Tips To Winterize Your Patio Investment And Extend The Season
Home and business owners have a great deal in common when it comes to outdoor patios. Both want to take full advantage of the leisure benefits of enjoying meals, beverages, and intimate gatherings. For homeowners, fresh air enjoyment tends to be a quality of life issue. For businesses such as restaurants, night clubs, and hotels, outdoor spaces can equal profit gains.
But the two fundamental things that both have in common is that outdoor patios represent an investment that you want to maximize. That means putting certain protections in place to winterize your patio and integrating outdoor gas patio heaters to extend the season. These deck winterization and patio heating tips could be the solution you are looking for to improve your return on investment.
How To Protect Your Patio From Moisture Penetrations
If you were to have a conversation with a construction professional about home and commercial building damage, they would tell you that the single greatest threat to a structure is water. It seems difficult to believe, given the impact of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other severe weather events. But the fact remains that nothing more prevalently diminishes the integrity of post, beams, flooring, and lumber than water penetrations. That’s why home and business owners would be wise to utilize the following tips to protect your patio or deck investment from moisture, precipitation, and frigid winter temperatures.
Thoroughly Clean Wood and Lumber
The dust, dirt, and grime that accumulate on and in-between patio floorboards and rails are like a sponge for water. This unwelcome grit can remain soaked and expand as frigid temperatures hit. Water expansion can be quite powerful and cause cracks and crevices that will, in turn, also house water. Start your winterization with a thorough cleaning.
Check Drainage System for Debris
There are several drainage strategies used to avoid the accumulation of standing water. Your patio may have an underground drainage system and a small grate near the center of the floor space. Those with partially enclosed patios, decks, and verandas, most likely have a gutter system.
These protections against standing water and flooding commonly get clogged with leaves, dust, and other debris. Once wet, they are likely to freeze overnight and create a costly problem. Beyond flooding, you could end up paying a plumber to replace and repair them. Best to clean your drains before it gets too cold.
Coat and Protect Patio Materials
Wood ranks among the more popular materials used in deck and patio construction. The rise of pressure-treated (PT) lumber has given many people the somewhat misleading impression that the material does not require weather and winterization treatment. The reality is that PT lumber dries, cracks, becomes discolored, and is subject to water infiltration like many other products. Regardless of whether your patio is built with wood, metal, or other materials, commercial-grade waterproofing and sealants are essential to prolonged enjoyment.
Cover Vulnerable Furnishings
Winter winds are sure to bring down snow and sleet in an amazingly horizontal trajectory. Your patio furniture, stainless steel gas grill, planters, and outdoor portable heater, will be subjected to the elements. Covering these and other belongings with weatherproof-rated covers will deliver improved protection until the spring thaw arrives.
Another way that home and business owners protect their outdoor spaces is by installing a temporary awning that deflects rain, snow, and sleet. But if you are going to all this trouble to secure your investment, wouldn’t it make sense to also extend the season with warming protection? In other words, commercial or residential infrared heaters.
Protect Yourself from the Cold with Outdoor Gas Patio Heaters
It goes without saying that your outdoor patio investment is usually a rewarding one and worth the effort of putting some elbow grease into protections from winter and moisture threats. But it simply doesn’t make sense to throw in the towel until spring due to a little rain, snow, and declining temperatures. Once your patio is adequately protected from the elements, there’s really nothing standing in the way of protecting your extended enjoyment to 12 months.
If you have a partially enclosed patio, deck, or veranda, installing an overhead natural gas heater can deliver the warming comfort necessary for prolonged enjoyment. If you have an open space, a portable LP heater can be positioned to generate enough radiant heat to utilize the space all year. It’s also important to note that industry-leading brands such as the ones AEI distributes can be safely used in semi-enclosed and open spaces. That is a veritable game-changer in terms of getting the leisure return on investment from your patio.
Maximize Winter Patio Use with Commercial and Residential Infrared Heaters
It may raise a few eyebrows to discover that the technologically advanced outdoor gas patio heaters produced by top-tier manufacturers do not rely on open flames to heat spaces. Open-flame portable heaters have been roundly replaced by infrared technology and integrated into models such as the Infratech electric, Sunpak overhead natural gas heater, and Patio Comfort portable LP heater, among others.
What these state-of-the-art products do is deliver ambient infrared rays that warm objects in the radius. The significant difference between infrared warmth and flame heat is that wind and chills do not diminish the effectiveness of the former. Flame heat, by contrast, blows away in a stiff breeze. So regardless of the temperature, infrared patio heating units work. These are some specific items to consider when deciding which products best improve your patio investment return.
- Fixed Units: Patio owners can select an overhead natural gas heater that can be installed directly to an existing fuel source. Products such as the Infratech can also be wired into existing electricity. Propane may also be a viable fuel source under the right circumstances. Fixed heating units utilizing infrared technology can be flush-mounted, attached overhead, as well as vertically and horizontally on walls.
- Portable LP Heaters: The iconic mushroom heater continues to rank among the most popular in North America. These products are highly versatile and can be moved under retractable awnings during the winter months and inclement weather. They house LP tanks in the base that are easy to swap out. Patio owners favor this style of outdoor portable heater primarily because they can be placed where they are needed and tucked away in storage when appropriate. It’s also important to mention top models produce ambient infrared rays, not open flame heat.
Protecting and winterizing patios remains a worthwhile use of time and resources to protect your investment. Next-generation infrared heating units can be accessorized with temperature settings, time controls, and deftly managed with Smart technology. Most importantly, commercial and residential infrared heaters deliver the year-round leisure protection you deserve.