With temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s for the last week, our minds are definitely moving to outdoor living. There’s nothing like opening up the house, hanging out on the patio on a warm evening,  and enjoying a cold beverage, especially after a frigid winter. About ten years ago, when we bought our first house near Los Angeles, one of the first projects we tackled was the patio. This house was a mess! We had to do what we could on the cheap, and we had to do it all ourselves.

TK tore down an existing patio cover to replace it with one that he fabricated. It was made with steel square tubing to create the frame, and 18ga galvanized Deep Vercor, suspended at five points.   Besides the cover, we also laid flagstone for the patio floor, put up a new fence and landscaped.

We had not been by the house for almost five years until recently. It was great to see that it still looks as good today as the day we left it behind, even though we had used inexpensive materials. To see other examples of Shade Structures and various outdoor projects, check out TK’s photos on flickr.