If you have a home or a business, you want to maximise your use of space. You need to use as much space as possible while also keeping your maintenance costs low. One of the best ways to do that is to extend your home or business to the outside. You should extend with a patio or a deck that will allow you to essentially attach another room to your home without having to worry about very much construction. There are a few considerations you have to make, though. You have to consider the weather, which is probably your biggest concern. On a nice day, resting on your patio can be incredibly fun and relaxing. It’s a great place to cook outdoors, entertain guests, or meet with clients. However, if it’s too hot outside or if it’s raining, your patio can be miserable. There’s a way to keep it functional for longer, though. You need an awning.
You Need an Awning
An awning is just a covering over an area that is connected to the side of the building. The best type of awning is one that you can easily unfold when you need cover for your patio or deck. Folding arm awnings offer you the versatility of opening and closing your awning very quickly. That’s a virtue because you will be able to open it quickly if the weather suddenly changes. It’s also great because you can fold it up to protect it from the elements. Awnings are designed to withstand the elements but nothing can resist the battering of the sun, wind, and rain forever. Eventually, your awning will begin to suffer under the brutal sun and lashing rain. If you can fold it up, you’ll be able to protect it from the worst effects of the elements.
Awnings don’t only protect you from the sun and rain. They can actually help you stay warm.
Staying Warm
An awning provides a ceiling over your patio or deck. Since heat rises, that will help trap some of the heat that would have dissipated normally. If you have heaters on your patio or deck, especially gas range heaters, you can actually keep your patio very comfortable into the winter. If you have heaters on the patio, they will radiate heat in all directions. That heat will naturally start to rise, but the awning will stop some of it from dissipating. That will help you keep your patio warmer into the winter season.
Extending Businesses
If you have a business, especially a restaurant, you might not have enough space to accommodate everyone. That’s especially true if people who work for you or visit your business are tobacco smokers. In most areas, it is against the law to smoke indoors or near an entrance. If you have an awning, you can extend the building out onto the patio which will give smokers somewhere to be without having to be completely exposed to the elements. Also, you’ll be able to add more seating or more work space without paying for costly rebuilds.