Beautiful Building a Patio Cover

Having a cover for the patio is sure a precious addition to a home. It naturally shades the patio and it also serves to keep the home interior cool and nice by keeping the sunlight away from the nearby windows. At least two persons are needed to build one so the whole can get involved in the task. This will teach the family to build a patio cover when needed. Here is a simple procedure for building a patio cover.

Procedure
First, four holes of at least 18 inches deep have to be dug out from corner to corner of the patio for the posts. The distance between the holes should be generally 12 inches or less. Approximately 3 inches of each hole have to be filled with compacted gravel. Frames have to be constructed for holding the post while the cement dries. They can be constructed from 2?x4? pieces of lumber and then screwed together. It has to be ensured that all frames are in level and they flush with one another before pouring the cement.

Lumber of 4?x4? pieces have to be used for forming the posts for the patio cover. The height of the posts can be decided as desired but usually most patio covers don't exceed more than 1 storey and are generally 8 feet tall. One person has to hold the post upright in the anchoring hole while another would mix the quick drying cement and will pour it into the hole. It has to be ensured that the lumber is absolutely vertical with a level before proceeding towards the remaining 3 posts. Dirt can be put around the cement when it gets hardened for a more attractive appearance.

The support beams are very essential as one will learn in the process to know how to build a patio cover. 1?x12? lumber pieces are used for making this which are of the same length as the area covered by supported posts. One beam has to be attached to the roof line while the other has to be screwed to the support posts. 2 inch screws have to be used for this part of the project. Afterwards, the rafters are fashioned from 2?x4? lumber pieces that spans the distance between the two beams.

When this has been completed, the final part of the project is next which is installing the roof. Prefabricated aluminum, PVC, wood, heavy-duty corrugated plastic, or even metal screening is used for making the roof. It has to be nailed in place and a nice shaded place is ready for hanging out.