Add the outdoors to your floor plan

Whether it’s by building a deck, patio cover, sunroom or screen room, “it adds value, both to your quality of life and lifestyle and to the value of your house,” says Blake Whiteside, sales estimation and project manager at Desert Sun Patios, a patio and outdoor improvement specialist in Calgary.

“People begin to use their outdoor space a lot more. They start to barbecue and hang out outside more. They move their flat screen TV into the sunroom — that’s where they play cards and watch the game.”

Decks

A deck is typically an extension of the kitchen and dining room area. It’s a social space where people can sit outdoors, relax with a drink, enjoy meals and socialize with family and friends.

“It’s all about what you want,” says David Knight, owner of The Calgary Deck Company, which builds custom decks and fences. In Calgary, decks must be built more than 60 cm off the ground, while anything lower than that is considered a patio. A deck can be a simple wooden structure or something that is very elaborate, depending on what you’re looking for, says Knight. He recommends homeowners think carefully about the kind of deck they want before going ahead. For instance: What will you use a deck for? How much space do you need? What kind of furniture do you want for your deck?

Pros: A deck will complement both the yard and the function of a house, but it must be done properly, Knight says. “It’s a process between the designer and the customer to sort through that list of variables to determine what product fits this particular customer’s situation, so that in the end they are getting what they want.”

Cons: You need to think carefully about what you want and clarify all the details. You’ll need to think about everything from the materials used to the warranty, Knight says. Wooden deck surfaces are high maintenance, he notes. If it’s cedar pressure-treated wood, “it could be left natural to weather, as long as you like what colour it turns into, which is typically grey.” If you decide on a poured concrete patio or deck, you’ll need to bear in mind this type of material is typically difficult and expensive to fix, Knight says.

Care considerations: Because wood is so high maintenance, consumers are slowly turning to alternative decking products, which are known as low maintenance or maintenance-free and only require cleaning, as opposed to refinishing. “Composite decking — solid PVC or PVC-clad decking — is probably the lowest maintenance and best value for your dollar in that low-maintenance category, because the only thing it requires is basic cleaning,” Knight says, noting that maintenance-free surfaces, such as composite, will cost more. Decking products come with a massive range of warranties. Some decking products have very little warranty, while at the other end of the scale there are products that come with a 25-year warranty from the manufacturer.

Price range: The average deck will cost $5,000-$10,000 installed (approximately $15-$50-plus per square foot).

Sunrooms

A sunroom is a full-scale addition to a home that will allow you to enjoy the outdoors throughout the year. “Often, we start with the patio cover. Over the years you add walls in, and end up with a screen room or a sunroom,” Whiteside says. An all-season sunroom is built using argon-filled windows with dual-glazed, low emissivity glass. A three-season sunroom, which will cost less, is built using single-glazed glass. You can extend the season on a three-season sunroom by installing a fireplace, or even an electric space heater. “You get yourself out of the elements, but you’re able to open the sunroom up when the weather is nice. When it’s not, you can close it off and still get sunlight and some feeling of being outdoors.”

People will usually add a sunroom to the back of their home. Another option is to build a sunroom to enclose a front porch area, turning it into a vestibule or mudroom. “It’s a place for the kids to kick their muddy boots off and ditch their backpacks. It’s a place to receive guests. When you open the front door, you don’t have cold air rushing in, so it helps keep the temperature more even in the home,” Whiteside says.

Pros: A sunroom adds square footage and value to a house.

Cons: Barbecuing inside a sunroom is not recommended. If you like to barbecue, you might want to include a section of deck just outside the sunroom, which will allow you to barbecue to your heart’s content.

Care considerations: You’ll need to keep the glass clean. Also, to prevent condensation, make sure the room is well ventilated, either by using a fan or opening a window.

Cost: For a small, 10-by-10-foot three-season sunroom, about $9,000-$11,000 installed. A three-season sunroom will cost about 20 to 30 per cent less than an all-season sunroom, Whiteside says.

Screen rooms

A screen room has many of the same benefits as a sunroom, but is not insulated. Putting in a patio heater will allow you to enjoy a screen room through summer and into late fall, as well as in early spring. With floor-to-ceiling screening, you’ll get fresh air in a screen room, but without any wind gusts. And with the addition of skylights, you’ll get lots of light.

Pros: “You’ve got extended season life to your patio,” Whiteside says. A screen room is affordable, and you can barbecue in a screen room. Adding a ventilation fan will help prevent grease stains. A screen room, sunroom or patio cover is also a bonus for your patio furniture, Whiteside notes. “These rooms are a really nice way to protect that investment. You’re not hustling the cushions in every time the clouds sweep in.”

Cons: With a screen room, the only con, Whiteside says, is that you’re still out in the open air, so there is no insulation in winter time.

Care considerations: A screen room is almost entirely maintenance-free. All you need to do is hose it off once in the spring and once in the fall, Whiteside says. “Everything is waterproof.”

Cost: For a 10-by-10 foot screen room, approximately $7,000 installed.

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