Like so many Austin-area homeowners, these clients in Leander, TX, needed a better patio area to fully enjoy their back yard. Their home had a tiny walk-out concrete patio at their back door, hardly enough room for them to use for anything. When they wanted to dine outside, they had to place their table and chairs out in the grass. Worse, they had no shade beyond the few square feet of covered patio the home builder originally provided.
These homeowners wanted a much larger patio, and they wanted shade. They wanted a pleasant space where they could entertain comfortably. They wanted amenities that would increase their enjoyment of their new patio, day or night. They called on patio designer Archadeck of Austin to make their wishes come true. Ultimately the scope of this project included extending the patio and adding a covered pergola, a fire pit and an outdoor kitchen area for food prep.
Area before Archadeck of Austin began the project.
Seamless Transition from Small to Large Patio
We extended the patio straight out from the original tiny patio area, deeper into the yard and wider on both sides. The homeowners have so much more patio space now! We finished patio surface – the existing and new sections alike – with an overlay using a mix of the Roman stone and slate stone patterns. It’s one continuous patio now with no indication of where the original patio stopped and the new one began. At the far end, we added a round section specifically for the new custom fire pit.
During construction.
Shade Pergola Meets our Clients’ Requirements
One of the first things you notice about this project is the big, beefy custom pergola we installed over part of the extended patio. This pergola is made for shade. A pergola alone usually doesn’t provide total shade, so to achieve that here we added a cover atop this pergola. You can’t see the cover or even tell there is one – unless you notice how much shade is cast on this patio. The pergola also provides protection from rain showers.
We built the pergola with cedar and used 2 x 10 trusses, a 4 x 12 cedar beam and 6 x 6 support posts. It’s hefty! It’s large enough that the family can place their dining table and chairs under the pergola when they prefer to dine in the shade.
The remainder of the patio is uncovered. This design gives the homeowners a shaded patio area and another section that is open to the sky – the best of both worlds. The clients will especially appreciate this uncovered patio area on cooler days when they want to soak up warmth from the sun. They can also enjoy it at night when they will have a clear view of the stars overhead.
Amenities Increase Patio Enjoyment, Day and Night!
The extended patio includes a curved area at one end where we built a custom fire pit. We used white limestone for the fire pit and smooth Lueders stone around the top. The homeowners originally wanted a wood-burning fire pit, but their neighborhood’s HOA would not approve that. Instead, we had to write an addendum to the contract for this project so we could make it a gas-burning fire pit. This change affected the scope of the project because we needed to run the home’s gas line under the fire pit. That was not in the original plans!
At the opposite end of the patio, next to the exterior wall of the home, we built a small outdoor kitchen area. The clients’ grill is positioned next to that. The kitchen includes just what the clients requested: a good area where they can prep food for grilling, along with some storage space and electrical outlets. Because we custom-build all of our clients’ outdoor kitchens, we can include many different features, or just a few, depending on each client’s needs. We built this kitchen with the same white limestone used for the fire pit. The kitchen counter/food prep surface is made of smooth Lueders stone.
Additional amenities in this multi-faceted project include ceiling fans, festival lighting and additional lighting in the pergola. We also added a switch that controls both kinds of lighting and the fans as well. The wiring is all hidden.
Are you interested in transforming a patio or adding a new patio with a covered pergola? Contact Archadeck of Austin to schedule your free design consultation.
Jim Schallon, senior designer Archadeck of Austin.
