Patio cover installation in Rancho Santa Margarita CA - shade you'll actually sit under

Most people call me because the back patio is only usable until lunch, or because an old cover has seen better days. The price mostly moves with the size, whether you pick aluminum or wood, whether the roof is open lattice, solid or insulated, and how much work it takes to tie an attached cover into the house. The schedule usually depends on how quickly we settle the design, getting materials in and whatever the city wants to review, and you'll get your own plan and price in writing once I've measured. If there's a chance you'll close it in later, tell me early, because a patio enclosure asks more of the posts and roof than a cover built only for shade.

Most folks I meet are choosing between aluminum and wood, so we start there, with an honest talk about the look you want and how much upkeep you're willing to take on. If the cover attaches to the house, I look at how it'll be held up there before I draw anything, because that connection is what keeps the whole cover sitting straight. Then we settle the size and roof style, set the posts, hang the beams and rafters, put the roof on and clean up so you can pull the chairs back out.

Some people realize at the estimate that what they really want is a room, and that's worth saying out loud. If you're weighing a cover now against walls later, we can start with sunroom design so the posts we set today don't box you in. If a closed room fits how you'll use the space better, vinyl sunrooms give you one that takes very little upkeep.

The city's Building and Safety Division decides whether a project needs a permit, and its list names decks, garages and fences but not patio covers, so ask the division about your cover instead of assuming either way. We find out what the building office needs before plans go in, and when a permit applies we prepare the paperwork and pull it as your contractor. If you're planning an attached cover, the city posts an Attached Patio Cover Standard in its forms and handouts, and that's a good place to start. It's also worth finding your lot on the city's fire hazard maps before work starts, because the draft maps place parts of Rancho Santa Margarita in Very High, High and Moderate zones, and the city says properties on them face building standards for new construction near wildland plus defensible space requirements.

We're based in Rancho Santa Margarita and work across Orange County, and a lot of the homes here are stucco with the patio slab right off the family room, some backing up to hillsides and open space. We see the same houses and the same afternoon sun on jobs in Mission Viejo and Ladera Ranch, so which way the shade falls and how to tie into stucco come up on most visits.