  It is visually stunning, very well built, and will last you quite a few years with proper protection and care.  Teak is more expensive than other brands of patio furniture, but it is worth the investment as long as it is taken care of.  It will pay itself back several times over when you enjoy it and realize how high quality it is.

There are some protective measures you should take to ensure that your teak will last a long time.  Teak can generally stand up to a good amount of sunlight, but you still need to protect it from the sun’s dangerous rays.  Too much sun will turn it from a orange or brown color to a gray color in no time.  Your first line of defense is a patio cover, which will block it from the sun and keep it looking new for many, many years.  If you don’t have a patio cover, you should buy furniture covers to place over the furniture when it is not in use.  This will be just as good for the teak, although it is a little more of a hassle.

If you don’t have a patio cover, it would be a wise investment to purchase one to protect your furniture.  Odds are the cover will cost less than your furniture did, and the payoff will be quite large.  The cheapest cover would be a patio umbrella, which can normally be opened to about 9 to 12 feet wide and placed anywhere on your patio.

Teak wood is heavy with oils that help protect itself from the wind and the rain.  This means that the teak regularly releases oils to protect itself from such elements.  Unfortunately, the teak on your patio is not alive anymore and is not releasing much of these oils anymore.  The best way to keep it from getting damaged by wind and rain is by re-nourishing it with teak oil.  If you give your furniture a regular lathering of this oil, it will stay immune to weather damages for many years to come.  This oil can be found at large retail stores or marine stores.

If you want to allow sunlight to flood into your home, the best way to achieve this is with a sunroom on the front or back of your house. What style of glass and the shape of this sunroom will depend not only on your taste and the shape of the house, but also on the climate of the region. For example in an area that receives heavy snowfall a slanted glass atrium or sunroom will be the recommended patio cover design because the snow will not so easily remain trapped like on a flat roof. However, in a sunny climate that does not receive snow you may choose a straight glass patio design that can be shaped in a variety of modern designs to suite the home.

Aside from straight glass or curved glass styles, there are also cathedral roof options for a patio enclosure that will work in snow laden areas because the roof is slanted to point in the center, or you may choose a freestanding conservatory style that is a sunroom which is round or octagonal and can be built as an add-on to the home or in the garden or as a pool house. With the sunroom you can use conservatory blinds to ensure you have adequate shade on sunny days.

Aluminum Sunrooms and Patio Covers

No matter what style, the newest aluminum sunrooms and outdoor patio covers are the most durable in both heat and cold because the exterior can be metal and glass while the interior may be wood. These sunroom patio covers are also available in styles that incorporate screens so that the windows or doors may be left open in the summer and still not allow bugs to enter, just the fresh air. The main difference from a patio cover and a sunroom is that a cover will be lattice or a solid roof without walls, whereas a sunroom or screen room will be closed, an enclosed patio cover that does not allow the elements indoors. These are extensions to the house and add livable space like an extra room that could well be an office, dinning room or studio not just a deck cover.

Glass Atrium or Sunroom Patio Cover Enclosures

Glass atrium or sunroom patio cover enclosures are expensive and do not usually come in prefabricated kits, so you will need to get a price quote from a contractor. However you can get some good ideas from books like: Porches and Sunrooms: Planning and Remodeling Ideas by Roger German and the Better Homes and Gardens Porches & Sunrooms: Your Guide to Planning and Remodeling by John Riha or the handy Complete Patio & Deck Book: Creative Ideas & Fabulous Fix Ups from Lowe’s Home Improvement written by Sunset Books.